She nodded. “Antigonish County was largely settled by Highland Scots, and about every second family is a MacDonald.”
Off the main highway, the road dipped through lush, hilly countryside covered with trees just beginning to bud. Rivers and lakes glinted through the lacy branches, and brightly painted farms clustered in the valleys. Sharon would have loved it, and Green felt a twinge of homesickness at the thought of her delight. She had always wanted to see the east coast, and he had left her green with envy yesterday morning with no more than a brief kiss and a promise to be back in two days. I probably won’t even get out of the police station, he’d told her, let alone get a chance to see a beach or a fishing village. Maybe this summer, they would make the effort to coordinate their work schedules enough to take a real road trip out here.
McGrath slowed again as a narrow gravel road appeared on their right. A small sign pointed to Hoppenderry. “It should be up here somewhere,” she said. They followed the twisty road for a few more kilometres, past sparse farms and rolling pastures. McGrath craned her neck and squinted against the midday sun as they approached a small lane. Almost hidden by brush was a carved wooden sign “Derry Brook Sheep Farm, lambs and fine wool”.
“Here it is!” she exclaimed, turning in the lane. As they bumped down the rutted drive, a meadow opened up on their left, a startling green against the greys and browns of spring. The meadow was dotted with sheep who barely gave them a second glance, but a black and white border collie sitting by the wood rail fence watched them with a baleful stare. Up ahead a collection of buildings greeted them, including three barns painted red and a yellow woodframe house with a steeply sloped roof and a sunporch stretching the width of its facade.
The farm had clearly seen better days. The paint was faded and peeling, and the front yard was little more than a swamp of mud and straw. In front of the house sat a rusty blue pickup and a tractor with chunks of mud stuck to their tires. A pair of red dogs clambered off the porch and hobbled towards the car, barking. Otherwise nothing stirred. The curtains were drawn on the windows, and the barn doors were shut tight.
“I told you his parents weren’t very enthusiastic when I phoned to say we were coming,” McGrath said.
Green eyed the dogs dubiously. Despite their greying muzzles, they were still a handsome pair, with glistening copper coats and white paws. They paced in half-hearted circles around the car, with their teeth bared. “Well,” he ventured, “we didn’t drive all the way up here just to—”
The front door flung back and a tall, gaunt man filled the doorway, arms crossed, glaring at them. Behind him, a woman peeked around his shoulder. Neither made any move to call off the dogs.
“We could always split the dogs up,” McGrath said. “You head for the shed, I’ll go for the house. They look so old, we could probably outrun them.”
At that moment, the woman ducked under the man’s elbow with a sharp shake of her head. When she whistled for the dogs, they stopped barking immediately and stood by the car, tails wagging and amber eyes alert. Green smiled. Whoever said men were the masters of their own domain? Dogs knew better.
Green sized up the stubborn couple in the doorway. “If it comes to it, I’ll take the mother. I think the father might respond better to a fellow Maritimer.”
His instincts proved accurate once he and McGrath had introduced themselves. The MacDonalds may not have been happy to see them, but Mrs. MacDonald at least welcomed them into the living room and insisted on brewing a fresh pot of tea, which she served with a warm apple cake she had clearly baked for the occasion. The delicious scent of cinnamon and yeast blended with the underlay of manure and damp wool that permeated everything.
Mr. MacDonald folded himself into an aging wing chair in the corner by the door, as if for a fast exit, and fixed them both with a chilly stare. Blue overalls with frayed cuffs hung on his bony frame, and a pair of oversized sheepskin slippers swallowed his feet. His wife flitted in and out of the kitchen as if she hoped to distract them from the purpose of their call.
“Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald,” McGrath began once the woman had finally subsided on the sofa. “Thank you for seeing us. I’m sure it’s not easy to talk about your son—”
Mr. MacDonald snorted. “I don’t see why you’ve got to be bringing it all up again. It’s over, more than ten years past now, and we answered all your questions about the accident back then. It’s all in your files, if you’d bother to read them.”
“Well, it’s actually about Daniel Oliver’s death—”
“And we’ve been through all that too. We don’t know anything about his murder, it had nothing to do with Ian. Ian and Danny hardly even saw each other any more.”
Mrs. MacDonald looked up from pouring tea. “Ian was back here on the farm working with his dad, and Danny was in Halifax.”
“I know,” McGrath said. “We’re just looking to clarify a few details.”
“Why?” the father said.
“There have been some new developments,” Green interjected quietly. McGrath had been following the classic police interview strategy of stonewalling, but after a brief deliberation, he decided that full disclosure might work best. That, and a touch of surprise. “Daniel Oliver’s former girlfriend was murdered last week in Ottawa, and when she died, she had your son’s army medal in her possession.”
Both parents gaped. The father uttered a small grunt, as if he’d been punched in the stomach. He swallowed convulsively before words would come. “Why would she have Ian’s medal?”
“That’s what I’m hoping you can tell us,” Green said.
Mrs. MacDonald flushed in confusion and busied herself cutting the cake into perfect squares. “I can’t imagine. We...” Tears unexpectedly robbed her of speech.
Her husband shot Green a scowl. “We wondered where it got to. Danny must have taken it.”
“When?”
“When he was here for the funeral, I suppose.”
“Why?”
MacDonald raised his bony shoulders in an impatient shrug. “How should I know? Jealous, maybe?”
“Oh, but dear,” interjected Mrs. MacDonald, recovering her voice, “I told you that doesn’t make any sense! Danny was very proud of him.”
“Doesn’t stop a man,” her husband muttered. “He probably wasn’t thinking straight. Got extremely drunk that day.”
“What did your son get his medal for, Mr. MacDonald?”
MacDonald squared his shoulders and met Green’s gaze with steely pride. “Risking his life for strangers half a world away who didn’t even appreciate what our lads were sacrificing for them,from the sounds of it. The town they were protecting was under fire, and Ian rescued a lot of local villagers. His company commander put him forward for the medal.”
Mrs. MacDonald’s eyes were brimming again. “On Danny’s recommendation, don’t forget. He was Ian’s section leader.”
Mr. MacDonald nodded grudgingly. “They were inseparable once.”
Green leaned forward, his tone soft. “What happened?”
“What do you mean, what happened? I just told you!”
“I mean when Ian came home. I understand he had some trouble readjusting to civilian life.”
“Who told you that?”
Green took a careful sip of tea. “He changed his plans about vet school and returned to the farm.”
“And what’s wrong with that? The lad hadn’t been more than a hundred miles from his home his whole life. The apples and hay were just coming in, and there was a lot needed doing on the farm. I think he was grateful for the peace and quiet