Chapter 3
Next day morning, Stacy came to visit Robin. She was very much worried about him after yesterday’s incident. Mrs. Grant was delighted to see Stacy and offered to make her a cup of cappuccino. Stacy asked Robin about the black jacket guy who chased them yesterday and tried to kill him.
Robin took Stacy to his room upstairs and closed the door as he didn’t want Mrs. Grant to know that he had over heard what she and detective Bruce had discussed about the killer guy. Stacy was astonished to hear what Robin had to say about the killer guy.
“Why should that guy kill my parents? What did they do to him?” asked Robin. Stacy saw tears rolling down Robin’s cheek. “I have lost everything” cried Robin. Stacy took Robin’s drooping face into her hands and kissed his forehead. “I am there for you” said Stacy.
They heard someone knocking on the door and Robin immediately wiped his tears and tried to put on a cheerful look. Stacy opened the door and found Mrs. Grant holding a tray with 2 cups of hot cappuccino and some cookies. Stacy took the tray from Mrs. Grant and thanked her hospitality.
“Would you like to have anything else children” asked Mrs. Grant. “No Thanks, Mrs. Grant. It is so very kind of you to make us these cappuccino and cookies”.
Mrs. Grant felt really happy and she was glad that Stacy was here to give Robin some company. She knew what it was to lose dear ones. She left the kids alone and went down to the kitchen.
“There is some bad news for you Stacy” said Robin.
“What bad news?” asked Stacy.
“Mrs. Grant has decided to take me to my grandfather in Scotland” replied Robin.
“You have a grandfather in Scotland” asked Stacy. She looked surprised. “You never told anything about him”
“Well! Yes I do have a grandfather in Scotland. But I have never visited him before” said Robin. “Mrs. Grant feels I would be safe with him”.
“So when will you come back” asked Stacy.
“I am not sure. May be I may not return to Bristol” replied Robin
Stacy didn’t say a word. She felt like her heart was sinking. She left the house without uttering a word. Mrs. Grant was astonished to see Stacy leaving the house without even saying a goodbye to her.
The next morning Mrs. Grant took Robin out for some shopping. She brought him some of his favorite vampire stories. On their way back home Mrs. Grant told Robin that they would be leaving to Lismore to meet his grandfather and said that she felt he would be safe in Lismore from the killer. Robin looked at Mrs. Grant and smiled. After they reached home Mrs. Grant helped Robin pack up all his things and she called up detective Bruce to thank him for making all their travel arrangements to Lismore.
The very next day Mrs. Grant and Robin went to Bristol airport to catch the flight to Edinburg. Mrs. Grant was travelling in a flight for the first time. She didn’t know what to expect but tried to look very calm and relaxed. Robin was busy playing with his video game. Finally the time had arrived for them to board the flight. Mrs. Grant’s heart was pounding hard and she was trembling with fear as she walked up the steps to enter into the aircraft.
The air hostess gave safety tips and strict instructions regarding what needs to be done in case of emergency. The air hostess then announced the take off of the flight and asked all the passengers to fasten their seat belts. Robin helped Mrs. Grant with her seat belt and made her feel comfortable by kissing her on her cheeks. Mrs. Grant also ordered for some cotton from the air hostess which she plugged into her ears. The aircraft was about to take off.
Robin was seated near the window which he always loved. The aircraft slowly hit the run way and started gaining momentum and speed. Robin was looking outside the window and at times was also looking at Mrs. Grant to see her funny expressions. Mrs. Grant’s face turned pale and she was holding on to the arms of her seats as if she was about to drop off from the flight. She started humming a Robert Frost poem as the air craft was accelerating through the run way and suddenly the flight took off from the ground and raced towards the sky as if to touch the clouds.
“Could you please give me a bottle of water dear” asked Mrs. Grant to the air hostess feeling very much relieved that the flight has finally taken off. She gulped the water as if she was drinking water for the first time in her life. Robin looked out of the window and saw the beautiful clouds floating around. He also saw the buildings on the ground as tiny block like structures and the rivers like thin ribbons. Couple of times Mrs. Grant’s heart slipped to her mouth when the aircraft fell into air pockets.
“When will we reach Edinburg? How much more time will it take to reach Edinburg?” Robin kept on asking Mrs. Grant through out their flight journey, for which Mrs. Grant answered “In a very short time dear”.
Finally after an hour and a quarter minutes journey they reached Edinburg. Mrs. Grant felt the whole experience to be daunting. Now they had to catch a train to Oban. They took a taxi from Edinburg airport to Waverly railway station. After waiting for almost an hour, the train arrived at platform number 2 and Robin and Mrs. Grant got into the train. They carefully placed the luggages near their seats and made themselves comfortable.
The train slowly started moving from the station and Robin heard the sound of the wheels rattling over the iron rails. The train started gaining speed and the cool breeze was touching Robin’s face and his hairs were gliding and dancing around. Mrs. Grant was enjoying the spectacular views of wild mountains and rushing streams. She was falling in love with the scenic landscapes.
Robin saw traces of avalanches on the mountain sides. He was awe struck by the magnificent view of the fog covered mountains surrounding the rivers and the green pastures around it. They also saw ruins of huge and horrifying castles staring at them. Robin loved every bit of the train journey to Oban. They reached Oban travelling almost 4 hours.
They then took a ferry from Oban to the Isle of Lismore. The journey in the boat was even more spectacular. Lismore is a narrow island which is almost 10 miles long and not more than 1.5 miles broad. The Gaelic meaning of Lismore is “great garden” or “enclosure”. The island was surrounded by mountains and had very fertile valleys and coastal strips. As Mrs. Grant landed her feet on the shores of the island she realized why Mr. Richard Scott had chosen to spent his retired life in Lismore. It was indeed a paradise on earth.
“Do you know the way to my grandfather’s house Mrs. Grant” asked Robin.
“No dear” replied Mrs. Grant. ‘I guess we might have to check with the address we have at the local post office”.
Mrs. Grant found out the way to the post office by checking with the ferry driver. As they didn’t find any taxi, Robin and Mrs. Grant started walking towards the post office.
Finally upon reaching the post office Mrs. Grant took the post card, which had Mr. Richard’s address, from her bag and handed it over to the post master. The post master was a fat older guy in his mid 50s wearing specs. He held the card close to his eyes and then slowly looked at Mrs. Grant and with a terrible agony on his face said
“I am sorry madam. Mr. Richard Scott is been missing since 3 years now. He is a great friend of mine. The police have not been able to trace him nor were they able to make any headway”.
“Oh! Dear, what a tragedy” said Mrs. Grant. “What are we going to do now?”
“By the way I am Campbell Forbes” said the post master. “How do you know Mr. Richard? Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Well, this little boy is Mr. Richard Scott’s grandson and I am Mrs. Sandra Grant his nanny”.
“Oh! Good Lord. Is this my Alfred’s son. I remember Richard once mentioning to me about Robin” said Mr. Campbell. “How is my Alfred doing?”
Mrs. Grant didn’t know what to say. She asked Robin to wait for her outside the post office. Once she was sure that Robin couldn’t hear what she was going to discuss with Mr. Campbell, she told about the tragedy which had struck Mr. Richard’s family. Mr. Campbell burst out in tears after listening to the mishap which has occurred to his friend’s family.
“The police have sealed Mr. Richard’s house as part of their investigation. So you two can stay in my house as long as you want and I am sure little Robin would be safe here from the killer” said Mr. Campbell.
Mrs. Grant and Robin decided to stay with Mr. Campbell. He and his sweet little 9 year old grand daughter Isabella, who lost her mom at an early age of 2 due to pneumonia, were staying together in a small house near the parish church. Isabella was a beautiful girl with brown eyes and golden hair. She had an athletic body and was always fond of gardening. She had a very beautiful garden in front of her house.
Isabella was very glad to see Mrs. Grant and Robin and was happy to share her small room with them. Robin and Isabella soon became very good friends. Robin liked Mr. Campbell’s house very much. He had seen such houses only in his story books. The house was made of rocks and wood. It had a small chimney on the roof which always kept on puffing smoke into thin air. The house had a small window on the northern side which opened towards the church.
The next day both Isabella and Robin went to St. Moluogs Parish cathedral, where Robin’s grandmother was buried to pray for her soul. The church still had the remains of the original cathedral which was burnt down during the reformation. Robin saw the old choir and arches of the original monastery behind the present communion table. He also saw the old basins for washing communion vessels. Robin felt an aura around the cathedral. The church stood in silence with untold history of centuries on her shoulders.
Robin was having a great time with Isabella. They played around the island, ran behind butterflies, went around cycling, boating and riding ponies. Mrs. Grant started treating Isabella like her grandchild and loved her as much as Robin. Couple of times Mrs. Grant tried contacting Mr. Bruce but in vain. Robin slowly started coming out of the state of mind he was in Bristol after losing his parents. Robin told Isabella everything that had happened to him and his family and the reason why he had to move to Lismore. Isabella also came to know from Robin that he was very fond of castles, vampires and horror stories.
“I will take you near the Coeffin Castle tomorrow” said Isabella. “I am sure you would love it”.
Robin was thrilled to hear this. The next day Robin and Isabella played around and had lot of fun till they were exhausted to the core. They then returned home hungry and tired. Mrs. Grant had by then prepared a delicious lunch for the family. She had prepared Robin’s favorite chicken stew, baked bread and also mushroom salad. Robin was so hungry that he felt he could eat even a whole elephant for lunch. Isabella and Mr. Campbell enjoyed the lunch very much.
“Can I take Robin near to the Coeffin castle tomorrow?” asked Isabella to Mrs. Grant
“Well I am sure Robin would love that dear. But I would not advise you two going there alone. Probably I shall accompany you” replied Mrs. Grant.
“But we will be able to reach there only on our bicycles” said Isabella.
“That’s fine my dear. Even I know to ride a bicycle. I am sure Mr. Campbell would lend me his for a day” said Mrs. Grant.
Mr. Campbell was more than happy to give his cycle to Mrs. Grant who had made him such a wonderful lunch. The kids were really thrilled.
The next day Robin, Isabella and Mrs. Grant set off towards the North West coast of the island to the Coeffin castle on their bicycles. The kids were astonished to see Mrs. Grant riding the cycle with ease. After cycling for some time they reached near the castle.
“This castle was built in the 13th century on the site of a Viking fortress. The castle was named after the Viking prince Caefin and son of a Norse king who lived in that castle. The castle was said to be haunted by Caefin’s sister Beothail who died of agony and grief after her loved one was killed. She finally found peace only after she was buried near her love in Norway” said Isabella.
“How do you know all these?” asked Robin.
“Your grandfather Mr. Richard used to tell me stories of each and every place in this island” replied Isabella. “I miss him a lot. I loved his magic tricks. He was such a kind man” said Isabella wiping her tears.
The castle was engulfed by the darkness of the mountains surrounding the castle. They could hear the sound of night birds hooting from the woods near the castle. Most of the ruins of the outer wall of the castle was still present and on the right side of the wall there was a walk on which the guards would have stood to defend the castle. The entrance to the castle had a drawbridge which lay across a dry moat. The drawbridge had rusted chains attached to its outer end which could be pulled up or down.
They saw some crows flying around the castle and a black ugly looking cat walking into the castle.
“It does look scary my dear” said Mrs. Grant
Suddenly Robin saw something move behind the trees next to the castle. Even Mrs. Grant and Isabella heard someone moving on the dry leaves. Robin was a bit scared at first but he didn’t want to show that in front of Isabella.
Robin just waited to see what was behind the trees. Suddenly his face turned pale. It was him, the black jacket guy, the killer.
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