Page 108 of The High Island

Erling wondered again how Auld Mackie, together with Jo, had managed to decipher any of the notebook’s contents.

Noting their arrival, Gowan stood to greet them. ‘DIFlett,DSGreen,’ he said formally.

‘How’s the translation going?’ Erling asked.

‘Slow,’ he said. ‘It’s like trying to interpret hieroglyphics. Your translations of the other pages have been a help,though,’ he added with a glance at Jo.

‘Can I take a look?’ Jo said.

‘Be my guest.’ He rose to let Jo have his seat. ‘My interpretation of the text is in this Word document.’ He brought it to the fore for her to read.

Erling had already noted that Jo hadn’t metDSGowan’s direct look. But it was as Gowan leaned over to bring up the document on the screen that her discomfort at his close proximity became obvious.

Moving behind the chair, Erling placed himself between them.

Jo seemed to relax a little at that and now focused first on the original script before moving to the enlarged version on the screen and finally to Gowan’s Word version, occasionally amending this to what she believed it should say.

‘It’s mostly about Kris,’ she finally said. ‘Ivor’s excitement that he was coming to visit. His concerns about what would happen when he did. And Betty. How sorry he was that she had to leave the High Island. That he now knows who made her pregnant and intends to right that wrong.’

‘The High Island is Hoy,’ Erling told Gowan. ‘Not the Highlands of Scotland, as you interpreted it.’

‘Anything there that explains why Mackie wanted to speak to you?’ Erling asked Jo.

‘Not so far, but there are another couple of pages to go.’

At this moment they heard a text ping in and Jo reached for her phone.

‘It’s from Ethan. He says I should come to the hospital.’

‘Then go,’ Erling said. ‘If Mackie comes round, he could have the answers we seek.’

53

As the distance between herself and Gus Gowan grew, Jo took a deep breath and murmured the mantra she’d used so often in the past and thought she would never have need of again. ‘He has no power over me any more.’

Once in the vehicle, she allowed herself a silent scream, then put her hands on the wheel to stop them shaking.

She’d feared that moment for so long and it had finally happened.

She’d faced her abuser, sat down while aware of his body right behind her. Yet she had managed to do her job.

That was a small victory at least.

But what ifDIFlett had not been there? What if she had found herself alone with him?

It was a question she couldn’t answer.

Starting the engine, she drew out of the station car park, determined to acknowledge that she had faced her demon and survived.

Thoughts of Auld Mackie now moved in to replace those of the last half-hour. Ethan had told her to come to the hospital, but he hadn’t made clear in his text as to why. Had Mackie come roundand could now speak to her about what had happened? Or was he failing? Maybe Ethan’s message was only a reminder that she’d said she would come as soon as she could?

Entering reception, she showed her badge and was directed to Mackie’s room, where she found Ethan seated next to the bed.

‘How is he?’ she said as he rose to greet her.

‘Sorry if I dragged you away from something important, but I thought you should be here in case he surfaces again. He came to briefly, muttered something, then stopped when he saw me. He obviously didn’t know me and I thought if you’d been here . . .’ He tailed off.

‘You were right to contact me. I’ll sit with him a while if you have to get back to work?’