Page 86 of The High Island

‘DSGreen took samples of the food wrappings,’ he said. ‘But was careful not to alert anyone to the fact we’d been there.’

Erling gave a nod to that, wondering whether Kris Mowat might have been the one hiding out there.

‘I then went to look for a signal,’ Jo said, ‘but was unsuccessful. The boat arrived shortly after I got back. We both took photographs, but after the soaking we got trying to recapture theAngel, I don’t know if they’ll be retrievable from our mobiles.’

She continued. ‘There were one or more divers off the boat, using underwater torches. We couldn’t see clearly and were concernedthey might note our presence, but we think they were depositing something there, or maybe collecting it.’ She turned to Ethan, giving him a chance to contribute again.

‘When they eventually left, that’s when I realized theAngelhad been cut loose, which meant they’d spotted someone was on the island,’ he said. ‘I knew if they hadn’t holed her, she might come in on the tide further up the coast, where you found us.’

‘You didn’t communicate with anyone but me while you were on Cava?’ Erling checked with Jo.

‘No, only you,’ she confirmed.

‘Assuming our visitors didn’t know a police officer was on the island, they probably decided you were wild campers.’

‘That was our thought too, although we’re unsure why they freed theAngelfrom her moorings,’ Jo said.

Erling looked to Ethan. ‘Might they have recognized your boat?’

‘I considered that as a possibility,’ Ethan said. ‘But even if they did recognize theAngel, I think they more than likely freed her out of spite. If they’d wanted to threaten or harm us, they could have easily come ashore and done just that.’

These were Erling’s thoughts exactly.

‘So what happens now?’ Ethan said, looking straight at Erling.

‘You leave that to the police to decide, but thank you for looking afterDSGreen and for alerting us to the mystery boat.’ Noting aflicker of concern cross Ethan’s face, he added, ‘Are you due at work tomorrow?’

‘I am,’ Ethan said. ‘Assuming theAngel’s okay, I’ll make for Lyness first thing.’

‘And if anyone asks about your trip?’ Erling said.

‘I was night fishing. Nothing unusual in that.’

Magnus intercepted at this point. ‘If there’s an issue with theAngeltomorrow, I’ll tow you back to Lyness.’

‘Thanks.’ Ethan threw him a grateful look.

Erling came back in then. ‘Ivan’s made Maggie Clouston aware thatDSGreen was required back here on Mainland. I’ll confirm this when I head over to Hoy tomorrow.’ Then, taking note of the tired expressions, he indicated hewas heading for home and bed. ‘For what’s left of the night.’

Turning to Jo, he told her he would pick her up in the morning and drop her at Auld Mackie’s place. ‘I hope you both sleep well.’ And with that, he headed for the door, Magnus following.

Once outside, he thanked Magnus, adding, ‘I’m keen that this story stays between us. I’ll arrange for a diver to take a look at the Cava site. See if there’s any evidence of what they might have been up to there.’

Magnus nodded. ‘And when you get a moment, I think I may have found Stella for you,’ he said quietly.

Erling smiled his thanks. ‘When things die down, I definitely want to hear about that.’

Reaching Langwell, he realized he’d left the kitchen light on when he’d made his swift exit, although the rest of the house remained in darkness.

Trying to be as quiet as possible, he undressed in the sitting room, then padded through to the bedroom. Slipping into bed andexpecting Rory’s warmth to envelop him, he was surprised to find the sheets cold.

No Rory. So where was he? Rising again, he went to check in the spare room, but both bunks were empty.

Looking out of the back window, he only now registered that Rory’s vehicle wasn’t there. Something he’d missed on arriving at Langwell, dazed as he’d been by tiredness. Feeling for his mobile, he noted there hadn’t been a message alerting him as to why Rory wasn’t there. Had he been called back to Flotta? Or maybe an early helicopter ride to a rig?

It seemed Rory had departed without any explanation. Much as he had done himself earlier.

He was a police officer. He’d warned Rory of that when they’d first got together.