Page 95 of The High Island

Her expression on entry was unreadable. It was the first time he’d encountered this and it perturbed him. He knew his sergeant as open and approachable. This was a different version of Jo.

When he opened with a question regarding her work with Mackie on the diary, she appeared to relax a little and, responding, explained that the first entry had featured Stella’s arrival at the Mowat croft, and Ivor’s remark that she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

‘So Mackie was right about that,’ Erling said. ‘Stella was Ivor’s first love. Anything else on her?’ he added.

‘A little about Ivor’s jealousy when his older brother Billy asked Stella to dance at the village hall,’ she told him. ‘I went to make tea then and, when I got back, Mackie had skipped to the final entry.’

Her tone darkening, she told him what Ivor had written regarding Kris and his mother, Betty.

‘Ivor believed his third son, Harald, was Kris’s father? Did he mention how he knew this?’

‘If so, we haven’t found it yet,’ Jo said.

‘So incest could be at the heart of what the family feud is all about?’

‘I think from what we managed to decipher, it plays a part.’ Jo thought for a moment. ‘But I also feel that what happened to Stella and her baby is part of the story too. We just don’t know how as yet.’ She continued. ‘Also, in the journal Ivor mentions that he warned Kris that he might have to lie low here in Orkney until Ivor sorted things out with the family.’

‘Only Kris arrived to discover that his great-grandfather had died and no one had informed him,’ Erling said thoughtfully. ‘His appearance at the funeral didn’t go down well with Ivor’s sons. And we know he’d anticipated that, because he wouldn’t let Rachael attend with him.’ He halted there, meeting Jo’s eye. ‘After which, he may have taken Ivor’s advice and gone to ground. Leaving that note for Rachael?’

Erling thought back to Rachael’s sudden appearance at the solicitor’s office. How brave she had been to stand up to the Mowat men.

‘Might Kris have come back for Rachael after the will was read, realizing she too was now in danger?’ Jo suggested.

It was definitely a possibility. One Erling found himself wishing for. ‘And the body on the beach?’ he said.

‘Ethan thinks that’s linked to the dive boat anchoring off Cava,’ Jo told him. ‘If they are drug runners and someone crossed them,’ she added.

Which were his thoughts exactly. ‘We should receive theDNAresults on the body tomorrow,’ he said. ‘Then we’ll know for certain.’

He paused there for a moment.

‘And now we have another body,’ he began. ‘However, this one has already been identified. I’ve just been with Hugh Mowat at the Balfour,’ he said quietly. ‘The body taken from the harbour in the early hours of this morning byDSGowan and Leo Strachan has now been confirmed as that of Eilidh Mowat, Hugh Mowat’s sixteen-year-old granddaughter.’

Jo’s hand flew to her mouth in both surprise and horror. ‘His granddaughter,’ she repeated in disbelief. ‘How?’

‘An elderly American visitor staying at the Kirkwall Hotel spotted a distressed and seemingly disorientated young woman exiting Bridge Street and making for the harbour. When she disappeared through the gate and down the walkway, he called 999.DSGowan and Leo Strachan were first on the scene and got her out of the water. The ambulance arrived, but the paramedics couldn’t revive her.’

‘Did she go into the water on purpose?’

‘It’s not clear what happened.APTHannah Weir at the Balfour identified what she believed was an injection site in Eilidh’s left arm. The post-mortem should provide us with answers.’

‘Leo did say he thought that stronger drugs were getting into Kirkwall,’ Jo said.

‘Exactly,’ Erling confirmed. ‘Leo also told me he remembers seeing the girl outside the club earlier that night, with a male he didn’t recognize, who was holding her by the arm. He was called away at that point to tend to a female who’d fallen. When he got back, the girl and guy were gone. All of which I intend sharing with the whole team shortly.’

He halted there briefly, then broached the subject he’d avoided until now. ‘Before we go upstairs, I need to ask you aboutDSGowan,’ he said.

‘And why I lied to you, sir, when I professed not to know him?’ Jo said.

Erling nodded. ‘Yes.’

‘Then I’ll tell you.’

All faces turned towards them as Erling opened the door. He did not seek outDSAngus Gowan, but instinct told him the detective’sfocus would be on the two of them as they entered the meeting room together. Gowan, he surmised, would be questioning whetherDSGreen had revealed their history together to her commanding officer.

One thing Erling was certain of, Gowan’s story would not match Jo’s. And he was pretty sure which version of the tale he would accept as the truth.

But that was for another time.