Page 117 of The High Island

‘He says theAngelwill be ready at first light,’ Jo told him.

Ivan was studying her.

‘What?’ she said.

‘Ethan Howie. What do you know about him?’ Ivan asked quietly.

‘That he can manage a boat and he’s pretty good in an emergency,’ she offered. ‘Plus the boss thinks he’s trustworthy.’

Ivan gave a nod. ‘Both of you are right.’ He hesitated briefly, before adding, ‘Ethan lost his partner a few years back. She was swimming, got caught in a current. Took him a long time to come to terms with that.’

Jo, momentarily stunned by this sudden announcement, found herself unable to respond, so remained silent.

‘Right. I’m off to bed,’ Ivan declared. ‘See you at first light, Sergeant.’

In fact, the call to rise came much earlier than that.

Jo had found it difficult to fall asleep, thinking of what Ivan had said about Ethan’s partner drowning. When she’d eventually slept, she’d been tortured once again by dreams of Ethan disappearing below the waves as he struggled to hold on to theAngel.

The insistent ringing of her mobile finally rose above the imagined breaking waves and she reached out to answer it.

‘DSGreen? It’s Tom Maine here. The man with the telescope,’ he added for clarification. ‘I spoke toPCTulloch about the boat off Cava?’

Pulling herself into a sitting position, Jo said, ‘Of course, Mr Maine. Is there something wrong?’

‘There’s a beacon been lit to the very south of Cava. I thought you should know.’

‘Thank you, Mr Maine. We’ll check on that.’

Scrambling out of bed, Jo went to the window, but could see no obvious light apart from the moonlight on the water.

Still, Mr Maine’s telescope had a far bigger range than hereyesight, however good it was. Instinct told her to act on his sighting, so she called Ivan, who told her to call Ethan, which she did.

‘Mr Maine thought it might be a signal fire,’ she said.

‘He’s got the range to spot that,’ Ethan told her. ‘I’ll meet you and Ivan at theAngel. Soon as you can get there.’

The wind had risen since the earlier crossing, Jo thought, as they drove down to the jetty. The swell too, Scapa now resembling a prizefight between tide and wind, its surface foaming white and choppy.

Glancing at Ivan, she noted his obvious concern.

‘We’ll be lucky to get out there,’ he said. ‘Not sure even the police launch would tackle that.’

‘But if it is a distress call?’ Jo said.

‘The lifeboat is already on a call-out,’ Ethan told them on approach. ‘Down by St Margaret’s Hope.’ Reading their expressions, he added, ‘TheAngelwill make it to Cava okay. But if you don’t feel safe, I can go alone.’

‘We’re coming with you,’ Jo said, after a quick glance at Ivan’s determined expression.

‘Right,’ Ethan said, handing them life jackets. ‘Let’s go check this out.’

Erling woke to semi-darkness and the drilling of his mobile. Seeing Jo’s name on the screen, he swiftly answered. Her voice was faint, the signal obviously weak wherever she was.

‘What’s happening, Sergeant?’ he said, trepidation in his tone.

‘We’ve just left Lyness, sir, on theAngel. Tom Maine spotted what appears to be a beacon fire lit at the south end of Cava. We’re going to check it out in case it’s a distress signal.’

‘What about the lifeboat?’