Page 42 of The High Island

Erling had managed to prevaricate up to now, but he couldn’t lie outright.

‘There was evidence of an accelerant.’ Even as he said the words, he could smell it again and his face must have betrayed his thoughts.

‘You mean someone set him alight?’ she said, her voice rising.

‘That would be one explanation,’ he said, while thinking that it wasn’t the only one. Self-immolation being another.

She curled up in the chair, her arms round her knees, her mouth muttering her horror at the image this must have conjured up. An image Erling was all too familiar with.

He decided to bring her back to the present.

‘As I explained, because of the injuries, facial identification isn’t possible. So we will need a sample of Kris’sDNA. We can retrieve this from various items such as his toothbrush, hairbrush, anything he’s used recently, worn or handled.’

‘Of course,’ she said, forcing herself to rise. ‘I’ll get them for you.’

As she disappeared into the bathroom, he heard a muffled sob and knew that the brief flame of hope had been extinguished by fear.

This, he recognized, would have been the moment his sergeant would have known exactly what to do and say. As it was, he found himself accepting the items she brought him and bagging them in silence. Followed by him informing her that he would be back in touch with any news as it came in.

‘When were you due to leave?’ he added quietly.

‘Our booking here is only for a week,’ she said. ‘If Kris isn’t back by then—’ She halted there.

‘I’ll keep in touch,’ Erling promised and left.

His mind consumed by what had just happened, he foundhimself departing Stromness without buying the anticipated fish supper and realized he would just have to produce a meal at home with whatever was left in the fridge.

He tried to console himself with the thought that there was always whisky to take the edge off his hunger and the memory of Rachael’s stricken face. Plus Rory would be back tomorrow, and would hopefully take charge in the kitchen. At this point, he suddenly remembered that they’d been looking forward to a long-awaited scuba dive together in Scapa Flow, because they both had the weekend off.

Something that would no longer happen, for him at least.

19

He rose in a red dawn, made coffee and put the last bannock in the toaster, trying not to recall his dreams of burning heads and heather.

He was buttering the bannock when a text arrived. Dreading what it might be about at this early hour, he checked the screen to find it was from Rory.

Should be with you by five. I’ll cook. R x

His initial pleasure at this message was swiftly replaced by regret that he hadn’t sent a warning that their weekend dive together was no longer possible. He decided that he would have to forewarn Rory now, but before he got the chance, another text arrived.

I know about the body at Lyrawa. And I need to talk to you about something which may or may not be linked. R x

Erling stared at this for a moment. News travelled fast here, so the first part of the message wasn’t surprising, in particular if Rory was no longer offshore, but on Flotta. It was the second part of the message that gave him pause for thought.

He answered, indicating how much Rory had been missed. Adding a hopefulSee you soonx.

A short shower later, he was dressed and ready to leave for work, where he planned to have a strategy meeting regarding the discovery of the body at Lyrawa Bay.

He also needed to call Dr Stewart, now retired and living on Rousay, about Ivor Mowat’s death, plus Eddie Balfour with respect to this morning’s reading of the will.

Then there was the box that Ivor had left at St Magnus House,now at the police station, whose contents might throw some light on what Ivor had been thinking prior to his sudden death.

The morning was blustery, with swiftly moving clouds crossing a blue sky. Crowning the hill at Scorradale, the view of a rough-topped Scapa Flow and the outline of Hoy was crystal clear.

Joining the main road, he noted the Hoy ferry leaving Houton, and recalled last night’s decision to check on Magnus and the Mowat family tree. Yet another thing to add to today’s list.

His first port of call was the Balfour mortuary, where he handed over the evidence bags containing the items Rachael had given him and where Hannah confirmed that the chopper was due to arrive in the early afternoon to transport both the remains and evidence to the city mortuary in Glasgow.