Page 43 of The High Island

‘How long is Kris Mowat’s girlfriend here for?’ Hannah asked.

‘She’s only at the Stromness Hotel until Tuesday,’ Erling told her.

‘We may not have theDNAresults back by then,’ Hannah warned.

‘I know. If she wants to wait here until we know for certain whether it is Kris, we’ll help her with somewhere else to stay.’

‘Well, let’s hope Kris turns up at the will reading this morning,’ Hannah offered.

The possibility of that sounded like a miracle to Erling, and judging by Hannah’s expression, she was thinking the same way.

He now made for the police station, where the car park was relatively empty, indicating that the day shift was yet to officially begin. FindingPCTulloch on the front desk, he asked how the night had gone.

‘Quiet, sir, although now that we’re heading into the weekend . . .’ he said, with a concerned look.

‘Have I forgotten an event, Constable?’ Erling said.

‘No event, sir, just the usual Friday-night clubbers in Kirkwall.’ When Erling nodded, Tulloch added, ‘DSGreen’s here already, sir.’

So Jo had beat him to it. He wondered if his sergeant had managed any sleep at all, after yesterday’s developments.

He found Jo at the coffee machine, looking surprisingly bright.

‘You’re in early,’ he said, joining her there.

‘Thought we would have a lot to talk about,’ she said.

‘We do,’ Erling confirmed, pouring himself a coffee. ‘Let’s take these to my office.’

He began with what he knew Jo would be most concerned about. His meeting with Rachael.

She listened intently as he described what he’d learned from viewing the remains at the mortuary. Then he explained what he’d told Rachael and why.

‘She was getting hopeful it wasn’t Kris?’ Jo said.

‘A little too hopeful,’ he told her. ‘So I didn’t mention the remains of the leather bracelet.’

Jo nodded. ‘I thought the ring on the index finger was more significant and it definitely wasn’t there?’ she checked.

‘It wasn’t, according to Hannah,’ he confirmed. ‘So we’ll have to wait for theDNAresults. Unless, of course, Kris turns up for the reading at eleven o’clock.’

‘If Kris is alive, he would surely have contacted Rachael by now rather than leave her worrying like this?’ Jo said.

‘We only have Rachael’s word on Kris’s character and why he might have chosen to go into hiding,’ Erling offered. ‘Maybe he decided to leave Orkney altogether after she told him she was considering aborting his child.’

‘But his last sighting was on Hoy,’ Jo countered. ‘Although it was only the female in the group who said she’d seen him.’

‘And we have no further sightings after that,’ Erling agreed. ‘Which brings us back to the body on the beach, which may in fact turn out to be Kris. Even if it isn’t, we still have a case of either murder or suicide by fire to deal with. So can you make sure everyone heads up to the meeting room as soon as they arrive this morning?’

When Jo indicated she would, he added, ‘I need to make a couple of calls, then I’ll join you. Start things off by showing the team the photos and video Willie sent us. They need to see what we’re dealing with.’

‘And the will reading at eleven?’ Jo asked.

‘That’s the first call I plan to make,’ Erling told her.

He waited until his sergeant had left, then considered what he wanted to say to Eddie, who would already be aware of the discovery of a body at Lyrawa. Also, as a lawyer, Eddie could be trusted with information regarding the state of the body and the difficulties that had produced for identification.

Eddie answered his call almost immediately. ‘Erling. Please tell me the body on the beach isn’t Kris Mowat?’