Page 52 of The High Island

Setting these thoughts aside for the moment, Erling brought up Colin’s number on his mobile.

‘Erling,’ Colin answered promptly. ‘I was just about to call you.’

‘You’ve heard back from Glasgow about Stella?’ Erling immediately asked.

‘I have. It seems our mother and child have now been examined by the resident forensic pathologist, together with osteologist Dr Ruth Styles, who, if you remember, helped us with the body uncovered by Dr MacLeod and myself during the Skaill Bay murder enquiry?’

Erling had no difficulty recalling the last major investigation in Orkney, when Colin, together with Dr Rhona MacLeod, a forensic expert in buried and hidden bodies, had uncovered a not so ancient set of remains buried in the sand at Skaill Bay, not far from the famous Neolithic village of Skara Brae.

When Erling confirmed this, Colin said, ‘Dr Styles has sent us an image of what Stella and her child would have looked like when alive, which I’ll forward to you.’

‘Anything about how she and the child died?’

There was a moment’s uneasy silence before Colin responded.‘The post-mortem report states they found a fracture in the mother’s hyoid bone.’

‘Caused by strangulation?’ Erling immediately said, his voice as sombre as his thoughts.

‘Perhaps. Or she may have hanged herself.’ Colin’s tone betrayed his distress.

‘And the child?’ Erling mustered himself to ask.

‘Best guess, suffocation. Either before burial or as a result of it.’

The silence between them grew at the horror of both possibilities.

‘And how long ago did this happen?’ Erling eventually said.

‘Around the time we surmised. Eighty years or so ago.’ He paused momentarily. ‘Did Hugh agree to aDNAcheck to see if the child was a Mowat?’

‘He said if we managed to identify the mother, he would gladly do so,’ Erling told him.

‘What about him offering aDNAsample to check if Kris is a member of the clan?’ Colin asked drily. ‘That would be the swiftest way to establish Kris’s identity and maybe take him out of the running for the family fortune.’

‘I take it you’ve heard about this morning’s event, then?’ Erling said.

‘I heard about Rachael turning up,PCRendall blowing his whistle and the fact that Hugh will be disputing the will on the premise that his father was doolally when he wrote it. Plus he doesn’t believe Kris is a Mowat.’

‘News travels fast here,’ Erling offered.

‘You bet it does,’ Colin agreed. ‘Okay. I’ll send you through the forensic report on Stella. And, of course, the images.’

When Erling thanked him, Colin added, ‘I know you must be run ragged at the moment, but if you can take a break, I’d love to cook dinner for you at the Ivy House. Rory included.’

Thanking him, Erling rang off and immediately checked the time.

Rory had indicated he hoped to be at Langwell by five. He’d also said he planned to cook, meaning he wasn’t expecting Erling to appear much before seven. Which, if all went well, was a distinct possibility.

Erling smiled inwardly at that thought.

Checking his incoming mail, he found the two attachments from Colin. Leaving the forensic report for the moment, he opened theAI-generated images of the mother and baby.

The first reconstruction was a reflection of what they’d discovered inside the wooden coffin. A mother looking lovingly down at her small son, cradled in her left arm.

TheDNAreading from her remains had provided them both with blue eyes and light-coloured hair. The baby’s short and curly. The woman’s fashioned in a style typical of the war years.

A series of individual images followed, showing Stella and son from all angles. Then a short video in which each came alive, their eyes blinking. A baby’s cooing look, a mother’s answering smile.

He imagined showing Stella’s image to Auld Mackie. Had he ever seen Stella in the flesh? Or had he only known about her through Ivor’s description?