Page 56 of The High Island

Erling was inclined to agree with him. ‘Thank you for your help,’ he said.

‘Aye. Nae bother, Inspector. And good luck to you. I wouldn’t have your job for all the tea in China.’

Back in his car, Erling sent a message to Magnus stating that although Auld Mackie hadn’t been able to identify Stella from the generated images, he’d recalled that she was a Geordie. After which, he turned the car and headed for home.

25

Earlier, Jo had watched from the window as her boss had crossed the car park to his vehicle.

She had been unnerved by his announcement that he planned to putDSGowan out on the streets of Kirkwall on Saturday night. She’d tried so hard to puthimout of her mind and out of her presence by escaping to Hoy, but she realized that wasn’t possible now.

Worse than that, she’d lied to her boss. Right to his face. And she suspected he knew it. Good detectives could smell a lie. Twice now, she’d said she’d never metDSGus Gowan. Once to Ivan Tulloch and now the boss. As forPCTulloch, she’d modified her tale slightly by suggesting she might have heardDSGowan’s name.

One lie always led to another. As a detective herself, she should have remembered that.

As forDSGowan,hewould no doubt make it plain that he knewDSGreen. In fact, he knew her very well.

How is Jo? Oh, she’s on Hoy at the moment? That’s a shame. It would have been lovely to see her again.

God, that voice in her head was back. His voice in her head again, after she’d finally managed to get rid of it.

To take her mind off him, she decided to look at the images of Stella before she left, despite her trepidation at what she might see.

As the first picture appeared, she recalled how traumatized she’d been looking into the open grave and seeing the body of a mother seemingly gazing down at her child. Then, the image had been as gruesome as the state of the remains. Now, it had been transformed into something sad, but beautiful. Stella, if it was her, was real, her blue eyes staring lovingly at her blue-eyed baby.

Jo felt her throat close and tears spark her eyes.

Shaking them away, she moved through the other images and finally on to the short video. It was a moving picture of a mother’s love for her child.

Would a killer have arranged them like that in the coffin? It seemed improbable and yet, in her first case here in Orkney, a killer had arranged their victim with loving care in a stone cist in Skaill Bay.

Erling had said the mother’s hyoid bone had been fractured, which may have happened by strangulation or by hanging. Betty Corrigall, pregnant and deserted by her lover, had hanged herself. Stella may have brought the baby back to Hoy to meet its father, only to discover that he wanted neither her nor his son.

Something Gus hadn’t been guilty of, a small voice reminded her.

At this point her thoughts moved to Rachael and she checked her mobile to see if her earlier call had been responded to. It hadn’t, which caused a niggling worry.

It struck her that the Rachael who had faced up to the Mowats that very morning was unlikely to have ignored her concerned message. So she tried again.

This time was different. This time she heard words thatimmediately worried her. ‘We’re sorry, you have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service.’

Jo stared at the phone, a jumble of troubling thoughts filling her head.

Why would Rachael disconnect her phone? Had she been fearful of one of the Mowats trying to contact her after what had happened this morning?

But Erling had given the impression that, when he talked to Rachael afterwards, she’d been feeling positive and thinking, rather than just hoping, that Kris was alive and well and merely hiding from the Mowat family.

Outside the station now, she made a decision. She would head for Stromness and check on Rachael, just to be sure. She’d alsoexplain about going to Hoy tomorrow, but that Rachael could still call her if she needed someone to talk to while they were waiting for theDNAtests to come back.

She headed to Stromness, wondering as she drove if she should let Erling know about the disconnected phone, eventually deciding only to call him if absolutely necessary.

She was aware that Rory, his partner, was due back for the weekend from Flotta, and this evening might be the only chance Erling would have to spend some time with him. Besides, he was probably with Auld Mackie at this very moment.

She muttered her hope that the old man would recognize Stella from the images Erling planned to show him. Which might help them on their way to uncovering the mystery of the mother and child the red digger had unearthed that fateful day on Hoy.

At this time of the evening it was easy to find a parking place close to the hotel. Heading up the steps to the entrance, she held on to the hope that Rachael was here and would agree to see her.

The receptionist recognized her straight away. ‘DSGreen, are you looking for Ms Everett?’