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Back Dead Water Save as PDF
Chapters (47)
  1. Chapter One
  2. Chapter Two
  3. Chapter Three
  4. Chapter Four
  5. Chapter Five
  6. Chapter Six
  7. Chapter Seven
  8. Chapter Eight
  9. Chapter Nine
  10. Chapter Ten
  11. Chapter Eleven
  12. Chapter Twelve
  13. Chapter Thirteen
  14. Chapter Fourteen
  15. Chapter Fifteen
  16. Chapter Sixteen
  17. Chapter Seventeen
  18. Chapter Eighteen
  19. Chapter Nineteen
  20. Chapter Twenty
  21. Chapter Twenty-One
  22. Chapter Twenty-Two
  23. Chapter Twenty-Three
  24. Chapter Twenty-Four
  25. Chapter Twenty-Five
  26. Chapter Twenty-Six
  27. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  28. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  29. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  30. Chapter Thirty
  31. Chapter Thirty-One
  32. Chapter Thirty-Two
  33. Chapter Thirty-Three
  34. Chapter Thirty-Four
  35. Chapter Thirty-Five
  36. Chapter Thirty-Six
  37. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  38. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  39. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  40. Chapter Forty
  41. Chapter Forty-One
  42. Chapter Forty-Two
  43. Chapter Forty-Three
  44. Chapter Forty-Four
  45. Chapter Forty-Five
  46. Chapter Forty-Six
  47. Chapter Forty-Seven

They sat for a moment in silence. She was rigid, her hands flat on the desk in front of her. Sandy didn’t know what to say or do. I’m crap at this job. Jimmy would have persuaded her to talk. ‘Morag’s been in touch with your parents,’ he said at last. ‘They’re on their way. They’ll come here for you. I’ll wait with you until they get here.’

‘No!’ The response immediate and bitter. ‘I want to be on my own, Sandy. I want you to go.’

He saw that it was taking all her effort to hold herself together, that she couldn’t bear to cry in front of him. John Henderson had been the only man with whom she’d shared her emotions. He thought she’d be silent and buttoned up for the rest of her life.

When he reached Hvidahus, Willow asked him about Evie and then sent him with Perez to the White House. ‘You’ve met the couple, Sandy. They might be more comfortable talking to you.’ But she directed her instructions to Perez. ‘Find out what they made of Henderson. If he supported the tidal-energy scheme, they might have considered him an enemy. It would be useful to get an unbiased view. And they might have seen someone at his house this morning.’

Sandy and Perez walked down the track to the White House. Sandy would have liked to talk to Perez about Evie, about how she’d refused to cry, but then he thought that might be the most tactless thing in the world. He knocked at the door and, when there was no reply, pushed it open and walked inside. Perez followed. They stood in the wide hall that Sandy remembered, with its smell of furniture polish, a jug of daffodils on a polished chest. Beyond, in the kitchen, there were raised voices. Mark and Sue Walsh were arguing.

‘Why can’t you let it go?’ the woman said. ‘We have to live here. I want to fit in and make friends.’

‘It’s a matter of principle.’ Walsh’s voice was stubborn. ‘You’ve read Francis Watt’s column. There are Shetlanders who feel just as we do.’

Sandy felt awkward standing there, listening. ‘Hello!’ he shouted. ‘Can we come through?’ As soon as he’d spoken he realized it had been a mistake. He should have waited patiently to hear the row through to the end. That was what Perez would have done. He glanced apologetically over his shoulder and Perez shrugged an acknowledgement.

The couple hurried through then, all smiles and apologies for not having heard the door. ‘Come in, Sergeant. How can we help you?’ And the kettle was put on for tea.