“Elise wouldn’t leave him at the Hermitage. Anyone could have noticed her,” Nigel said.

“And if Gilmont found out, he would snatch my son and use him for leverage. That’s not a move Elise would trifle with, not at Sammy’s expense,” Harry added.

“Precisely. As no one’s called about Sammy, it’s a good bet he’s still with Agent Taylor,” Nigel agreed.

The hope of finding his son before they retracted Elise died inside him. With a child to care for, Elise’s focus on evading Gilmont would place her and Sammy in greater jeopardy.

“She must have left the car at the Hermitage to mislead Gilmont,” Harry muttered.

Elise operated several levels deep. That 4x4 was a statement, a bread crumb as to her whereabouts—and also a misdirection.

“Personally, if I were Elise, I’d hightail it to the backcountry, somewhere isolated that would make tracking difficult—someplace without roads.” Which was most likely what she had done, Harry mused.

“Hmm.” Papers shuffled on Nigel’s end.

Harry pulled up a terrain map of the various locations of the Tay Forest Park on his satnav. Elise was somewhere in one of those six parks, wild camping no doubt. He was sure of it. The question was which one.

“Wait.” Harry rubbed his chin. “Elise once told me that she breezed through her SIS survival training because she had volunteered with the forestry commission during her gap year. It had something to do with making use of caves along a ridge during inclement weather. Doesn’t it stand to reason that she’d head for an area with some sort of integral shelter?”

“I think you’re correct, Benson,” Nigel agreed.

Harry enlarged the topographical map on his mobile, his eyes scanning the terrain. Locating a high elevation surrounded by forest, he switched to Google Earth. Sure enough, the site was miles from any road or track. Lochs, lochans, and rivers riddled the terrain. Somewhere along that ridge were undoubtedly caves or crevices where Elise and Sammy could shelter from volatile weather.

Had Elise begged a ride off someone to achieve her goal? She couldn’t have reached that ridge without help, not with an eight-year-old boy in tow.

“I think I know where she is,” Harry said as he fired up his engine and pulled back onto the road.

“Coordinates?” Nigel demanded.

Harry glanced at the satnav and rattled off the latitude and longitude.

“When you send Sharidon, have him bring an extra pair of NVGs. The forest will be dark, even during daylight hours.”

“I’ll do you one better. How about a pair of thermal goggles?”

“Brilliant. I’m heading up there now.”

“ETA?”

“One hour. I won’t be able to find them in the dark. The place is too vast. I intend to start at first light, Sharidon or no Sharidon.” Harry rang off.