‘Christ.’

He winces. ‘It was a mess, Maggie. And we did what guilty people do. We made it worse. We made us worse. We became paranoid. We made up lies for questions no one had asked. We decided that those of us Robert had probably accused needed an alibi. Just in case. Day after the storm, we tried to get out to Stornoway to take the photos while Isla reported Robert and Lorne missing, but the roads were flooded, impassable. We had to wait until Monday. The phone lines were down, they nearly always went down in big storms – so no one ever questioned why we didn’t contact the police until then.

‘Jimmy dumped Lorne’s dinghy in the sea north of the sound, and we made up a story for what happened that night. We’re a community, a family. There can be no secrets among us. That’s what caused this mess in the first place.’ He sighs. ‘When Jaz decided not to leave the island, we had to tell him the truth too. He agreed to give a false witness statement that he’d seen Robert going into the sea alone. Kenny agreed to say the same, but …’ Charlie glances away. ‘He walked out to the bothy on West Point less than a week after we spoke to the police. And that’s where he stayed.’

‘So it all worked out,’ I say.

The look Charlie gives me is half-stony, half-anguished. ‘When Robert changed his mind, we were all glad, Maggie. All except Alec. We’d thought we were doing what was right. What Robert wanted.’ His hands draw into fists. ‘And we did everything – everything – we could to bring him back.’

‘Who’s been following me? Creeping around? Watching me from the dark?’

‘Alec.’ Charlie’s expression becomes even more pained. ‘As soon as we realised what he was doing, we convinced him to go back to the rigs early. As much for his sake as yours. You have to understand, it’s himself he hates the most. Always has been.’

When I give him a disbelieving look, he heaves another sigh.

‘He and Thom Stewart were always thick as thieves. And Thom had taken it into his head to become a farmer. He’d planned to rent the blackhouse and Ardcraig land from Euan long before Robert beat him to it, though I don’t think Robert ever knew. Thom wanted him out from the start. He and Alec put rock salt and glyphosate in the soil of Robert’s fodder crops. They blackmailed Bruce over money he owed them in a poker game; forced him to recommend the wrong feed, give Robert bad advice. They even wanted him to screw up the tupping and lambing until Bruce found the money to get them off his back.’ He looks at me. ‘I didn’t know. None of us knew. Not until Alec drank himself into a stupor about a week after Robert had died. Then it all came out. Lorne and Sheena were at the Campbells for a sleepover the night he died, but Alec blames only himself for Lorne’s death.’ Charlie’s expression hardens. ‘And can’t say as I disagree with him.’