There was a short silence. “He’s on the island now too?”

“No, we don’t think so,” said Atkinson. “It would have been tight for him to catch the ferry, and Ruby wasn’t aware of him on the boat during the crossing.”

“We need to get an officer to the island as quickly as possible. Can you fly from Glasgow?”

“Me?” asked Joanna

“One of you. The other one needs to go to the port in case he’s waiting for the next crossing.”

“So I’m back on the case?” said Jo.

“For the moment. You said you’d spoken to Ruby?”

“Yes, but she hung up on me. I put my foot in it, slightly.”

Harper could almost hear the sound of Thrupp hitting his forehead with a palm in frustration. “Jo. If you weren’t the only copper available for this I would …”

During the pause, Harper and Atkinson exchanged a glance.

“Fine,” said Thrupp. “I mean, it’s not fine, but I don’t have much choice in the matter, do I? Jo, get the plane. Steve, go to the ferry port, intercept him if you can, arrest him. I’ll send backup, but it might take a while. Keep me updated.”

The call ended. They drove in silence for a few minutes.

“What do you think that man’s planning to do to them? To Ruby and Leonie, I mean.”

“The guy’s a psychopath,” said Jo. “Who knows what he’s thinking? One thing in our favor, though: he’s got quite a severe head injury to contend with, and Sam said he managed to land a few blows before he was overpowered. Hopefully that will slow him down enough for us to catch him.”

“Yeah,” said Atkinson, though to Jo he sounded far from certain.

CHAPTER

50

NOW

The Injured Man

Friday, December 28

DORA IS KNEELING on his chest, holding his eyelids shut. Get off me, you little shit, he tries to say, but his mouth seems full of cotton wool, his tongue too thick to move properly.

I won’t let you do it, says Dora. You’ve done enough now. Just leave them alone, won’t you?

It’s a dream. He knows it’s a dream, yet he can’t shake it off. He can’t shake her off; he bucks his body, but she clings to him like a goblin. You’re dead, he tries to say. You can’t stop me doing anything.

Dora lets go of one of the man’s eyelids and reaches behind her. When she brings her hand around, she’s holding a penknife that he recognizes. It’s the one he used, to take off her finger, just before he … just before she fell, so tragically.