Studying the images at closer quarters, Rhona was inclined to agree with Erling’s conclusion that the body hadn’t been long in the sea. Cold water slowed decomposition and the water round Orkney was cold enough to do that.

Daylight would begin early tomorrow, so the sooner she could arrive to view the scene in reality, the better.

Setting her phone alarm for the morning, she realized she had a missed call from McNab’s number. She contemplated calling back, then decided against it. Bill would explain where she was and why, and if McNab had managed to collect evidence for DNA analysis, Chrissy was there to start processing it.

Still, it seemed ironic that McNab would arrive back in Glasgow just as she left again for Orkney.

Packed and ready, Rhona climbed into bed and, glancing at the time, realized there was little sleep to be had between now and take-off.

43

Glasgow was well known for rain in all its forms . . . from a penetrating drizzle to the full ‘stoating down’ version. What he hadn’t realized was that it could stoat down in London too.

McNab had attempted to stay dry by standing just inside the allotted Underground exit, but the crowds of people trying to get past him were pissing him off even further. Why would Cleverly choose a busy place like Leicester Square to meet if it wasn’t designed to punish him for coming to London in the first place?

When the Met officer had eventually called him back, he’d apologized about the earlier misunderstanding, saying he’d been held up at work. ‘You know how it is, Sergeant?’

McNab had known it was a lie, but he’d kept his temper in check and asked for an alternative meeting place and time.

He checked his watch again, knowing it was barely past the time he’d last looked at it. It was also fast approaching the hour when he would need to start thinking about making his way back across London to Euston and the overnight train home.

Scanning the crowds again, he finally spotted Cleverly approaching – or thought he did. McNab stepped out into the pouring rain. At that moment the bustling crowd surrounded him and he almost lost sight of the detective. He halted, checked again and spied him. He imagined Cleverly had spotted him too because he raised his hand in recognition.

Just as McNab acknowledged his presence, Cleverly appeared to change his mind, turning to duck into a nearby doorway.

Almost simultaneously, McNab felt the sharp point of a blade in his lower back angled towards his kidney. ‘Get in,’ a voice said, forcing the point in deeper. ‘Or you’re dead where you stand.’

He had seen the result of enough knife attacks to know that the threat was real enough. Better alive in the back of the van than bleeding out on the pavement.