Dougie looked up as Ava arrived back in the kitchen. ‘You can’t tell Erling she’s here. No one must know. No one,’ he stressed, his face determined.

Ava fetched her mobile and set it to record. ‘Tell me about the Orlova. Tell me everything.’

The story poured out of him, like a tide rushing to shore. His trip first to the bay on Hoy, then out to the ship. His fear on the ladder, then finding the bloodstains where the bodies had lain. The terrible smell of burnt flesh that lingered in the computer room. He’d halted briefly at that point, his eyes haunted.

He told her how Finn had led him down to the bowels of the ship where they’d discovered the cell-like room she’d been living in. Her initial attack as he’d broken into her hideout, then Finn showing her that they weren’t going to hurt her.

‘We drank Polish vodka and ate the remainder of the food I’d taken from home,’ Dougie said. ‘That’s how I persuaded her down the ladder and into the boat. I promised her warm bannocks and bacon.’

His face broke into a tentative smile. Something Ava hadn’t seen in a long time.

‘You’ll record what Nadia tells you tomorrow? I’m certain there’s more to her story.’

Ava realized he believed in the girl . . . totally. She wanted to do that too, but in her job you couldn’t just accept everything someone told you. There was no questioning Nadia’s fear of being found, but why be so afraid of being found by the police? Why was Erling a threat?

The girl had told Dougie she was a virtual prisoner on the Orlova, yet she’d been working for Go Wild for a while. Had she entered their employment willingly? What had they asked her to do for them during that time?

‘What?’ Dougie said, catching her expression.

Ava forced a reassuring smile. ‘Nothing really. Let’s talk in the morning. Nadia’s safe. You’re safe. That all that matters for tonight.’

When Dougie went upstairs, Ava poured herself another gin. Having held her emotions in check since Dougie’s safe return, she now allowed herself to face them head on.

She’d promised not to reveal Nadia’s existence. Promised. How could she keep her word without being on the wrong side of the law? The girl was a possible witness to murder and the workings of the company she was currently investigating.

If only I could talk this over with Mark.

The huge hole she’d made in both her personal and professional life by walking out on their relationship gaped open in front of her. She recalled his beaten face, his determination to pursue Go Wild, even if he was being watched by the Met.

He told me to come home, while he stayed in the firing line.