‘Smell that shit and piss, Jock pig? Well, by the time we’re finished with you, it’ll be your own that you’re smelling.’

48

‘That’ll be Ava,’ Magnus said. ‘Can you let her in?’

Rhona went to do his bidding.

‘I thought everyone just walked into friends’ houses in Orkney,’ she said as she opened the door.

‘I’ve been too long away from Orkney. I forget the rules sometimes.’

Magnus called from the kitchen. ‘Help yourselves to a dram in the sitting room. I’ll be through shortly.’

The fire had been lit and banked up with the warm glow of peat, the scent of which met them on entry.

Ava smiled. ‘God, I used to love that smell in winter, especially if I managed home for Christmas. Nowadays Orkney is inclined to a more renewable form of energy.’

‘The wind can be a blessing, although it doesn’t feel like it at times.’ Rhona indicated the drinks tray. ‘What can I get you?’

‘I’m driving, so I won’t, but you go ahead.’

As they settled on either side of the fire, Rhona said, ‘I hear your brother’s back home safely. You’ll be relieved about that.’

Ava looked annoyed rather than relieved by her remark. ‘He was never really away. Dougie often takes his boat out and camps on one of the islands for a bit. It’s his way of coping with the world and the fact he lost both parents not long ago.’

Rhona, feeling she had overstepped, apologized.

Ava shrugged. ‘Don’t worry. Everyone knows everybody’s business round here. Why should you be any different? Even if you are a visitor,’ she added.

Rhona took refuge in sipping her whisky. Apparently her presence here offended Ava for some reason, which was puzzling after all they’d shared at their Glasgow meeting.

Magnus’s entry brought relief to both of them. Rhona watched as he read the atmosphere and, pouring himself a whisky, took a seat between them, before turning to her. ‘Any news of McNab?’

Before she could answer, Ava came in. ‘What’s happened to McNab?’

‘He was due off the London train this morning, but didn’t appear,’ Rhona said. ‘And he’s not been reachable since—’

Ava interrupted her. ‘I spoke to him on his way to London. I asked him to check in on Mark.’

Now Rhona was even more concerned.

Magnus glanced at her. ‘What did DI Wilson say exactly?’

‘That the Met said he arranged to meet DI Cleverly in Central London and didn’t turn up.’

Magnus looked thoughtful. ‘It’s not the first time he’s gone off the radar.’

‘But this time he wasn’t doing his own thing,’ Rhona said. ‘The boss agreed his visit south because of—’ She halted there, aware she was straying into police business.

Thankfully, a shout from the hall announced Erling’s arrival.