Erling knew the two men were the visiting detectives as soon as he spotted them walking across the concourse. It wasn’t because he’d met them before, rather that they stuck out from the troop of returning Orcadians, who knew how the whole thing worked, including the gusts of wind that tried to lift their feet from the tarmac.

He waited until the men had composed themselves before he moved forward to greet them.

‘DS Campbell and DS Neville? Welcome to Orkney. How was your flight?’

It was DS Neville who answered. ‘Bumpy, especially over the Pentland Firth. So no hot drinks allowed, but I enjoyed my caramel log.’

‘Do you want to pick up a coffee here before we head for Houton Bay?’ Erling offered.

‘No need,’ Neville said. ‘We’ll survive.’

They kept the discussion until they were inside the vehicle and on their way out of Kirkwall. Erling did his best to give a quick overview of the events up to now, including Dr MacLeod’s examination of the bodies from the previous day.

‘Have the remains been taken south yet?’ Neville, the apparent spokesman, asked.

‘Should have gone first thing, but we delayed because of the wind this morning, which means you’ll get a chance to see them in situ.’

‘What was Dr MacLeod’s opinion?’

‘That there was likely an assailant,’ Erling said. ‘She and Chrissy are working on the computer guy this morning.’

‘Chrissy McInsh’s here too?’ DS Neville asked.

‘She is,’ Erling said. ‘No show without Punch.’ He laughed. ‘I take it you know Chrissy?’

DS Campbell, who was seated in the front, motioned to his colleague in the back. ‘He does. Or I should say he wishes he did.’

They talked a bit after that about the SOCO team that had been working the ship.

‘We know you’ve done a good job here,’ DS Neville said. ‘The powers that be just thought it would be a good idea for us to see the locus in person. The ghost ship, as they’re calling it, has grabbed the news, with much of the press stating it has Russian backers.’

‘I suspect it may be even more international than that,’ Erling said. ‘We have Ava Clouston, the investigative journalist, home on Orkney at the moment. She’s covering the story.’

DS Campbell shot him a look. ‘She’s a friend?’

‘Everyone knows everyone else on Orkney,’ Erling said. ‘That doesn’t mean we reveal police business.’

They were approaching Houton Bay and the men’s eyes were drawn to the image of the ghost ship anchored offshore.

‘An old cargo ship?’ DS Neville said.

‘From the outside,’ Erling said. ‘Once aboard, it’s a whole different world.’

‘How do we get out there?’ DS Campbell said.

‘Police launch and a climb up a long ladder.’