‘Sure thing. I’ll give you the romantic corner,’ he said. ‘I’d also welcome a quick word with you when you get here.’

‘What about?’ Greg said.

‘Not sure exactly, but I get the impression that DI Snyder and his sidekick are about to make an arrest. Something’s going on, anyway.’

‘Josh?’ Greg said.

‘I’m assuming so, but if they managed to get fingerprints off the weapons they used, it could be more than just Josh.’

‘Jeez. Folk are not going to be happy about that,’ Greg said.

‘Maybe Stratton could be persuaded to drop any charges brought about for the demolition of the hot tub. After all, by wrecking it, they uncovered a bigger crime.’

‘True.’ Greg pondered whether he might consider suggesting that to Stratton. Maybe try and sell it as a way of easing tensions between the owners of Ard Choille and the village. ‘I could approach him about it,’ he said tentatively.

‘Good,’ Malcolm said. ‘I could come with you, as chair of the community council. We don’t need to talk about it further tonight. Let’s see what happens, and if it does involve Josh and his gang, we’ll see if we can persuade Mr Stratton together.’

Showered and dressed, Greg awaited Joanne’s reappearance. The conversation with Malcolm had made him uneasy. If Malcolm had sensed excitement among his police house guests, then it looked like something was about to go down.

Whatever it was, it was bound to cause a ruckus. Locals would not take it well if Josh and his mates were charged. It would just look like the police punishing them, rather than the estate owners, yet again.

‘Wow,’ he said as Joanne appeared before him. ‘Dressed to kill’ was the phrase that sprang to mind, although he didn’t say it.

Instead he said, ‘You look beautiful.’

‘Thank you,’ she said graciously. She eyed him up and down. ‘I wondered when I would get to see the kilt again.’

‘I was supposed to put it on for the ceilidh but, as you know, things got a bit messy beforehand.’

‘Well, I’m glad you chose to wear it now. Are we walking down?’

‘I’ll drive down and, depending on what we consume, we can always walk back.’

‘I’ll drive us back,’ she offered. ‘I don’t mind not drinking.’

‘Okay,’ he said cautiously. ‘If you’re sure?’ He realized that although she’d asked for a whisky earlier, she hadn’t taken more than a sip. ‘Malcolm does stock decent wine, in case you think we only drink whisky in Blackrig.’

She smiled in acknowledgement of that, then said, ‘I’m quite hungry after all that exercise earlier. Can we go?’

The atmosphere in the car as they headed into the village was so good, he allowed himself to relax. Maybe it would work out between them after all. If dealing with Caroline hadn’t fazed her, then it just might.