He’d drawn her into his arms at that point, but had he coerced her into having sex with him one final time or had she been the one to decide?

No matter how often he revisited that scene, he couldn’t be sure. Or didn’t want to be sure.

When she’d left Beanach, she hadn’t looked back. He’d stood at the door watching her disappear into the darkness, thinking, wanting to call her back. Apologize. Take her in his arms again.

Of course, he hadn’t done that, because he’d promised Caroline it was over. It had to be over because Caroline was pregnant with his child. The child whose life had also ended not long after that terrible night.

Having feared being implicated in Ailsa’s death, now all he wanted was to discover the truth and clear his name. And that meant finding out what had happened after he’d last been with Ailsa.

Where had she gone after she left him at Beanach? She definitely hadn’t gone home. Her parents had never seen her after she’d left home that night for the ceilidh. He’d last seen her on the Beanach track, which met the road that led either back to Blackrig or to the Party House, where her body had been found.

Whoever killed her had either met her or followed her from his place. They need not have stayed on the road. There were numerous paths through the woods near the Party House, including the one which led to the ancient pine, where he’d first taken Joanne, and from where she’d spied on him and made him so angry. Whichever route she’d taken, Ailsa had lost her life either before or after she reached the beach by the green lochan.

When she’d initially disappeared, he’d assumed by the way she’d spoken that night that she’d run away again, and had partially blamed himself. He had never, even for a moment, imagined her dead.

He thought of Josh, who’d been the other main recipient of her interest. She’d told him she liked Josh because he was fun and wild. Didn’t take shite from anyone. Like herself. Had she told Josh about him? If Josh had followed her that night from the ceilidh and seen her go up to Beanach, might that have made him mad enough to kill her?

Even as he contemplated such a scenario, he knew it didn’t make sense. If Josh had killed and buried Ailsa, why would he take his mates to the Party House to smash up the hot tub, knowing there was a chance the body might be exposed?

Then another thought occurred. What if Josh, knowing Greg had had sex with Ailsa that night, had simply set him up for her murder by destroying the hot tub and exposing her body?

Still, why do that now?