Then again, what if he started asking her questions, such as why she’d immediately closed her laptop when he arrived home unexpectedly, and distracted him still further from what she’d been doing by offering herself up to him.

What if he asked her outright what she was writing about, or why she was really here?

What would she say then?

Hearing the now steady sound of his breathing, she made a decision. She wouldn’t question Greg about his absence or even mention that she knew about it.

She had her own reasons for being here and had no idea how long she would need to stay, or how long he would permit her to.

That was what she had to concentrate on, and that would require her to keep him as happy about her presence at Beanach as possible. Whatever that took.

Greg

He’d eventually dozed off, entering a nightmarish dream that was worse than being awake and thinking.

When his mobile rang at dawn, Colin’s name on the screen, he got up and went to his study before answering it.

The torrent of words that met him, interspersed with a series of ‘fuck’s, caused him to remember the role he must play here, so he ordered Colin to stop, take a breath, then tell him exactly what was wrong.

Colin’s voice was shaking as he tried to do as asked.

‘I went to the Party House first thing. I was worried . . . and I saw it.’

‘Saw what?’ Greg demanded.

There was the sound of a swallow, then the choking words . . . ‘The hot tub’s all smashed up.’

‘What?’ Greg demanded. ‘Who the fuck?’

‘That’s not the worse part,’ Colin stuttered.

‘What then?’ he demanded.

‘They broke the concrete slabs and there’s something buried in the sand.’ Colin ground to a halt.

‘Fuck’s sake, Colin. Get a grip. What exactly did you see?’

‘It’s wrapped in plastic, but I saw the face. I saw the fucking face.’

‘What do you mean, a face?’ He made himself sound irritated.

Colin came back in. ‘It’s a lassie. Her hair . . . it’s a dead lassie buried under the hot tub.’

Greg, trying to sound newly shocked himself, asked if Colin had called the police.

‘Not yet. I called you first. Maybe it’s that girl. You know, the one that disappeared—’