Expecting to have to talk about the night Ailsa had disappeared, Greg was slightly thrown by the request to tell that story again, before remembering he had it off pat. Plus there might still be time to talk to Caroline about their story of five years ago, before he was asked to give it.

Relaxing, he repeated what he’d said before, noting at the same time that the female officer was listening intently.

When he’d finished, she was the first to ask a question.

‘I understand there was bad feeling in the village about Ard Choille? Can you explain why?’

She must know this already, he thought, so why did he have to repeat it?

He gritted his teeth and gave a potted version of the virus story.

Her face, he saw, visibly changed when he told the stark truth about the deaths of five of the village children, plus their district nurse. Then she said, ‘And this bad feeling was evident at the meeting earlier in the village hall?’

‘People were emotional, yes.’

‘That must have been awkward for you, being an employee of the estate?’

Greg could feel it still, the growing animosity in the hall, the angry glances thrown his way. Nevertheless, he said, ‘I’m only an employee. I have no control over when the owners open Ard Choille.’

She nodded, as though accepting that, before she posed the next question.

‘What happened when the group of young men arrived?’

So, someone had already told her about that, he thought, wondering who, and what exactly had been said. He decided to keep his answer general.

‘Everyone was angry. They just joined in that anger.’ Which was true enough.

‘I understand you and your apprentice left at that point?’ she said.

Who the fuck had given them the full story? It wouldn’t have been Malcolm, that was for certain. He would definitely have played it low key, not wishing to point the finger at anyone.

‘We had stuff on, and we weren’t doing any good there anyway.’

‘What stuff?’ Snyder immediately asked.

‘We’ve had reports of poachers in the area.’

God, shut up, he thought. What if they asked Colin the same question and got a different answer?

‘Plus,’ he added, this time sticking to the truth, ‘as estate employees, we were becoming a distraction.’

Snyder came in then. ‘Do you have any idea who might have destroyed the hot tub?’

‘No, I don’t,’ Greg said firmly.

Snyder seemed to accept that and, with a nod to his colleague, said, ‘We’d like to talk to you now about Ailsa Cummings. How well you knew her and what you remember about the night she disappeared.’

And there it was. The words he’d been dreading.

‘You believe the body you found is Ailsa?’ he heard himself say.

‘That’s still to be confirmed.’

But Greg knew by the detective’s demeanour that they were already certain.