‘No, I don’t get it,’ Ewan replied, thoroughly bewildered. ‘What are you trying to say?’

‘And in case you thought he did it tae himself, think again.’

‘Who is this?’ Ewan demanded. ‘Are you sure I don’t know you? Have we met?’ The more the caller talked, the more Ewan was certain he’d heard the voice before, as if in some other life he could barely remember.

‘They killed him.’

‘They what? Say that again.’

‘You heard me,’ the caller went on tersely. ‘The basturts caught him in the woods, dragged him doon tae the loch and tossed him in the water tae make it look like he drowned hisself.’ He let out a sigh. ‘There. Now you know the truth.’

Stunned, Ewan carried the phone back to the sofa and slumped into it. Was he dreaming? No, the caller sounded perfectly real. And very sober, serious and sure of what he was saying. ‘But … you’re talking about …’

‘Aye, I am. That’s what this was. No other word for it. Cold-blooded murder.’

‘I … what … how …?’

‘How do I know?’ the caller finished for him with a sour chuckle. ‘Because I was there, that’s how. Fishin’ for salmon that it’s not my right tae fish, if you get my meaning. I was checkin’ my nets when I saw these five men appear from the woods. Thought they were a bailiff patrol at first, so I hid deep in the bushes, wonderin’ how the hell I was gonnae get away. They’ve caught me before. But they didnae see me. They had other business on their minds.’

Ewan pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to think straight. ‘I … this is just insane.’