‘Hold on. Don’t hang up. Please! If you don’t want to tell me, then at least report what you saw to the police. Better still, we could go there together. Tell me who you are. I could meet you somewhere, right now. We could drive up to the police station in Fort William first thing in the morning.’

‘Mr McCulloch—’

‘We don’t have to tell them about the salmon poaching, if that’s what you’re worried about. Under the circumstances I don’t think they’d even be bothered about—’

‘Look, I just wanted you tae know the truth o’ what happened,’ the caller said. ‘Or as much o’ it as I dare tae tell. Dinnae make me regret that I called you. Nobody except you has any clue what I witnessed. I intend tae keep it that way. And if you have any sense, you’ll keep this tae yourself too. That’s all I have tae say. Good night, God bless and good luck.’

And Ewan was left holding a dead phone. He tried dialling 1-4-7-1-3 to find out the caller’s number and call them back, but the information had been withheld.

It was only just gone midnight, but Ewan was certain he’d get no more sleep. He couldn’t even close his eyes. He frantically paced the floor, his mind awhirl. Was this some kind of sick joke? The enormity of the mystery caller’s claim was staggering. Ludicrous. Impossible.

And yet … what if it were true?

As he went on pacing for the next hour, Ewan reflected on the trouble and anger that the golf course development scheme had stirred up. A lot of folks in these parts were furious about it, not least the self-proclaimed ecowarriors who, vowing never to give up the fight, had plagued the construction company until they downed tools and walked away. A few months back, someone had made a threatening anonymous call to the McCulloch & Campbell office, saying their firm would regret it if they remained connected with the project. Of course, Ewan had reported the call to the police in Fort William, who’d appeared to do nothing about it. For the next several weeks he had kept expecting to find his car tyres slashed or an office window broken, but nothing more had come of it and he’d quickly forgotten the episode.

However, a lot of other people, including Mairi the firm administrator, had been convinced that it was only a matter of time before someone got seriously hurt. Some of the protesters were a militant bunch. Who knew what they might be capable of?

Breaking windows and vandalising construction machinery were one thing. Murder was something else entirely. But given that both Ewan and Ross were widely known to be associated with the project, albeit only indirectly, what if …

Jesus. Maybe it was true!