By then, Angus Baird was starting to come round while his two handcuffed friends were fully conscious and loudly protesting their innocence. ‘It wiz that basturt there! He fuckin’ attacked us!’ The medics gave Baird a check-over before he was formally arrested and loaded into the ambulance, while the uniformed police led the other two outside and placed each in the back of a separate car. Grace accompanied her colleagues outside. Ben could see her through the window, and watched as she hopped into the front passenger seat of one of the cars. When she got out again a couple of minutes later, he was pretty sure she’d been running a search on his name on the national crime database. She wouldn’t have found anything there. The kind of files that existed on him required deeper digging, as well as a high level of official clearance.

Once out of the car, she lingered for a few moments in the snowy street to talk with the uniforms. Then the procession of vehicles set off, lights flashing. Grace came back inside the pub, shook the powdery white flakes from her hair and clothes, then walked over to where he was sitting. The owners had seemed too preoccupied with the damage to have noticed him at all, and had now disappeared through a STAFF ONLY door. Holly had vanished too. It was difficult to tell whether the pub was open or closed at this point. Though with the snow coming down harder than ever outside, it seemed unlikely that any more customers would venture from their homes any time soon.

Grace pulled up a bar stool next to Ben’s and sat down with a sigh. ‘All done and dusted. The things you have to do when you’re off duty.’

‘I’d offer you a drink, but there’s nobody tending the bar,’ he said.

‘Thanks for the thought. I don’t drink, anyway.’

‘You said you wanted to ask me some questions.’

‘Just a formality. You’re free to go if you want.’

Ben looked out of the window. The snow wasn’t showing signs of stopping. ‘I’m all yours.’

Chapter 18

The fire was dying. Alone inside the empty pub, they moved over to the fireplace and Ben laid a few sticks of wood from a wicker basket onto the embers, with larger logs on top. Soon the blaze was crackling back into life again. Grace sat close to it and held out her hands to warm them by the heat of the flames. ‘We don’t get a lot of strangers passing through Kinlochardaich. Especially not ones like you.’

‘Is that a question?’

‘I’m just curious, that’s all.’

‘Don’t worry, I’m not planning on staying any longer than I have to.’

‘May I ask what’s the nature of your visit?’

Ben replied, ‘Personal.’

‘As in, you don’t want to say?’