Lee rose. ‘I think you should interview Archie about this,’ he told Janice. ‘It’s better to come from an outsider. Plus there’s a report of another vehicle going off the bend on the way out of Uig last night. It’s been sighted well down the hill, so I’m headed there with the MRT.’ He turned to Rhona. ‘DS McNab’s landed in Glasgow. Hopefully we’ll hear back from him soon on Private Galbraith.’

Rhona and Chrissy adjourned to the production room.

‘Did you speak to Donald?’ Chrissy said.

‘I did, and I’m borrowing Blaze again.’

‘You’re going looking for Seven?’

‘Alvis and I, and the dog.’

‘Why not get Jamie to look?’

‘Because I have no definite proof she’s gone in the direction I think she has, plus the MRT are stretched enough as it is,’ Rhona added.

Chrissy was giving her the eye. ‘What is it about this girl that’s bugging you so much?’ When Rhona didn’t answer, Chrissy did it for her. ‘You think she’s a casualty of war. Much like yourself.’ Chrissy reached out and touched Rhona’s arm in support. ‘Then you need to find her. I take it you have something of hers for Blaze to follow?’

‘I do.’

Chrissy smiled. ‘I thought as much. Okay. When do I start worrying about you?’

Rhona handed her a map. ‘I’ve marked our proposed route. I’ll keep in touch for as long as I have a signal.’

Alvis was waiting for her, their intention having been to leave at first light until Lee had called her in for the meeting. She already knew about the vehicle off the ridge road north-west of Uig, Jamie having wakened her to tell her what was happening. When she’d informed him of her own plans with Alvis, he’d looked pleased.

‘We’ll take any help we can get, and Alvis knows the island as well as you. Are you heading for the coast?’

‘We’re not sure where we’re heading. We’re hoping Blaze will help us with that.’

‘You have something to help him track?’

‘I have,’ Rhona had said, without saying what.

Jamie had nodded. ‘From our drone image, the vehicle that went off the C1225, the Staffin to Uig road, looks like a dark-coloured jeep.’

‘A Wrangler?’

‘Could be – why?’

‘Archie said the vehicle looking for Seven was a dark-coloured Wrangler jeep.’

‘There’s probably a few on Skye,’ Jamie had said. ‘But we’ve had no missing people reported as yet.’

‘We have seven hours of winter daylight,’ Alvis told her as they exited Portree.

‘If necessary, we can make camp. Donald was fine about that.’ Rhona glanced in the back where Blaze was sitting erect, watching the world go by.

‘I assume you have something from the tent for him to follow?’ Alvis said.

‘Unofficially, yes.’

‘But you couldn’t use it to check for her DNA?’