Rhona didn’t know what to say. The girl’s shock seemed genuine, but if she already knew what had happened, but didn’t know when the body had been found, the timing in her answer would be crucial. Hence her obvious relief.

‘I told her when it was found, which gave her the chance to give the right answer.’

She hadn’t been thinking straight when she’d entered that clearing. McNab would never have made such an error. Neither would Alvis. She should have left it up to him.

Alvis, sensing her annoyance, took up the story. ‘She did look genuinely shocked by the news of the body and our concern that it might have been one of them. And she promised they would call in at the station before they left the island.’

‘Can we contact them now?’ Lee said.

‘Apparently they switch off their mobiles unless there’s an emergency, although she said she would try,’ Rhona said.

Lee rose. ‘Okay. We’ll use Twitter to alert the locals. See if anyone’s spotted the other four. We’ll check with the MRT, ask them to put out the word too. If they’re all alive and well, we can eliminate them from our enquiries.’ He focused on Rhona. ‘Did you ask if they’d gone back to the woods that night?’

‘No,’ Rhona told him. She began to say why, then found herself tailing off, as though she couldn’t explain her decision, even to herself.

At this, Lee and Alvis exchanged swift glances. Rhona had seen that look before. It was the PTSD question look.

She quickly changed the subject. ‘How did Chrissy get on?’

‘See for yourself. She’s in the production room,’ Lee told her.

Rhona got up and left the room. As she closed the door behind her, she stood for a moment, waiting for the conversation that would undoubtedly follow her departure. Lee had noted her bloodied hands, although he hadn’t commented on them. Now she learned through the door that Alvis had seen at least a portion of her meltdown in the forest.

Rhona swore under her breath.

This was the reason she’d refused to go to Castlebrae. She wanted to deal with what had happened in her own way, in her own time. Not have endless discussions about it.

Seeing Chrissy’s multi-coloured head bent over the table on which a collection of evidence bags lay brought a rush of relief. Since their first conversation on the beach, Rhona had known that Chrissy believed her to be back in the game. Maybe not fully, but definitely on the way.

Alvis, she’d hoped, thought that too, although there was still a gentle reticence about how he dealt with her. Lee had met her when she’d first arrived in Skye, traumatized and reclusive. And he’d been in touch with McNab ever since, so he was to be forgiven for any doubts he might still have.