Mo opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when Bolt’s mobile rang. It was on the table in front of him, vibrating angrily. He picked up, not recognizing the number, and was immediately greeted by the gravelly tones of DI Sally Miles of Highlands CID.

‘We’ve had reports of a series of shootings in the Tayleigh area,’ she told him. ‘That’s about twenty miles southwest of here and close to where your witness Amanda Rowan’s been living.’

Bolt straightened in his chair, surprised. ‘Is she involved, do you know? We’ve been trying to get hold of her for the last six hours and we’ve had no luck whatsoever.’

‘I honestly don’t know. So far, we’ve only had one 999 call from a cottage a couple of miles south of Tayleigh. It wasn’t big on details and it’s yet to be verified, but we’re taking it seriously. There are a couple of uniforms in Tayleigh on duty but we’re keeping them back until armed response arrive.’

‘How long’s that going to take?’

‘We’ve got one unit up here that we’re scrambling but the rest of them are going to have to come from Aberdeen.’

‘Jesus. How long’s that going to take?’

She gave a deep, smoky laugh that was devoid of humour. ‘A good wee while. They’ve got a long drive ahead of them. We’re trying to get a helicopter organized from Glasgow as well, but I haven’t got confirmation of that yet. Another thing. We haven’t been able to get hold of Amanda Rowan’s liaison officer, Andy Baxter.’

Bolt’s jaw tightened. ‘When was the last time you had any contact?’

‘He called to say he was on his way down to see her at fifteen twenty. We haven’t heard a thing since.’ She paused. ‘And it’s not like him, either. I know Andy. He’s reliable.’

Bolt got to his feet and Mo followed suit. ‘We’re on our way down to Amanda Rowan’s house,’ he told DI Miles.

‘I’m telling you all this out of professional courtesy, sir, but I’d appreciate it if you don’t go charging right in on this. We’re rendezvousing at Tayleigh nick. We’ll meet there.’

Bolt told her he’d be there as soon as possible and ended the call.

‘What’s going on, boss?’ asked Mo.

‘I don’t know,’ said Bolt. ‘But whatever it is, it’s not good.’

Forty-seven

JESS WAS SHIVERING with cold; her legs were so stiff she could hardly bend them, and her forearm was burning like crazy from the dog bite, when Amanda called out from up ahead, her voice only just audible above the biting wind.

‘I can see lights,’ she said. ‘We’re almost at the farm.’

They were walking along the ridge of a rolling, heather-clad hill that ran into a wide, twisting valley, with a stream running down its centre. Amanda was leading the way and seemed to be trying to keep to a narrow path that was little more than trampled grass. As Jess rounded the corner and caught up with her, she saw a cluster of farm buildings laid out below them a few hundred yards away. There were lights on in the main house, and a car parked outside.

‘This is the place I was talking about,’ said Amanda, giving her a relieved smile. ‘We should be able to get help here.’

‘Thank God,’ said Jess, keeping up with Amanda as they made their way down the hill.

As they reached the first of the outbuildings, a big wooden barn that smelled of hay and manure, Amanda stopped and listened.

‘Is everything okay?’ whispered Jess, stopping next to her.

Amanda nodded. ‘We’ve just got to be careful, that’s all. If any of the men chasing us know the area, they might know we’d come here.’

‘The only one I heard speak had an English accent.’

‘Maybe, but they knew enough to cut us off in the forest.’

It was a good point, and suddenly Jess felt nervous again. For the last hour and a half, as they’d got further and further from the forest, she’d begun to feel safer. But now she realized that this wasn’t over. Not by a long way. As long as Casey’s okay, she thought. As long as she’s okay.

They were both silent for a few seconds. Jess could hear the noise of animals grunting and moving about inside the barn but, aside from the wind, which was stronger here, there was no other sound.

Amanda motioned her to follow and they crept quietly across the driveway in the direction of the house, passing the entrance to the barn where a group of cows stared out at them with dull-eyed expressions. The night was clear and the sky full of more stars than Jess had ever seen in her life. You didn’t see stars like this in London. In fact, you hardly saw them at all and, even after everything that had happened, she couldn’t help gazing up at them in wonderment.

They kept to the shadows, stopping again behind a tractor to listen out for anything suspicious. By this time, Jess was getting desperate. She was exhausted and thirsty, and desperately in need of the toilet. The curtains were drawn at the front of the house, but the light that glowed out from behind them was so inviting she was tempted just to knock on the door.

But Amanda was more careful. She listened at one of the front windows for a second, then made her way round the side of the house. The curtains weren’t drawn on the side windows, allowing them a view straight into a comfortable-looking living room where an old lady, in a floral dress and cardigan, with her grey hair tied back in a tight bun, sat watching TV with a cup of tea in her hand. She had the ruddy, cheery face of someone who’s spent much of her life outdoors and enjoyed every minute of it and, though she must have been close to seventy, she was well built and looked as if she could handle herself. As they watched, she took a sip of the tea and settled back in the chair to make herself comfortable.

Jess and Amanda grinned at each other as they went round to the front door and knocked hard.

There were a few moments of silence and then a voice came from behind the door, asking who was there in a strong Scottish accent.

‘Please could you call the police for us?’ asked Amanda, leaning in close to the door. ‘We’ve been attacked, and we’re lost.’

The door opened a crack, revealing two separate chains, and the old lady’s face appeared in the gap, appraising them both carefully. ‘What do you mean, you’ve been attacked?’ she asked. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone being attacked round these parts.’ Her tone wasn’t unfriendly, just surprised.

‘It was by some men in the woods. I don’t know who they are, but we only just managed to escape.’

The old lady looked at them both in turn and Jess exaggerated her shivering in an effort to gain some sympathy for their plight. ‘I’m not sure what to do,’ the lady said. ‘My son and his wife are out, and I’m on my own here.’

‘If you could just dial 999 and tell the police that we’re here, that’s all we want.’

‘All right, I’ll do that, but I can’t let you lassies in, I’m afraid. Not when I don’t know who you are.’

Amanda told her that was fine, and the woman shut the door and disappeared from view. Jess was disappointed. She said: ‘Can’t we just ask to go inside and warm up?’

Amanda shrugged. ‘We could, but I don’t think she’ll let us, and you can hardly blame her.’

‘She said she’d never heard of any attacks out here. You’d think she’d be more trusting of us.’

‘Well, maybe if we both put on our best sad, vulnerable faces, she might take pity.’

‘I already did that. It didn’t work.’

Amanda smiled. ‘You need to try harder, Jess. You give off this tough, don’t-mess-with-me vibe, but I bet you’re a real sweetie underneath it. Show your inner sweetness and I’ll try to show mine.’

Jess was about to respond, but then she saw the smile die on Amanda’s face. It was immediately replaced by a look of intense concentration.

‘What is it?’

‘I think I can hear a car.’

Jess listened. They were sheltered from the wind by the farmhouse and, after a couple of seconds, she too picked up the sound of a car coming from some way away. It was difficult to know whether it was coming closer or not, but it put Jess on her guard.