Chapter 24
He found Jo still at her desk.
‘Isn’t it time you logged off for the day? Especially since you’re catching the early ferry to Hoy tomorrow.’
‘I’m almost finished,’ she told him. ‘Unless you’ve something else for me to do?’ she added quizzically.
‘Just thought if you were still around I should bring you up to date regarding the findings on Stella.’
‘The post-mortem report is here?’ she said.
‘It is. I’ve put a copy up on the system, together with the AI-generated images of our victim and child. Check it out when you have time, although the burnt body on the beach is our top priority at present. As is the missing Kris Mowat.’
When Jo asked how Stella had died, Erling outlined the post-mortem details. ‘And the best guess on the baby was suffocation, either before or after burial.’
‘So she could be another Betty Corrigall?’ Jo said quietly.
‘Or someone murdered both her and the baby,’ Erling said.
‘Either way, I have Magnus delving into war records on Hoy. We’ll strive to find out who she was and have her buried properly with the child,’ he added firmly.
‘On another topic, Magnus revealed that he gave evidence in connection with a drug trial in Aberdeen recently, where a Max Mowat was involved. He was found not guilty, but according to Magnus, he’s Harald Mowat’s son, and grandson of Ivor. ’
‘So maybe part of the Mowat nightclub business in Aberdeen?’ Jo offered.
‘Could be,’ Erling said. Then, ‘You saw the roster for the weekend? Not your worry, of course. You’ll have your hands full on Hoy.
But Leo stressed he didn’t want the increased police presence to be in uniform.
So I thought I might involve DS Gowan once he arrives, since he’s a complete unknown here in Kirkwall. ’
Jo’s face seemed to fall at this, then she recovered herself. Erling contemplated, albeit briefly, whether he should question her reaction, then decided against it.
If his sergeant had concerns about any of his decisions, he was confident she would voice them. If he’d learned anything since her arrival here from Caithness, it was that DS Jo Green was not backward at coming forward.
Then a thought occurred. ‘I never asked if you were acquainted with DS Gus Gowan?’ When Jo shook her head, he added, ‘I thought you would have mentioned it if you were.’ He smiled. ‘I think Auld Mackie should have a look at the reconstructed Stella. So I’m off there now.’
Jo’s face lit up at that. ‘Sure you can deal with him on your own?’ she said with a mischievous grin.
‘I’ll do my best,’ Erling promised. ‘And I’ll be in touch tomorrow once you settle in on Hoy. I’ll visit you on Sunday, although I’m certain you and Ivan Tulloch will make a great team.’
‘We will,’ Jo assured him.
Certain now that all was well with his second-in-command, Erling headed out to his vehicle.
A steady wind had got up since he’d walked to Eddie’s office.
It buffeted him as he crossed the car park, and almost succeeded in hitting him with the car door as he climbed into the driver’s seat.
The sky had darkened with rain clouds, although their scurrying nature suggested they were in too much of a hurry to spill their contents on the islands below.
On the way out of Kirkwall, the thought occurred that he should have asked if Jo had been in touch with Rachael since this morning’s events. Although, knowing Jo, he decided she more than likely had been, conscientious as she was.
As he gained the Orphir road, he considered again his interchange with Magnus. Could he be satisfied with merely identifying the woman and child buried at the old Mowat place? Or would the reason for their deaths and burial continue to haunt him?
As for the body on the beach, he was holding out hope that it wouldn’t be Kris Mowat and that he and Rachael might head back to London together, away from the wrath of the Mowat clan, until the law settled their differences.
Approaching home, he was elated to see Rory’s vehicle parked at Langwell, and a surge of both pleasure and anticipation drove all other thoughts from his mind. Should he just stop there and keep his visit to Auld Mackie until the morning?
That thought came and went. Rory was expecting him by seven, and was likely deep in his preparation for tonight’s meal. Something he took seriously. So Erling drove on past, arriving at Mackie’s to park at the foot of the steep climb to his front door.
As he emerged from the car, the westerly wind brought the smell of peat smoke, and he registered that the old man’s fire would be on as usual.
Much like the range in his father’s kitchen.
That thought brought a reminder that he should speak further to Tommy over the weekend, about Sandy and Ivor.
Show him the now-extended Mowat family tree and see if it sparked any memories.
Opening the front door, he gave a shout announcing his presence and was swiftly answered with a ‘Come away in, Inspector’.
Auld Mackie was seated in his usual place by the fire, The Orcadian newspaper on a side table, the front page of which had an image of the crime scene cordoned off at Lyrawa Bay. There was also a glass, whose contents looked like home brew.
Catching his glance, Mackie said, ‘I could have done with a stronger drink than my home brew to read about that body at Lyrawa. I take it you don’t know if it is Kris Mowat as yet?’
‘Unconfirmed,’ Erling said, taking a seat opposite.
‘And I hear there were shenanigans at Eddie Balfour’s office this morning?’
Before Erling could ask how he’d learned of it so quickly, Mackie told him. ‘My home help Yvanna’s been here today. She got it from her sister in Kirkwall.’ He gave Erling a studied look. ‘I don’t think that’s why you’re here, though?’
‘No,’ Erling said. ‘It’s about Stella.’
He watched as his words made Mackie pull himself up straight in his chair.
‘You found out about Stella?’ he said in a voice both keen and yet filled with trepidation.
‘Did you ever meet Stella or maybe see a photo of her?’ Erling tried.
‘I never met her, but I did see a photo once,’ Mackie told him.
‘Anything you can tell me about what she looked like?’
‘Fairish hair. Ivor said she had blue eyes and a lovely smile. He was fair smitten with her,’ he added.
Aware that his mobile might not be the best way to let the old man view the images of a possible Stella, Erling had brought a tablet along.
Producing it now, he explained about the image that had been generated from the remains.
‘Like the one you had done for the body found at Skaill Bay last year?’ Mackie said.
‘Exactly,’ Erling said, moving alongside Mackie. ‘There’s nothing bad about the images and video, but . . .’ He hesitated there.
‘I want to see if it’s her, Stella, and I’ve lived a long time and seen plenty of bad things,’ Mackie said firmly.
Erling began with the image of mother and child.
‘The poor peedie bairn,’ Mackie muttered under his breath. ‘You found the two of them like that? The bairn cradled in her arm?’
‘We did,’ Erling said.
‘Would a murderer really lay them like that in the coffin?’ Mackie said, an obvious catch in his throat. ‘Arranging her to look down on her wee one?’
Erling didn’t respond, just flipped to the image of the woman staring straight out at them. At this, Mackie gave a small gasp of wonder and maybe recognition?
‘Might that be Ivor’s Stella?’ Erling said.
Mackie was studying this image intently, then he suddenly seemed to remember something. ‘Ivor said she was a Geordie. I didn’t know what that meant back then, so he told me it meant she came from Newcastle, which was in England. We looked it up on a map.’
‘You think this might be her?’ Erling tried again.
‘It might be’ – he shook his head – ‘but I canna tell for sure. Have you checked with Tommy? Your grandpa Sandy was a bigger pal of Ivor than me. He went over to Hoy all the time. Maybe he mentioned her to Tommy.’
Erling nodded at that. ‘I plan to. Do you want to see any more?’ he added.
‘Aye, go ahead. Just in case I spot something I recognize,’ Mackie said.
Erling ran the different images, finishing with the touching video of the mother and child.
This was followed by a moment’s silence before Mackie spoke again.
‘How can that lass rest? How can you rest, until she’s given back her name and buried in consecrated ground?
’ Mackie said. ‘If that is Ivor’s Stella, and he found out she’d been buried there with her baby and forgotten by the family, that might account for some of what he was doing before he died.
Looking for Betty’s wee boy and giving it all to him,’ he finished.
Erling was inclined to agree with him. ‘Thank you for your help,’ he said.
‘Aye. Nae bother, Inspector. And good luck to you. I wouldn’t have your job for all the tea in China.’
Back in his car, Erling sent a message to Magnus stating that although Auld Mackie hadn’t been able to identify Stella from the generated images, he’d recalled that she was a Geordie. After which, he turned the car and headed for home.