Today he is the top police officer in the north, but 10 years ago Chief Superintendent Julian Innes was a detective inspector in Inverness, about to take a phone call from his boss which would unleash one of the biggest mysteries of his career.
The divisional commander was at home on Sunday, November 28, 2004, when then-Detective Superintendent Gordon Urquhart rang and asked him to attend a briefing about a shooting in Nairn.
Alistair Wilson, a devoted father-of-two, had been gunned down on his doorstep while his children played inside.
The killer had melted into the night, leaving a family in shock and a town in turmoil.
For Mr Innes, the task was to find out as much as he could in a short space of time about the victim’s job as a banker and whether or not money was a motive.
A decade on, despite one of the biggest manhunts in Scottish history, Mr Wilson’s killer is still at large – and the disbelief that the police chief felt then has given way to a determination to track him down and make him answer for his crime.
“That frustration remains until you get justice for the person murdered,” said Mr Innes.
“My own personal view is that no parent should have to bury a child. Mr and Mrs Wilson deserve answers.”
The initial fear was that other similar attacks might follow elsewhere in Scotland, or a major raid would be mounted on a bank.
Mr Innes and his colleagues worked 15-hour days in the first year of the inquiry, trying to find an explanation for the murder.
“People said he was a banker,” said Mr Innes.
“I think members of the public 10 years ago may have expected him to have access to ready money.
“Once we explored his employment, we discovered he did not.”
That left the lingering mystery – who killed Alistair Wilson and why had a popular young dad been shot dead at his own home in a sleepy seaside town?
A decade on, they are the questions that still trouble Mr Innes today.
He said: “I think the murder of Alistair Wilson shocked the community within Nairn deeply – and certainly it has not been forgotten.
“Police officers can be hardened to this type of crime, but if you put it in the context of the Highlands and islands, it is very rare.
“I did not attend the scene but it was shocking for the uniformed officers who were there.
“There was a sense of disbelief, but that disbelief tends to bring determination to catch those responsible.
“Speaking for myself and other colleagues who are still serving, that determination has never gone away.”
For Mr Innes, the fact that Mr Wilson’s killer remains at large is “a personal frustration”.
“This was a major inquiry I have been involved with that has not been solved,” he said.
“If you speak to any officers involved in this type of inquiry that frustration remains until you get justice for the person murdered.
“My own personal view is that no parent should have to bury a child. Mr and Mrs Wilson deserve answers.
“Equally, I am sure Alistair’s other family would keep encouraging us to continue our work and hopefully find the person responsible.”