Beyond a stretch of dual carriageway, she spotted a small car park underneath some trees and flicked on her indicator. There was one other car in the clearing. She pulled up next to it and turned off the engine. There was no one in the other vehicle and so she looked around and got out. She checked her phone, aware that she had no idea what her contact looked like. One could guess from a voice but they were often wildly incorrect. Her phone buzzed and made her jump. She had a new text.

‘Drive down the Great How Road towards Raven Crag. I’ll meet you at the farm gates, about two hundred yards from the main road,’ it read.

Carry looked around her and shrugged her shoulders. Maybe her informant had got cold feet and didn’t even trust the isolation of a small car park. Though she did usually see National Trust car parks pretty full most of the time in the Lake District. It was worse in summer, of course, but even out of season, it was difficult to find parking along the most popular routes. She walked back to her car and got in, starting the engine. She was torn between excitement at some juicy information for a new article, and concern that she was being wound up. If the meeting was a hoax, she’d be angry and frustrated. She decided to give it one more go and drive to the supposed farm gates, wherever they were. There were no signs indicating a farm, but she kept looking for the gate.

The text was bang on. She waved when she saw a figure standing near the gate and they waved back, opening the wooden structure to allow a car in. She was directed to a vehicle parked behind away from the road, out of sight, and it was made clear to her that she should follow it. There must be some acreage to the farm, Carry thought, as well as some money. They rounded a clearing and she spotted a slate farmhouse, nestled in a natural dip in the countryside. The vehicle pulled up outside and Carry parked beside it. She grabbed her bag containing all of her notes and a dictaphone, as well as a bottle of water. Her stomach was knotty, and it was a familiar feeling when she thought she’d sniffed something valuable. She was excited.

They shook hands and Carry was cordially invited inside.