‘When Ted Wallis called me to ask if I was lecturing at Lancaster University, he filled me in, and I knew you had a first-class crazy on your hands.’

‘Thanks for letting me know,’ she said sardonically. ‘Are you coming up to Lancaster?’

‘I’m there now. I’m only an hour away from you, want me to hop into my car?’

‘I certainly do. What do you know about ritual killers?’

‘The most famous was Jack the Ripper.’

‘Really? What, because of the surgery?’

‘Yes. As well as the escalation, number and locations of the bodies. They were in a perfect pentagram across Whitechapel, when the demon Astaroth is invoked.’

‘What?’

‘Five is a very important number for the occult, it’s a symbol of balance. And it’s seen across numerous cultures, including Japanese cooking, would you believe? We have five senses, there were five wounds of Christ, five pillars of Islam, five rites of passage, five elements, and it symbolises the Wiccan kiss.’

‘Demi, I’ve got a headache already, where do you learn this kind of stuff?’

‘If you’re interested, it’s everywhere. What I can’t wait to find out is why you are interested. What have you got? It must be good, Kelly Porter, because you wouldn’t be giving it any airtime unless you thought it convincing. I’m intrigued.’

‘I’m confused.’

‘It’s a huge subject, but don’t worry, the believer often has a specific set of mores; we just need to find out what they’re into. It shouldn’t be that hard if you’ve already got some evidence for me. Which I’m guessing you have, otherwise you wouldn’t be calling me.’

‘I’m giving a brief to my team at Eden House in Penrith – the main police station – at noon. Can you be there?’

‘Plenty of time. I’m packing my things now. I have two lectures to deliver tomorrow. Ted said he was bringing you.’

‘I think that might be out of the question now.’

‘Sure. Well, I hope I can help.’

They hung up.

When Kelly arrived at Fred’s house, there were several parked cars outside, which seemed odd to her for such a quiet area. She drove further along the road and parked, walking back the twenty metres or so to his house. Last time they’d been, they’d parked outside easily. She gathered her notepad and decided to leave her coat in the car. When she got out, she heard the song of birds and the smell of cooking. It was homely and peaceful, and every instinct she had told her that Fred and Sandra were loving, law-abiding people. But she could only work with facts, and if they said anything else, she’d act upon it. She was writing no one out of the story just yet.