‘I’m sorry, Ted. This afternoon has presented me with some new angles and I need to bring it all together in my head while it’s fresh.’

She’d emailed him the images of Mary’s athame (or what Fred had said was a very close replica) once she knew that Josie was at the climbing centre, so not to disturb his time with her.

‘Your artist’s impression of Kirk Junker is on the national news,’ he said.

‘Fantastic, let’s hope it encourages loads of leads. I’ll find him one way or another. I have a possible further alias for him as well: Harry O’Connor. Does that ring any bells?’

‘No. I can do some digging though. I had a wonderful afternoon with Josie.’

‘Of course, I didn’t ask. I’m sorry. I bet you guys had fun, she’s a great girl.’

‘She is.’

‘Did you spoil her?’

‘Of course I did. Skiing equipment has come a long way since my day. Let me put my dinner down and I’ll go and get my laptop. I worked on those images you sent me for two hours and I think I have some good news for you: well, I’m hoping it’s what you want to hear.’

‘I’m sorry I’m disturbing your tea, Ted.’

‘Not a concern. Though this wine is rather nice. Here we go. So, I used the manufacturer’s instructions to get the definitive measurements down to the tenth of a millimetre and I compared it to the gash wounds, and they match.’

‘Really? One hundred per cent?’

‘In my opinion. This athame knife is what made your second set of punctures, and it’s the one that killed her, going through several veins in her upper thorax. The lower stab wounds were consistent with the kitchen knife that was sticking out of her chest, just missing her heart by three hundredths of a millimetre.’

‘But in the end it didn’t matter because of this other weapon used. But it’s not traditionally a weapon, despite what it looks like. It’s a magical item of worship, and should never be used physically.’

‘Well it was, so whoever used it was a non-believer.’

‘Rage. No rage,’ said Kelly.

‘I beg your pardon?’ Ted asked.

‘Oh, something The Teacher said to me today. Mary was killed with such rage, and yet Carry’s death was almost nonchalant and perfunctory.’

‘How did it go?’

‘It was awful. I felt undressed and examined, yet at the same time I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I played the game and came away with what I wanted.’

‘I never doubted that for a second. You sound tired. Have you spoken to Johnny?’

‘Not yet. I’ve got some phone calls to make and then I’ll speak to him last, uninterrupted. He should have collected Josie by now.’