‘That’s because it’s never really been English. It’s more Celtic. Neither the Romans nor the Anglo-Saxons could be bothered to come this far, and when they did, they found tribes of hard nuts willing to fight to the death.’

‘Northerners! You’re a history teacher all of a sudden?’

‘No, I studied biology, but one of my colleagues is a history buff.’

‘Which one? I like them all.’

‘Ted Wallis, the coroner. He’s a fan of yours, in fact he’s coming to listen to one of your lectures tomorrow.’

‘You’re lucky to have such a tight-knit team. It’s what most detectives and SIOs dream of. To work with the same coroner all the time must be fabulous. That must make life a lot easier.’

‘It’s not London.’

‘I can see that. It reminds me of a few investigations I worked on in the Isles of Scilly years ago – everyone knew each other, there was no need for CCTV because the islanders bloody knew everything. The perps didn’t stand a chance!’

‘It’s not that cosy here. If only I could find a few key players, I reckon I could get to the bottom of this craziness. I know another one’s coming, and soon.’

‘I agree.’

Kelly unlocked her front door and they went in.

‘Welcome,’ Kelly said. Early evening orange sun flooded through the north-facing windows of the house, filling the kitchen with a Mediterranean glow. The back of the house, overlooking the river from its tiny terrace, was darker, but no less captivating; it had the lion’s share of the sunshine throughout the day. Demi went through the double doors and peered over the fence to the water below.

‘It’s so peaceful! So now I know why you were in such a rush to come back home. Where’s your man?’

‘My man? I love how you speak your mind, Demi. That’s one of the things I hated about London: all those egos and pretence. Johnny should be joining us soon.’

‘And he’s a mountain rescuer? How chivalrous! And sexy as hell.’

‘He does that part time when required, the rest of his time he invests his army pension and enters crazy endurance races.’

‘I can’t wait to meet him.’

‘He’ll be here soon. You’ll like him, he’s very casual. He’s been sailing all day. He’ll make sure his daughter is safe and tucked up at home, and then he’ll be over. People are jumpy round here at the moment, and rightly so. The journalist’s articles were fairly high profile and the gossip circulating regarding her death hasn’t died down yet.’

Demi nodded. ‘Has anyone had a sniff of the occult angle yet?’

‘Not that I know of. I know that a few national papers have been in touch with the press office, give it time, stuff always leaks.’

‘Quite.’