They drove in five squad cars and three vans, and people in the streets stopped and stared at them as they passed. It took under twenty minutes to get to the base of the Skiddaw walk and they filed out of their vehicles quietly. A helicopter flew overhead but it was unlikely it’d be able to get near the rock face today in the dangerously high winds. It provided backup instead. Lonscale Fell sat silent and serene above them. It was a straightforward walk and it wouldn’t be too challenging staying in formation. As well as the mountain rescue team put together by Johnny, Rob and Emma accompanied Kelly, and they put on walking jackets to start the search. The hardest part was walking vertically uphill, and not on the paths. They had to search every piece of landscape.

They crossed White Beck and trudged on in silence. No one made a sound. And nobody indicated that they’d spotted anything at all that was extraordinary. The wind howled around them with menacing force and, if they weren’t careful, it threatened to whip them off the hillside to the crags below. Kelly’s mind began to wander and she thought about Josie. Then she thought about Ted, and knew that he’d have been informed about the double homicide at the farm. He’d also know that Kelly would be assigned the case. Her pondering turned to Carry Tomlin and how terrified she must have been inside that house of horrors. Did she see the bodies? Did she know what awaited her? Did she recognise the smell of death?

Their biggest trump card was Jock Harris. He’d apparently spent time with their killer, and as soon as he was strong enough, and fairly lucid, they’d talk to him. Jock was an intelligent man and he remembered details well. She was confident they’d nail the bastard and get them put away for life.

They neared halfway and still no one flagged anything up. Occasionally, they’d all stop for a breather. It was tough going, even for seasoned mountain rescuers and police. The wind picked up even more aggressively, but it didn’t spoil the incredibly beautiful view, which was clear over the whole of the Derwent area. The lake sparkled in the distance and Kelly thought about Johnny’s boat, the Wendy, bobbing up and down and chugging between islands and pub stops. Skiddaw was clear at the top and Kelly could see plenty of coloured dots scaling the summit. Grisedale Pike in the distance looked moody and dominating, as always, half covered in trees, residing above the mighty Whinlatter Forest.

Finally, they reached the top and stopped. Everybody looked at Kelly and she didn’t know what to say.