‘The details of the investigation are being analysed.’

‘Investigation?’

‘I’m sorry, sir. Your friend was murdered.’

Sandra hadn’t seen Fred cry for about ten years. It was when his sister died from cancer. He put his hands over his face and rubbed his eyes. Suddenly he looked old and Sandra went to him. Joe shook his head.

‘When was the last time you saw her?’ the officer asked.

‘At group. On Monday.’

‘Group?’

‘We’re members of a meeting group – a social group – we read books and play music.’ Joe looked oddly at Fred, and Sandra looked oddly at Joe.

‘So that would be the day marked in Mary’s diary. That’s how we found your name, sir. She had several meetings arranged with you.’

‘Of course. We ran the group together. Oh my, I can’t…’

‘Sorry, sir. We can arrange for someone to visit from the family support unit. I appreciate that Mary appears to have no immediate family, but it looks to me as though your group was very important to you both?’

Fred nodded. Joe looked at his feet. Sandra looked at Joe. The police looked at Sandra.

‘Where does the group meet?’

‘Behind the village hall in Braithwaite.’

‘How often?’

‘It varied.’

‘We’ll need a list of the members.’

Fred nodded.

‘Tea?’ Sandra asked.

Chapter 23

Kelly agreed to meet Ted and Johnny in Pooley Bridge for a quick lunch. She’d barely seen Ted yesterday, and over a dead body, and she hadn’t seen Johnny since early Friday.

In the end, the autopsy had taken Ted just under five hours: it was a long one, but not bad considering the gravity of the crime. She’d read of autopsies taking two or three days. However, she was beginning to see signs of fatigue when he finished an operation. Though he would never admit it.

The journey from Eden House in Penrith was a short one and she parked outside the Rose and Crown. News of the murder had travelled and she saw headlines on Sunday papers, and tourists pointing and discussing it. She moved around them and entered the pub, anonymous and nonchalant. Everybody deserved a bloody break and she needed to take her eyes off her computer screen for an hour otherwise she’d go mad. She insisted her team take regular breaks too, but it was sometimes impossible to implement when new information came in or things moved quicker than expected. With this in mind she’d been able to get away and once in her car, she folded the cover over her iPad and looked forward to seeing Ullswater in the distance and sitting by the lake for a short while.