Ted strode over to Johnny to take his hand, and Kelly watched them together. It was times like this when she felt a pang of heartache that her mother couldn’t see it. Johnny had been a regular feature around Pooley Bridge longer than she had, and he knew more people. But this afternoon, their mood was more serious. Kelly was less likely to pass time with local drinkers, and it could be said that she actively avoided getting herself into situations where she might be drawn into long conversations about where she’d been all these years, or her job. It was a topic that she didn’t care to delve into and she was known for her privacy.

She ordered a coke, needing the calories, but wishing she could order a large white wine, in the mood for booze after seeing, first hand, what Mary Hales had been subjected to. There was something shatteringly hopeless about a murdered body. In London, their antidote to death as a murder squad had often been fuelled by alcohol and late nights in the local pub. It softened the edges.

‘I think the carvery’s finished already, I’ll grab some bar menus,’ said Johnny, after he’d kissed Kelly.

‘I’m starving,’ Kelly said.

‘They’ll still serve us something light,’ Johnny said. For most punters, when the Sunday carvery had gone, the food was finished, but for familiar faces, the kitchen was always open.

‘How’s it going?’ Johnny asked before moving to the bar.

‘Pretty shit what happened to her,’ she whispered.

Johnny half smiled in sympathy and squeezed her arm. ‘I don’t know how you do it.’

She looked over to Ted.

‘I do nothing, Ted does it all. I just watch,’ she said. They found a table.

‘I’m not taking any credit when you finally solve this one, it’s nasty, that’s for sure,’ Ted said. Johnny shook his head and went to get the menus. When he came back, Ted changed the subject.

‘How is Josie getting on with her climbing?’

‘I can’t keep her away. We think there’s a boy involved, and she mentioned the name Callum, but she says she goes for the exercise, and it gets her away from “fake” people at school. Her words, not mine.’

‘Well anything that gets them active is good, I say,’ Ted said. ‘What exactly is “fake” these days? I’m not familiar with their jargon, I can’t keep up.’

‘I don’t think it means anything different to what it meant to us: being in competition with other teenagers is the toughest part of growing up, I think,’ Kelly said.

They gave their food orders to Johnny, who went to the kitchen.

‘I’m glad you’re staying at mine tonight. It reminds me of when you would visit with Mum,’ Kelly said to Ted.