‘Let’s hope that one is still in there, it’s possible. The trajectory of the first could cause the damage and the resultant force could slow the second and stop it dead.’ Ted said.

‘That’s what I’m counting on.’

‘Casing?’

‘Nope.’

He picked up his briefcase and they left the cottage. Kelly drove towards the M6. In Carlisle, a body waited for them in a fridge. She already knew that the man hadn’t been in the boatshed long, because fly activity was in its earliest stages. He was post-rigor, but that only meant he’d been there for around eight hours. The corpse still stank, though, and she’d brought a handkerchief and perfume with her. It didn’t matter how cold a body was; it still radiated the sweet aroma of rot.

‘How’s Johnny?’ Ted asked. He glanced at her ring, bought by Kelly’s boyfriend last Christmas. It suited her, and was the only ring she wore. The rubies and bright yellow Indian gold complimented her dark brown hair, which was just becoming sun-kissed as summer approached.

‘He’s good. He just missed out on doing sub-twenty-four hours on the Lakeland 100, but he did bloody brilliantly.’

‘I’ll say. I hope he’s going to put some weight back on now.’

‘That’s what I said. I’ve been feeding him butter and cream.’

‘He’s not going to make a habit of it, is he, these ultra-marathons? It’s not good for the body.’ Ted grew serious.

‘But the butter and cream’s all right? I know. I think he’s proved a point, and that’ll be it. It’s sailing next.’

Next year would be Johnny’s fiftieth and her fortieth, and they wanted to do something spectacularly different. Perhaps the Florida Keys. That was why they were taking lessons with Graeme. It wasn’t lost on her that it would be Ted’s seventieth next year too.

Traffic was light on the motorway, and they arrived at the hospital in under an hour. No one would guess that the smart father-and-daughter couple who strode into the main entrance were on their way to the mortuary to examine a corpse.

Kelly was familiar with the layout – she’d been there before – and she watched as Ted scrubbed up and gave out instructions to assistants. His energy and professionalism hadn’t flagged, despite his age, and it made an impression on her every time she saw him work. She didn’t reckon she’d still be a copper at that age; she’d have burnt out by then and would hopefully be living in a cottage at the foot of a fell, maybe with a partner, maybe not. The cadaver was wheeled into the room and placed on the slab. Kelly took out her perfumed handkerchief, Ted placed his glasses on the end of his nose, and they fell silent, apart from Ted’s dictation and the click of the camera.