‘Maybe. The report goes on to say that the only visitors to the farm were the postman and the milk tanker driver, both early in the morning. That was it until the boys came home from school, when they were dropped at the bottom of the lane by the school bus. There was nobody at all for seven hours, apart from Leach. Not even a feed sales rep. It must be a pretty quiet life at Ringham Edge.’

‘It sounds idyllic to me at this moment.’

‘I’d call it downright tedious,’ said Hitchens.

‘Saturday was even worse. The tanker driver came as usual, but not the postman. There was no school for the boys.’

‘We can’t justify continuing surveillance on the basis of that sort of report. Call the team off, Paul.’

‘There is one thing, though,’ said Fry.

‘Yes?’

‘DC Gardner was the last officer on surveillance duty. She has added a note on the report at the end of her shift yesterday.’

‘What did she see?’

‘It’s more a question of what she didn’t see.’

Tailby began to get irritated. ‘Don’t play Sherlock Holmes with me, Fry. That’s my role.’

‘Sorry, sir. Gardner says that she understood there were two adults and two children resident at Ringham Edge. She observed the movements of the boys and their father, but not their mother. She never saw any sign of the mother at all, on either of her shifts. DC Gardner queries the whereabouts of Mrs Yvonne Leach.’

Tailby sat up straight. ‘Damn.’

‘Do you think it might be important?’ said Hitchens.

‘It’s something we’ve overlooked. Check the rest of the surveillance reports, Paul. But I’m pretty sure that you’ll find she was never mentioned. Not in any of them. But nobody thought that was in the least remarkable, did they? Not until Toni Gardner.’

‘The others probably assumed Mrs Leach was slaving over the kitchen sink or something,’ said Fry.

‘Idiots.’

‘If she was there, she would have seen the boys off to school in the morning, at least. In fact, she would probably have walked them down the lane to the bus. There’s a killer about somewhere, after all. Any mother would do that. If she was there.’

‘Yes, you’re right, Fry. Let’s establish when she was last seen. We’ve all been going up and down that lane for a week, right past the gate. Somebody must have seen her.’

‘Can I take Ben Cooper with me?’ asked Fry.

Tailby nodded. ‘Good idea. Keep his head down and his mind focused.’ He looked at Hitchens. ‘I’ve got a bad feeling, Paul.’

‘There’s probably an innocent explanation. She may have gone away to stay with a relative or something for a while. She may be ill in bed. There’s a bit of flu about, they reckon.’

‘I’ve still got a bad feeling. Everything about this case gives me a bad feeling.’