‘That’s a shame.’ Cooper looked at the young Ranger more closely. ‘Mark, how did you come by those bruises?’

Mark touched his face again. ‘Oh, I slipped and landed face first on some rocks. I’ll survive.’

‘You sure?’

‘Of course.’

‘Mark, has Owen ever said anything to you about children?’

The Ranger looked away. ‘Not much. He always says: “Kids? I love ’em. But I couldn’t eat a whole one.”’

Cooper nodded, listening for something beyond the old joke. ‘I suppose you have to do school visits as a Ranger.’

‘It’s part of the job these days. They say if we educate youngsters about what Rangers do, they’ll respect the Peak Park and what goes on in it. That’s the theory, anyway. But Owen says a school visit just gives the kids a chance to take the piss out of you all at once instead of one at a time.’

‘Yeah, I know what he means. But Owen has no children, has he?’

‘He’s a good bloke, Owen,’ said Mark.

Todd Weenink was getting impatient at the turn of the conversation. He kicked at the wall and watched as more filling spilled out from between the stones.

Diane Fry could see Maggie Crew from a distance, her yellow jacket marking her out like a beacon. She was standing a little way from the tower, on the edge of the escarpment where the gritstone plateau fell away into the valley. Maggie was a few yards short of the contorted rock formations that Ben Cooper called the Cat Stones. She was standing quite still, as if afraid to go any closer. Beyond the rocks was the Hammond Tower, which ought to have represented the hand of humanity on the landscape of the moor, but failed to suggest any hint of civilization to Fry’s eye.

The wind coming down the valley was cold, carrying the first suggestion of November storms. But Maggie made no attempt to shelter behind the rocks. She seemed happy to expose herself to the full blast of the weather.

She didn’t look round when Fry limped up behind her. But Fry felt as if Maggie had been waiting for her to arrive.

‘Maggie, come on. It’s time to go back home.’

‘Give me a few minutes, then I’ll go.’

‘All right. I’ll stay with you, then.’

‘If you like.’

Maggie didn’t move for a moment. She hesitated as if she wasn’t sure which way to go. Fry had automatically walked up to her left side, understanding Maggie’s vulnerability. Now she watched Maggie’s face, looking for clues about her thoughts in the set of her mouth and squint of her eye.

‘I want to remember more,’ said Maggie. ‘I know that’s what you need from me, Diane. I want to be able to tell you that I remember.’

‘Maggie, it doesn’t matter. We can do it another way.’