Fry stood in the middle of the room and turned slowly on the spot, examining the kitchen – its stained walls, its old armchairs, its cast-iron range, and even the still dripping tap in the sink.

‘What do you think, Diane?’ asked Cooper.

‘To be honest, I think you must be Doctor Who, and you’ve just zipped us off to another place and time in your Tardis.’

‘I do know where there’s a police box,’ he said helpfully. ‘But it hasn’t moved for years, to my knowledge.’

‘Ben, I don’t recognize this world. These people are an alien species to me. I feel like an anthropologist examining the remains of a vanished civilization.’

‘I know what you mean.’

Fry stepped over a heap of muddy straw on the kitchen floor. ‘Actually, “civilization” is putting it a bit strong.’

She was trying to make a joke of it, but Fry really did feel out of her own place and time. The sensation was very disturbing, as if the time machine had left her travel sick and nauseous.

And she had the suspicion that it wasn’t the Suttons who were the aliens around here.

Just as she was thinking about aliens, Wayne Abbott put his head round the door. His shaved head bristled aggressively.

‘Oh, there you are,’ he said. ‘I was just wondering whether you’d knocked off and gone home. I thought you might like to know – there’s an extensive burnt area behind the poultry sheds. Do you want us to start sifting through it?’

‘How large an area?’ asked Fry.

‘Like the size of several bonfires. It could have been an entire building that went up, if it was made of wood. But there’s no sign of a concrete or brick base. I’d guess someone was burning rubbish, and used accelerant to make a good job of it. The ash is several inches deep in places.’

‘I suppose you’ll need more resources for that job?’

‘You bet.’

‘Contain it for now, and we’ll let you know.’

‘No problem. Oh, and the builders’ foreman is here. The Polish bloke. He says you wanted him.’

Nikolai Dudzik nodded cautiously, sensing from Fry’s manner that he was in a difficult position. Instead of his yellow hard hat, he was wearing a shapeless woollen cap, indicating that he was off duty.

‘Bones,’ he said. ‘A few bones, that was all.’

‘Yes, bones, Mr Dudzik.’

‘The skeleton of an animal, yes? It’s a farm, after all. There must have been lots of animals buried here, I think.’

‘So you got the men to fill the hole in again and cover it up?’

‘Yes.’

‘For God’s sake, why?’

Dudzik raised his hands apologetically.

‘I knew there would be a lot of fuss if we reported it, Sergeant. It would have delayed the job too much. We’re already behind schedule, you see. Because of the weather.’