‘It’s my belief,’ Jack started, ‘that this gang is getting inside information from someone you all know and have probably already interviewed. I want a calendar on this whiteboard showing all upcoming social events – golf tournaments, harvest festivals, school plays, walking groups, theatre groups, bridge nights – let’s see if we can predict when they might hit next.’

Oaks immediately picked up the whiteboard pen and got to work, and soon everyone was chipping in. It turned out the social calendar for residents in and around Chipping Norton was a busy one. Most residents were out more than they were in, which was a boon for burglars.

But Jack’s biggest problem came from those property owners who still wouldn’t give up the names of the famous people renting at the time of a burglary. It meant that apart from the unfortunate Maisie, there were no witnesses at all.

As Oaks filled up the whiteboard, one thing was abundantly clear: this gang was bold, because they came prepared with transport big enough to cart away antique furniture and paintings; they weren’t restricting themselves to easier, smaller items such as jewellery and cash. And they hadn’t been caught in more than three years of activity, meaning every one of them was a professional. Except, that is, for the person caught creeping up Maisie’s stairs. This discrepancy was bugging Jack.

Were the people who stuck a knife into the ear of a dog the same people who ran when a teenage girl spotted them in the mirror of her wardrobe door? And, perhaps more to the point, were the people who had never once been caught on camera, or left a single fingerprint, the same people who allowed Maisie to spot them so carelessly? Jack was beginning to think that Maisie’s burglar was someone else entirely.

Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

Gifford’s team was pleasantly surprised to see Jack mucking in with the laborious background research connected to this case.

‘Nothing’s irrelevant,’ Jack had told them. ‘If it’s in this room, we need it. We might not know why yet, but we do need it.’

Barbara from the canteen was under orders from Gifford to keep his team and his guest topped up, so a steady stream of pastries and hot drinks were brought up every couple of hours. Within a few days of arriving, Jack could tell whether Barbara was having a quiet day or not, depending on the variety of homemade biscuits and pastries. Jack sometimes thought she looked like a gnarly old witch, but her baking was fabulous, and her tea was to die for. She was also a mine of information.