‘Detective Superintendent Grace,’ he answered. And heard Glenn Branson’s voice at the other end.

‘Boss, sorry to intrude, but you said to call if we found anything.’

‘Tell me?’

‘The team excavating the deposition-site area have found a bone – they think it might be human. Lucy Sibun’s assistant attended and says it could be a lower arm radius, but we might not know for sure until Lucy gets here – which is not going to be until early evening. Meantime, they’re emailing photographs of it to Dundee.’

Dundee University ran the UK Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification. They could normally identify bones as being human or belonging to another animal within a few hours.

Grace thought for a moment. Glenn had the search under control and, strictly, he wasn’t needed. But as the SIO, with there being a potentially significant find, he wanted to be there. And besides, not really wanting to admit this to himself, it would be a welcome, temporary distraction.

‘OK,’ he said. ‘I’d like to see the site.’

‘I’m heading there, want me to pick you up? I could be with you in forty-five minutes.’

Grace thought briefly. He didn’t feel like talking to anyone at the moment and wondered about driving there on his own. But maybe it would be good to have the company of his friend. ‘Sure. Where exactly is it?’

‘Want me to give you the what3words location?’

‘Thanks.’

‘It’s boil.stunner.throwaway,’ Branson said.

Memorizing them, Grace entered them in the what3words app on his phone. The app had recently become an invaluable tool for the police. The entire world had been gridded into three-metre squares, each of which was given a three-word ident. boil.stunner.throwaway showed him a location in Ashdown Forest a short distance from what looked like a parking area.

Thanking him, Grace ended the call and told Cleo.

‘Probably do you some good,’ she said. ‘Focus on something else.’

He nodded. ‘It’s the only way I can deal with this horrendous time. I’ve got to distract myself, though I know it’s not how everyone would deal with it.’

And in the meanwhile, there was nothing he could do, other than mope around. Plunging back into work was the best way to take his mind off it.

Half an hour later, he heard the sound of a car pulling up outside. He scooped some tuna salad onto the two halves of bagel that Kaitlynn had toasted, squished them together and wrapped them in several sheets of kitchen towel, then went outside.

‘You want some lunch?’ Grace said as his greeting.

‘Thanks, boss – I’m starving!’

‘Fill your boots,’ Grace, who had no appetite, said sullenly, passing him the package.

The DI devoured the bagel in five bites, then started the engine and did a fast U-turn, narrowly missing the only tree on the entire driveway.

70

Friday 6 September

‘Sorry about that – I remember watching Lewis Hamilton do a doughnut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.’

Grace looked at him. ‘No disrespect, he’s probably a bit more talented behind the wheel than you.’