The incident rooms at Eden House were all on the top floor, which was where Kelly’s office was too. Ranks higher than detective inspector were housed in their ivory tower at HQ, on the outskirts of Penrith, in a grand old gaff hidden behind bushes away from prying eyes. It was the headquarters for the whole Cumbrian constabulary, but Kelly had no desire to work there. Promotion, should it ever come, would have to be elsewhere for her.

She’d begun to create an incident map for the case, with the photo of Ella at the centre. She always did it: seeing the victim’s face every day had the effect of galvanising her team and reminding them what they were fighting for. She entered the incident room and perched on the edge of a desk. Her team waited.

‘Guv, emergency news bulletin sorted for six thirty,’ DS Kate Umshaw announced. DS Umshaw was the mother hen of the team, making sure everybody was happy and supplied with tea and cake. She was also hard as nails.

‘Thanks, Kate,’ Kelly said. The office was warm from the aged radiators, and they needed the lights on. It was beginning to feel like winter. The sky outside was black, and snow was predicted. ‘Perimeter?’ she asked.

DC Rob Shawcross answered. ‘We’ve got uniforms at every entrance to the park, as well as on the main roads in and out of the area; they’re stopping every car, bicycle and pedestrian and taking statements.’ DC Shawcross was her Great Dane, keeping guard over his master, ready to pounce.

‘Excellent. Any sign of the weapon? Or weapons? We won’t know which until the coroner’s done.’

‘Not yet, guv. Ten officers did a shoulder-to-shoulder search for one hundred metres in all directions. They haven’t got the manpower to go further yet.’

‘Appeal for public help and get that coordinated, Will.’

He nodded. DS Will Phillips was her middle-distance champion, her plodder, who never failed to churn out answers and provide solid graft.

‘What about the fitness trainer?’

‘He said he saw her run past at around 1.15 p.m. His class finished at 1.20. It was as he was leaving that he saw her body.’

‘Christ, so a five-minute window. Which direction was she running?’

‘South, judging from where she parked her car, following the figure-of-eight path from the splash park towards the pond.’

‘And he didn’t hear her scream? The speed of the attack and the fact that she didn’t even get her phone out of her running wallet suggests they came from behind, yet the trainer saw no one else? Get a map up,’ Kelly said. ‘Let’s see where they could have come from. I think I have an idea, though.’