She paused for a second, watching Will, wearing gloves, transfer the items to evidence boxes. Two people had decided to leave home that day with knives, intent on bringing down an innocent victim. She might just be looking at the two weapons they had chosen. Were they taken from their mother’s knife block? Were they newly purchased? Had they chopped potatoes with them to make chips?

She shivered and realised that she’d grown cold. She held out her hand to the dive sergeant to thank him.

‘Glad to help,’ he said.

As Will and Kelly walked back to the car, DS Umshaw called with good news: four CCTV cameras overlooked the part of the estate where Keira had died and the surrounding area. Footage was being trawled now.

Chapter 14

Ted Wallis had been the senior coroner for the north-west of England for approaching fifteen years. It was the type of position where one had to wait for one’s predecessor to die. Now he knew why. There was no way he wanted to hand over the ropes to someone else, despite his advancing age. He was as sharp as ever (so he thought, anyway) and the work kept coming. One day he’d go into lecturing and touring, and perhaps even write a book: that was how most retired pathologists seemed to make their money. But he also had plans to spend more time with his family.

Neither Amber nor June had got around to having children, and it was something he regretted, though he knew they’d probably been put off the idea by his marriage to their mother. Mary was an alcoholic. Amber and June, looking back, had borne the brunt of her blackouts and had virtually brought themselves up. They were resourceful girls as a result, but he wished he’d spotted it sooner.

Wendy Porter had dazzled him in emerald green at a fancy ball thrown by the Earl of Lowesdale at Wasdale Hall on the shore of Ullswater. She’d been beautiful. He hadn’t found out that he was Kelly’s father until last year. And now he wanted to make the most of it. Part of that involved doing his job properly so she could do hers. Funny, he thought, how he’d worked with her for two years before they found out her heritage.

The mortuary was peaceful, as always. It was a singularly still place, unlike any other he’d ever experienced. It wasn’t for everyone, working with the dead, but it gave him immense satisfaction to tease out their secrets and perhaps even solve the riddle of their demise. He had several assistants who all performed different tasks. One took photographs, from angles dictated by Ted. Another handed him equipment, and measured and weighed. It was a smooth operation and there was no rush. There were no lives being saved on his slab.