So she made herself a minimal lunch and set out in the unfamiliar car. It took barely five minutes to reach Bibury, where there were alarming numbers of people walking along the roads and paths, filling the tables at the little cafe by the fish farm shop, and patronising the handful of other shops. It was quite a shock to see so many other humans after the deserted villages of 231Barnsley and Broad Campden. There was nowhere to park the car. She drove over the bridge and turned right towards the famous row of ancient cottages. The whole road was densely packed with vehicles, including camper vans and minibuses. The wider area was full of coaches and the larger motorhomes. And sure enough, a good proportion of the trippers were of Asian appearance. Twice Thea saw women who could have been sisters to Grace, which sent her thoughts back yet again to the poor woman. Was nobody looking for her? Where was the husband with the initials K. A. W.? Should the police not be making far greater effort to track down more details about the dead woman than they were doing?

She turned the car round awkwardly in a gateway and went through Bibury again. There really wasn’t a single space to park, so after a few hundred yards she randomly took a small country road to the left and miraculously found a small lay-by, where she stopped. But it was not in view of the river or the handsome old Swan Inn, and certainly not the renowned Arlington Row, which had been her intended subject for a picture. All she could see was fields, and stone walls and some well-concealed houses. But at least she could sit unobserved if she did decide to get out and do a drawing. She had the Ordnance Survey map with her, which told her she was on the junction with the old Arlington Pike road, which gave her a pleasing sense of history. Perhaps she should draw a drover with his herd of fat cattle on their way to market in Cirencester? She was rather good at drawing cows, and he could have a nice, big, rangy dog as well.232

She also had her phone with her, turned on and fully charged as Clovis had instructed. And just as she opened the car door, having decided to get out and find a quiet corner to sit, it started to warble. Jessica said the screen.

‘Hi, Jess. You got my text, then?’

‘It nearly gave me a heart attack. What are you thinking? You can’t just move me around the country like a chess piece. I’m totally involved here. There’s no way they can spare me. It’ll cause terrible ructions to even ask.’ The voice was breathless with anger.

‘Okay. Calm down. It just seemed worth a try. They’re really short-handed down here, and there’s been this murder—’

‘Isn’t there always? I did hear a bit about it, actually. Do you want to explain exactly what happened?’