It was almost nine p.m. What had begun as a light splattering of wet hail had now turned into fully fat snowflakes as she drove along the north shore of Ullswater. They cast a spell on her as the windscreen wipers worked hard to keep them out of her vision. As she navigated the single road and all of its sharp bends, her eyes were drawn to a bright aura of lights above the treeline to the west. As she approached the entrance to the estate, she knew that it must be the lights from the forensic team tents set up around the house. It amazed her that when they were investigating a standard middle-of-the-week burglary or domestic, funds were tight and the machinery of investigation slow, but when a cabinet minister was thrown in the mix, suddenly the resources were infinite.

The long drive swerved this way and that and she finally came to a wide open gravel entrance, flanked by huge pristine planters full of evergreen hardies. The stone facade was impressive, and looked odd being used as a thoroughfare for men and women in white overalls, carrying boxes and bags to and from several vans parked up to the side. She got out of the car and Zoe appeared from the shadows and greeted her.

‘I got your text. Lance is round the back looking at where the equipment for the helicopter is stored. There’s a lot of stuff, but I get the impression that Kennedy-Craig hired ’copters whenever he was up here. He liked to impress, and he hangared them here for privacy. There’s kit for all sorts of maintenance and overnight provisions, as well as de-icing equipment.’

‘I read your email. The cockpit voice recorder has them de-icing on Monday for a good hour,’ Kelly said, following her.

Zoe nodded. ‘It’s standard, nothing to worry about. The blades should have worked perfectly well afterwards, and the flight data recorder showed no irregularities that would indicate an icing issue, so we’ve ruled it out. The question is, who had access to these outhouses on Sunday night?’

Kelly nodded and they continued to walk around the vast property. White tents were erected all over the huge lawn and she could see the jetty and boathouse on the lake where she knew the social media posts had been filmed.

‘We’ve hit our first problem,’ Zoe said.

Kelly stopped walking. ‘I love your optimism. I can see a thousand problems with this case; so far you’ve got one.’

Zoe grinned. ‘All the CCTV has been wiped. There are cameras at the main entrance, and at the boathouse, as well as a couple on bedroom balconies. The officer in charge is a good egg.’

‘That’s because I chose her,’ Kelly said. ‘And told her to cooperate with you fully.’