‘Great, why don’t you bring me up to speed and I’ll head down to interview Major Tatterall,’ Kelly said.

‘Lance Tatterall?’ Zoe asked.

‘The same,’ Kelly said. ‘You know him?’

‘I sure do, I was working with him last week. He’s your witness? The one who’s saying it wasn’t an accident?’ Zoe asked.

Kelly nodded.

‘Well that changes things. Usually I dismiss such conjecture as gossip, but I’d like to hear what he has to say. Where is he?’

‘Down there,’ Kelly pointed down the mountain towards the Wasdale Inn. ‘It’ll take an hour to get down, but it’s steep and hard on your knees,’ she said, looking at the woman’s feet. She’d at least had the sense to wear walking boots.

‘What the hell is he doing here?’ Zoe asked.

‘Don’t know, holiday, I guess,’ Kelly said.

Zoe looked at her watch, presumably calculating if she had time to leave the site. She changed the subject.

‘It’s very unconventional, you know, for the AAIB not to have full jurisdiction, but orders are orders,’ Zoe said. Kelly cringed inside. This was the last thing she needed, some power-hungry thruster.

‘It’s the sheer amount of agencies involved,’ Kelly said. ‘Somebody needs to coordinate them all. I won’t tread on your toes. You’re simply delivering information to me; I won’t interfere.’

Zoe looked at her again and nodded.

‘Fair enough. Let’s go over there, where our heads won’t be blown off by this fucking helicopter,’ she said. Kelly warmed to her a little more. She liked straight talking.

Zoe filled her in on the operation so far. She was arranging for the helicopter’s main body to be airlifted to a hangar in Penrith. They’d managed to free the two last runners trapped underneath, and they’d been confirmed as deceased and transported to the mortuary at the Penrith and Lakes. Kelly watched as Zoe pointed out various groups working on evidence and packaging boxes to be transported to the hangar, so the machine could be reconstructed. There were thousands of pieces to bag and tag, for painstaking work later. Kelly reckoned it was like a typical crime scene but a million times larger and more complex.

‘Personal effects?’ Kelly asked.

‘We’ve retrieved six mobile phones, I think, so far.’

‘Six? For four passengers?’ Kelly asked.

‘Indeed. I guess that’s your job,’ Zoe said and smiled.

They walked side by side and Zoe checked in on her staff wearing AAIB bibs, trawling through evidence bags. Zoe picked something up; it was a clear bag containing a small bottle of brown liquid.

‘Brandy, found in the cockpit,’ Zoe told her.

‘Oh dear,’ Kelly said. They carried on, Zoe replacing the bag in the evidence box.

‘Something ripped the tail rotor off,’ Zoe said. ‘It was found near the lake, down there,’ she added, pointing down the valley.