‘You must know a thing or two about helicopters?’ Kelly asked. Kelly didn’t. Except what Johnny had briefly shared with her. She was terrified of them. However, even in her ignorance, the image of something coming off a tail, from anything meant to fly, sounded devastating. ‘Apparently Lance Tatterall saw it come off,’ she added.

‘I’ll come with you when you’re ready and finished up here,’ Zoe said, and walked away. Kelly appreciated the candour and the freedom to wander around the site and get a feel for the destruction. She walked towards the Col and stopped short of the sheer drop. A team coming up the Corridor route had reported a body on the other side, which still hadn’t been retrieved. She chatted to various teams who were busy bagging evidence and logging debris ranging from the tiniest fragments to whole sections of the helicopter. It would take weeks to write the report, and longer to publish. She had to release her mind from the pressure she was under and start at the very beginning.

When she was satisfied that proper evidence handling procedures were in place, she went to find Zoe, and told her she was ready to trek down to the Wasdale Inn.

On the way down, Zoe didn’t complain once, or ask to rest, and it was a demanding descent. Kelly pressed on and by the time they reached the bottom, her knees were screaming. Twice down the gruelling path in less than twelve hours wasn’t something she’d recommend. They arrived at the Wasdale Inn before eleven o’clock.

Johnny was sitting with a man at the bar and they were drinking coffee. They turned to greet her. Johnny introduced the Major and they shook hands. He greeted Zoe warmly.

‘Zoe! They’ve got the best, I see.’ Lance turned to them and began to explain how they knew each other. Kelly watched him. She liked his manner.

‘I never expected to be working on a practical case study with you so soon after your excellent theory delivery,’ Zoe said to Lance. Gallows humour, just like the police.

‘Not the walking holiday you expected?’ Kelly said to him.

He smiled. ‘So who wants to talk to me? The police or you lot?’ he asked Zoe.

‘I do,’ both women said in unison.

‘Major Tatterall,’ Kelly said. ‘This is a joint investigation and I’m the investigating officer, but Zoe is the expert. And you, of course. Can you kick off by telling me exactly what you saw, and explain the technical terms to me. Zoe has her own questions, obviously.’ She waited. She could have sworn that Johnny puffed out his chest a little. Zoe smiled. Kelly liked her.