Dan strode over to the patch of concrete used by the helicopter and looked around. He noticed several storage sheds in the vicinity and marched towards them. Nellie scuttled after him and Emma was surprised at the woman’s agility. Damn, she moved quickly for an older woman, she thought. She had zest in her; that was for sure.

Dan threw open the door to a barn, looking inside. Emma had no idea what he was looking for. Nellie shouted at him, but he was already quite apart from them, and when he eventually turned around to listen to the woman, he explained that he hadn’t heard her, and apologised profusely.

‘What are you looking for?’ Nellie asked.

‘Where did the pilots fly in from?’ he asked.

‘I have no idea,’ Nellie said, ‘How would I know that?’

‘They’re rotor covers.’ He pointed to a large bundle inside one of the sheds.

‘Are they?’ Emma asked breathlessly, having followed them to the barn.

Dan winked at her. ‘Helicopters must be hangared if staying overnight before flight in freezing temperatures, to avoid the build-up of ice on the blades, or they’ve got to be protected and heated. Look, they’re the type of heaters that might be put inside the cabin to prevent ice. I’d wager the ’copter was kept here overnight. We need to find the log.’

‘I said you couldn’t look around! You haven’t got a warrant and this is private property!’ Nellie was desperate to get rid of them.

‘With respect, we’ve been granted permission to investigate the buildings and holdings of Tactika Enterprises, including long-term leases,’ Emma said. It had nothing to do with a warrant but Nellie wasn’t to know that. Emma betted on her misunderstanding. They’d had phone calls with Tactika HQ in London, who’d agreed to cooperate, but again, Nellie wasn’t to know that. Emma waited.

Nellie glared at her. ‘Tactika Enterprises don’t own this property, I do. Now get off my land.’

They walked around the property to Emma’s car, followed by the owner, who watched them leave all the way down the drive and out of sight.

‘Jesus, touchy,’ Dan said as they pulled away.

‘How the hell did you know all of that about rotor blades and stuff?’ Emma asked.

He shrugged. ‘It’s all on Google,’ he said.

A trip to the Glenridding hotel confirmed that Lord Reilly had been booked to stay all weekend, but it didn’t take long to find the maid who cleaned his room every day, and to establish that he hadn’t spent one night there.

Chapter 27

‘Are they gone?’ George Fellows asked Nellie, when she returned to her cottage to tell him what the coppers had said.

‘For now, but they’ll be back. What the hell am I supposed to say, George? They know I’m not being cooperative, it’s bloody obvious.’