Ron Curtis had claimed that his son was no longer interested in young girls but James doubted that was true. He was probably just finding it harder to seduce and groom them now that he was in his fifties.

On the way to the Curtis house, James and DS Stevens went over the reasons why Daniel was a person of interest.

‘He’d been ostracised by the villagers after his stint in jail, and it was made clear to him that he wasn’t welcome in Kirkby Abbey,’ James said. ‘So he might well have decided to get revenge. He also is said to have reacted angrily after Charlie Jenkins confronted and threatened his old man.’

Stevens nodded. ‘Ron told us that Daniel was back at his own home in Keswick when Charlie was murdered on Saturday night but this can’t be confirmed. Is it possible Ron was lying or had Daniel lied to him? And then there’s the fact that Daniel was spotted lurking outside the school on Friday evening. Was he there hoping to catch a glimpse of Lorna Manning, or perhaps planning to follow her home from there?’

Just before the patrol car arrived at Ron’s house, James said to Stevens, ‘There’s something else you need to know about Daniel Curtis. Three years before he was done for having sex with a minor, he had a brief fling with my wife Annie, who was sixteen at the time. When her father found out he put a stop to it. Before then her dad and Ron Curtis were mates, but after that they didn’t talk to each other. I should have mentioned it when the guy’s name first cropped up, but I didn’t think it would come to this and we’d have to talk to him.’

‘Don’t sweat it, guv,’ Stevens said. ‘That was nearly twenty years ago by my reckoning and Annie wasn’t a minor. So I don’t think we’re into conflict of interest territory. It’ll be a different matter with her uncle if things stack up against him, though.’

James shook his head. ‘I really don’t think they will. I’m sure it’s a case of Annie overreacting.’

Stevens cocked an eyebrow. ‘For both your sakes, I hope you’re right about that, guv.’

This time there was a white Range Rover on the driveway of Ron Curtis’s bungalow. It was only a couple of years old and looked as though it had recently been cleaned.

The bungalow’s front door was opened before James and DS Stevens reached it. A tall man greeted them with a nod and a smile. He was wearing a grey jumper and tight black jeans.

‘I’m Daniel Curtis,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry you weren’t able to reach me before today. My phone packed up on me after I dropped it so I had to get a new one.’

It irked James that the guy did not look a day over forty-five. He’d lost most of his hair but not his looks, and it was obvious that he kept himself in shape. He had a square jawline that was covered in designer stubble, and deep-set brown eyes.