‘The police team, led by Detective Inspector James Walker, have taken over this hall and turned it into a mini incident room,’ he said. ‘This morning a number of villagers came here demanding to know more about what is going on. There’s huge concern that more murders will be committed and they say the police have been unable to allay their fears.’

When the report ended, James took part in another conference call with Tanner and Stevens, but nothing new came out of it. Following that, he and DC Abbott set off for Giles Keegan’s house in a patrol car, only to find that the guy wasn’t in. James rang his mobile but there was no answer.

‘We’ll try again tomorrow,’ he said to Abbott. ‘I have to go home now anyway so you may as well check into your B&B and try to get a good night’s sleep. Shall we drop you off there?’

‘I have to pick my own car up from outside the hall,’ she said. ‘My overnight bag is in the boot.’

James told the driver to drop him off at home first and on the way there, Abbott said, ‘There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, guv. When we arrived at Janet Dyer’s house, she thought we were going to talk to her about something that happened between Daniel Curtis and your wife, Annie. Is it something that I need to be across?’

James caught the eye of the driver in the rear-view mirror and decided it wouldn’t be fair on Annie to say anything in front of him.

‘It’s nothing important,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Trust me, it has no relevance whatsoever to the case.’

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

The smell of something cooking greeted James as he entered the house.

Annie called out to say that she was in the kitchen preparing dinner. It was almost six so he half expected to see her uncle with her. But she was alone, stirring what smelled like his favourite chicken stew in a saucepan.

‘How are you, hon?’ he said.

She let go of the wooden spoon, turned and walked straight into his arms.

‘I’m glad you’re home at last,’ she said as he pulled her close. ‘It’s been a long day. I was tempted to ring you a couple of times just for a chat, but I didn’t because I knew you’d be busy.’

‘It wouldn’t have been a problem,’ he said. ‘I’ll always find time to talk to you.’

She squeezed him back. ‘Bill is on his way over, in case you’re wondering. I rang him half an hour ago and he said he hadn’t forgotten and was getting ready.’

He let go of her and stepped back. ‘Has he said or done anything else that’s given you cause for concern?’

‘No, but then I haven’t seen him. He told me he’d been for a walk, had lunch at The King’s Head, and then watched television in his room for most of the afternoon.’