‘Once the body has been taken away, we should try to retrace Daniel’s steps back to The King’s Head,’ he told the officers. ‘If he was stalked through the village then someone might have spotted it. But, of course, it’s also possible that the killer was lying in wait for him along this road.’

The more James thought about everything the more difficult it was to stay focused. Three murders had now been committed over four nights. And they were in no position to assure the public that there wouldn’t be a fourth, let alone any more beyond that.

The pressure on James to find this particular killer was like nothing he had ever experienced. And it was causing him to question his own abilities, which had never happened before.

It didn’t help that the weather had delivered a hammer blow to the investigation just when they needed to accelerate it, restricting what they could do for the time being.

James was sure the killer would eventually make a mistake and they’d have him. But by then he might well have claimed more victims.

So it was imperative they got a result soon. But for that to happen they needed a breakthrough or a big stroke of luck.

He was so lost in thought that Abbott had to nudge him to get his attention.

‘Over there, guv,’ she said, pointing. ‘It’s that local reporter. He’s waving.’

Gordon Carver was standing behind the tape and the sight of him sent a roll of heat up James’s neck

‘I’d better go and talk to him,’ James said. ‘You wait here.’

He signalled for Carver to follow him over to the garden centre entrance where they’d be sheltered from the snow. When they got there, it was the reporter who got the first word in.

‘Let me start by telling you what I already know, Detective Walker,’ he said. ‘It’ll save you having to fob me off by telling me to speak to the press office.’

‘That is what I’ve been instructed to do, Mr Carver,’ James said.

‘Yeah, well there’s no point. The man lying dead over there is Daniel Curtis. I was tipped off by a member of the garden centre staff before you placed what amounts to a gagging order on them. Mr Curtis was attacked last night and stabbed to death – just as Charlie Jenkins and Lorna Manning were.’

‘I take it you want me to confirm that?’ James said.

Carver shook his head. ‘There’s no need. I know it to be true. What I’d like is a quote about how the Kirkby Abbey killer has been sending out Christmas cards in which he flags up what he’d done and what he intends to do.’

‘That will serve only to make things much more difficult for us, Mr Carver, and you know it.’

‘I promised you I wouldn’t pitch the story about the cards for twenty-four hours and I’ve kept my word. But I can’t hold off any longer. If I don’t go with it now then someone else will. The people of this village have a right to know what I know. And they also deserve to know how the killer managed to claim a third victim even as the police were patrolling the streets.’