Annie felt a surge of guilt and her breath locked in her throat.

‘Please don’t bother to deny it, Annie,’ he said. ‘And there’s no need to apologise. In fact, it’s me who should apologise to you. That’s actually why I’m here.

‘What are you on about?’ Annie said.

Her uncle inhaled sharply and at the same time his hands balled into fists on the table.

‘I’ve been keeping something from you, Annie, and I’m really sorry. I realise now that it was a mistake, and it’s time you knew the truth about me.’

CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

James had stayed in the village hall to watch the televised press conference. DCI Tanner began by talking about the hunt for the two missing boys in Ambleside. He appealed for information and photos of the two lads were shown.

He then referred to the murder of the man in Kendal. He’d been identified as a local mechanic who was twenty-five and single. No one had yet been arrested in connection with the killing.

All that was straightforward and there were no difficult questions. But when it came to the Kirkby Abbey killings it was a different matter.

After Tanner had provided details about the latest murder, he was asked some bruising questions about why the police hadn’t revealed the existence of the Christmas cards containing the threatening messages. And the press also wanted to know how it was that the killer was able to strike for a third time when officers were supposed to be on the streets.

The questions came thick and fast, and Tanner struggled to provide coherent answers.

‘Can you now give an assurance that the villagers are safe?’

‘You knew early on that this was the work of a serial killer so why didn’t you alert the public?’

‘We’ve heard that the village has been virtually cut off by the snow. Does that mean they’re trapped with a murderer stalking the streets?’

Tanner repeated that a team of police officers was on duty in the village and that it had been necessary to hold back some information to avoid a panic. He then went on to advise villagers to stay in their homes tonight.

Speaking directly into the camera, he said, ‘It will make the job of protecting you much easier.’

It was painful to watch and James was glad when it was over.

The rest of the afternoon was alarmingly unproductive. A patrol car toured the streets telling people through a megaphone to stay indoors, arrangements were made to accommodate team members overnight in B&Bs, and officers did their best to try to find anyone who had seen Daniel walking from The King’s Head to his father’s house last night.

More work was done over phones and on laptops, but the lack of leads and the severe weather meant that little was achieved.

When it got dark, a shift pattern was worked out, but it meant that only three officers would be on the streets and manning the village hall during the night. Everyone else remained on call.