‘It was why he didn’t come to dinner on Saturday,’ she said. ‘He forgot he’d made plans with me and called his mate Sid and agreed to meet him instead. And it also slipped his mind that we agreed to meet in the square for the carol service.’

‘I remember most things,’ Bill said. ‘But it’s when I’m away from home that my mind really plays up. On Friday evening, for instance, I went into the village to post some Christmas cards through doors but then forgot where my old pals lived.’

The conversation got no easier when they moved into the dining room and Annie served up the dinner. It was particularly hard for her because she was upset and struggling to put on a brave face.

James was glad when dinner was over. It had been difficult and emotional, and Annie was understandably distraught because she knew that her uncle’s life was about to go from bad to worse and there was nothing she could do about it.

She insisted on walking with him back to The King’s Head afterwards. It wasn’t far, but James didn’t want her walking back by herself so he went with them.

A biting wind was howling through the village and the streets were empty and forlorn.

James felt his stomach contract as he watched Annie hug her uncle at the entrance to the pub and tell him once again to be strong.

When they got back home, James shoved the dinner things in the dishwasher and joined Annie on the sofa where she was stretched out with her feet on the coffee table, staring at the television.

‘The end of a perfect day,’ she said sarcastically as he took her hand and squeezed it. ‘And there was me thinking this was going to be such a great Christmas.’

‘I’m so sorry about Bill,’ James said. ‘But at least we’re not far from Penrith. You can go and see him as often as you like. And you can make sure he’s properly looked after as his condition progresses.’

They sat like that for about half an hour before Annie decided to go to bed and James went to his study.

He checked with the office in Kendal and with central control. He learned that dozens of people living in Kirkby Abbey had phoned the police to say that they were terrified and wanted to see more officers in the village.

Mass hysteria had taken hold, as James had known it would once all the details were made public. And the fact that the village was effectively cut off from the outside made a bad situation much, much worse.

He typed up a report of what had happened today and emailed it to Tanner. He then went over all his notes to try to decide where to take the investigation tomorrow.

Finally, he turned his attention to Lorna Manning’s diaries, which were still sitting on his desk. But he decided that it was too late, and he was too tired, to go through them. He wasn’t even sure it was worth it now that there had been a third murder.