‘Why the six-mile radius?’ asked Cooper.

‘We’ve got some clues from the tape. Or we think they’re meant as clues.’

Continuing the westward arc of her three-mile circle on to the other side of the map was tricky, but finally Fry managed it.

‘We’ll get somebody to do a proper job of it, but this will do for now,’ said Hitchens, oblivious to the exasperated look that Fry gave him. ‘What do you make of it?’

Cooper bent over the map. ‘Well, you’ve got an area that includes a dozen villages and one small town. Several dales on the western side, including part of the Wye Valley. The main A6 between Bakewell and Buxton is down here, and near the top there’s a smaller trunk road that cuts right across the A623.’

‘A busy area, would you say?’

‘Only parts of it, sir. The two main roads carry a lot of traffic. And there are some popular tourist spots, such as Tideswell and Monsal Head. And Eyam of course, on the eastern side.’

‘That’s the plague village, isn’t it?’

‘Plague?’ asked Fry.

‘Oh – Ben will tell you the story some time.’

‘I’ll look forward to it.’

Cooper moved a hand across the map, spanning his fingers over tight clusters of contour lines and long bands of green woodland. ‘But there are much quieter corners here, too. This is part of the Derbyshire Dales Nature Reserve. Only walkers can get into some of these smaller dales, and the woods on the valley sides are quite dense. What roads there are tend to be single track and too narrow to take a vehicle of any size. On the other hand, the eastern and northern parts are limestone plateau. That’s farming country, with a few small villages and the odd abandoned quarry thrown in.’

Fry watched Cooper and Hitchens poring over the map. They looked like two schoolboys marshalling their armies of toy soldiers to act out a desktop battle.

‘We’re looking for somewhere within this area that might be referred to as “the dead place”,’ she reminded them.

Cooper stood up and drew a hand across his forehead. ‘The possibilities are endless.’

Fry sighed. ‘Ben, that isn’t what we wanted to hear.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s not your fault,’ said Hitchens. ‘Let’s think about this logically. What are the possibilities.’

‘“The dead place” …’ said Fry. ‘Well, does he mean the place itself is dead, or is he referring to a place for the dead.’

‘As in a cemetery?’ said Cooper.

‘Hold on, let’s take the first option,’ said Hitchens. ‘What did you say – where the place itself is dead?’

‘Yes. It depends what sort of bee he has in his bonnet.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, it could be some kind of anti-quarry protest, or some farmer driven to the end of his tether by Foot and Mouth Disease. Are there any disposal pits for incinerated cattle around here?’

‘Not that I know of. Foot and Mouth never reached these parts, but there were some farms affected down on the Staffordshire border.’