Then he wondered what law the offence came under, and tried the legislation index. The Anatomy Act and the Human Tissues Act covered the anatomical examination of dead bodies and the removal of a dead person’s organs respectively. Not really applicable. In any case, the maximum penalty under either act was three months’ imprisonment, and hardly worth bothering about. He did locate a definition of a ‘person lawfully in possession of the body’, but even that wasn’t very clear or helpful. And the only other reference he found was in Section 70 of the Sexual Offences Act – sexual penetration of a corpse. Best not to think about it.

Besides, if it turned out that Audrey Steele had been evicted from her coffin to make way for a body that hadn’t died of natural causes, the minor charge might become irrelevant. The case would escalate instantly into a murder enquiry.

Cooper felt a surge of excitement when he thought of it. Everything depended on what he did in the next few days. He’d have to trawl through missing persons again, dating back eighteen months at least. If he could narrow down the list and start making some connections, he’d be getting somewhere.

First, he phoned Eden Valley Crematorium to make an appointment with the manager. It was a private sector operation, built by a company in East Anglia to meet the increasing demand for cremations. The manager’s name was Lloyd, and he was available in his office all morning. Cooper picked up his car keys and notebook.

‘Where are you going, Ben?’ said Fry.

‘The crem.’

She stopped what she was doing and stared after him as he went through the door.

‘Why?’ she said.

Cooper heard her, but kept going. As he closed the door behind him and set off down the corridor, he thought he could still hear her voice somewhere behind him. He’d explain to her later. She’d have to make do with partial information for a while.

Fry didn’t really have time to worry about Ben Cooper. When her phone rang, it was Gavin Murfin suggesting that she come over to the CCTV control room.

‘We’ve got something you’ll want to see,’ he said.

The control room staff monitored cameras covering the streets in the centre of Edendale. These cameras were mounted on high poles or on the sides of buildings, swivelling to cover a three hundred and sixty degree field of vision and capable of zooming in on suspicious individuals. Unlike the private security system at the Clappergate car park all of these cameras were functional and constantly monitored.

When Fry arrived, one of the monitoring staff was printing out some screen shots for Murfin, who looked pleased with himself.