Liz leant over, touched his temple gently and kissed it. ‘There is no bruising.’

‘It’s really tender, though. Feels as though it should be black and blue. Still, I’ve had worse.’ He looked up at her. ‘What on earth is going on at that cottage?’

‘I have no idea. I mean, why try to burn it down? If you want something from it or need the old lady out of the way for some reason, you don’t torch the place. It’s bizarre.’

‘I’m so glad this happened on my shift and not yours, or Will’s for that matter. I think my skull’s probably the thickest.’

Liz raised her eyebrows. ‘Now, will you be alright if I go and grab a shower? And I suggest you get one as soon as you’ve eaten. I have no idea when our colleagues will be calling in to see you. I’ve got a couple of errands to run this morning, so I might not be here when they arrive.’

* * *

The police car drew up outside at nine thirty. Matt was relieved to see Swifty climb out. It was so much easier talking to someone you knew well and trusted.

Over mugs of tea, Matt duly gave his official statement.

Swifty collected up the paperwork, put it into a folder and leant back in his chair. ‘I don’t like this business. We found a bloody great lump of sawn-off fence post in the back garden. Looks like that was what you got clobbered with. Your assailant wasn’t mucking around either, I reckon he wanted you out of the picture for a while. Lucky you’ve got such a bleedin’ hard head! Most people would have been stretched out in the hospital after that.’

‘I wasn’t far off. Your PC Hume did all she could to get me down to A & E, and at one point I nearly agreed, but to be honest, I was worried for Liz. With all these weird goings-on, I didn’t want to leave her alone out here.’

‘Well, I can understand that.’ Swifty looked worried. ‘We went down to that Grove character’s cottage after you left but it was in darkness. If he was there, he certainly wasn’t showing himself.’

‘Well, it wasn’t him last night. Wrong build, wrong height, wrong everything.’ Matt looked seriously at his old friend. ‘Swifty, there is something I’m missing. Something came to me last night when I was talking to Debbie Hume, but it’s gone again. You know that “just out of reach” feeling? I’ve been struggling with it since I got up.’

‘Easier said than done, but it sometimes comes back if you can think about something else for a while.’

‘I suppose, but it’s driving me mad.’