After his disastrous night on the watch, Matt was determined to get to grips with the problem at Little Anchor and help Will to cope with the situation at Holland House. Whisper Fen had always been a good place — lonely, yes, but tranquil. All those children lost on the marsh — he had never even heard of most of them. Their disappearances had never impinged on his life, and he didn’t understand why they would now.

He gathered up the materials he had selected for Kate, and called out to Liz, ‘I’ll be about an hour or two, darling! And don’t forget, Laura will be here at around four thirty.’

Liz was busy on the computer, searching for whatever she could find on Nigel Foreman’s shady brother-in-law, Kelvin Smith, the village store manager. ‘I’ll be here, sweetheart. Take care!’

Matt drove across to Holland House. As soon as he drew up, Kate came out to meet him. ‘Matt! How lovely! Have you managed to get hold of your old Amos?’

‘I certainly have, and he’s going to meet us in the Crossed Keys in Tanners Fen at midday tomorrow.’ Matt smiled. ‘A pint or two should jog his memory, I reckon. I had some trouble stopping him chattering on about the marsh and Holland House, so he’s going to love talking to the new owner.’

Kate positively beamed. Matt suddenly noticed what it was about her that Will had tried to describe. Her eyes took on an unnatural gleam whenever she mentioned the house. It wasn’t a happy light either, more a kind of fervour.

The Kate of today was a far stretch from the gentle soul who had painted fairies for children. He wondered how long it had been since she’d visited a hairdresser.

Her gaze alighted on the folder he was carrying. ‘More photos?’

He nodded. ‘And some other stuff that you might find interesting. It goes back to when Mrs Holland was a young married woman — just village stuff, but it gives a good insight into what life was like on Whisper Fen back in those days.’

‘Oh, that’s marvellous, Matt, just the kind of thing that interests me. Come on into the kitchen. I can’t wait to see what you’ve found.’ She turned and hurried inside. ‘Will’s just gone to the garage for fuel. He shouldn’t be long.’

It was clear it was the photos that she was desperate to see, so he gave her the folder. ‘You can keep them, Kate. Liz has scanned them all into our computer for when we start our research in earnest.’

‘But these are the originals, Matt. Are you sure?’ She held them to her chest, tightly.

‘Of course, especially as they pertain to here. I think you should have them.’

She laid them out on the table and leafed through them. ‘Oh, look at all these wonderful people! I’ll need to identify them somehow.’