‘And who owned the perfect property for his needs? A place with a secret store where he can hide his illicit goods.’ interjected Sam.

‘Emilia Swain!’ said Will.

‘But she is happy there, has no intention of selling her lovely home,’ Matt continued. ‘So, what does he do? He frightens the poor dear away.’

‘With the intention of buying her cottage, most likely through a third party to avoid suspicion,’ said Will.

‘All ably assisted, albeit unknowingly, by your darling wife!’ Sam raised his eyes to the ceiling.

‘Maybe she assisted him more ably than you think, Sam. I believe it was Kate who trashed the garden.’

The doctor’s mouth fell open. ‘What?’

‘I’m sorry I didn’t mention this to you before, but you remember seeing me pack that evil doll in her case?’

He frowned. ‘Yes. You had just torn the dress.’

‘Wrong. I found that piece of linen in Emilia’s garden, just after it had been destroyed.’

Sam was silent for a while. ‘You mean you think she actually did it to help Grove? But that’s preposterous!’

‘I don’t know what I think, Sam. I’m just telling you what I found.’

Sam rubbed his eyes. ‘We certainly have plenty of questions for Kate, don’t we, when she is well enough to answer them.’

‘Too many. I hope Swifty brings us up to date on what’s happening with Grove. I won’t sleep until I know that the evil pervert is under lock and key.’

‘They’ll get him, Will. He must have been pretty damned confident that even if the mill was searched, they would miss that upper room. The place is so dangerous, and the way that door is set in the wall is perfect. It would have taken a real local to know about that. He was even confident enough to return tonight.’

‘You’d think he would have stayed away a bit longer, at least until the furore had died down,’ Will said.

‘I suppose he couldn’t risk it. I’m willing to bet that he knew about the abnormally high tide and, Sophie apart, he had thousands of pounds worth of pornography stashed away in that mill.’

‘How could he have got away with that? The marsh is heaving with police!’

‘It is now, but that area had already been searched. And Grove would have gone out after dark. He knows Whisper Fen like the back of his hand. I suspect he would have loaded up that old estate car of his and moved the stuff out under cover of night — or sent his helper, the guy who hit Matt. He also knows the fen.’ He turned to Matt. ‘You said he took off into the marshes like a jackrabbit after he hit you. And he knew the searchers would be called in at dusk . . .’

‘What a risk though! The police would be watching him like a hawk,’ breathed Sam.