Having told him, she seemed much calmer. She went on to tell him that the child had been seven, a tomboy. Her name was Ruth, the only daughter of Mrs Holland’s sister. After a while, he saw her eyelids drooping. She was fighting off sleep.

‘Right, Mrs Stonebridge, you are going upstairs, to spend the rest of the afternoon in bed. Look at you, you’re exhausted.’

Kate got to her feet wearily. ‘Come up with me.’

He took her up to the bedroom and watched her undress. She flopped down on to the bed and slept almost immediately.

Will pulled the curtains, shut the door and tiptoed down the stairs. Outside in the garden, he sat beneath the rowan tree and pulled out his mobile phone. It rang, startling him.

‘Will, I’m not sure how you’re fixed, what with Kate and all that, but I am down at Emilia Swain’s cottage. There’s something here you really need to see,’ Matt said.

‘On my way, Matt. See you in five.’

* * *

Knowing that Kate would probably sleep for hours, Will locked up and jogged down the lane. As soon as he got closer to Emilia’s cottage, he saw why Matt had called.

Emilia’s garden had been wrecked, her precious plants ripped from the soil and trampled. The runner bean sticks had been torn down and snapped in pieces. Even the trees had not escaped the carnage — the lower branches had been snapped off and left to sway in the breeze. Petals from Emilia’s bright flowers lay bruised, trampled to shreds in the mud.

Will stood for a few moments, staring in horror, until Matt came up and stood at his shoulder. ‘Where is Emilia?’ he said.

‘With Liz, back at Cannon Farm. She’s naturally terribly upset, so we took her out of the way. I rang it in as soon as we saw it. It’s gone too far now.’ Matt stared around. ‘This is more than mindless thuggery, isn’t it?’

Will looked at a big terracotta pot, shattered, and the damp potting compost spread over the broken remains of the flowering shrub that had been growing in it. ‘Definitely. Tell me, has Emilia had any more of those threatening notes?’

Matt shook his head. ‘No, and it’s been quiet all week. Liz and I have been keeping a pretty close eye on the place. We were just beginning to think the bastards had called it a day when this happens.’ He exhaled and shook his head angrily. ‘That poor woman. She was away for a couple of nights — left her car with us — and came back to find her beautiful garden totally trashed. I feel responsible, Will. We said we’d watch the place and we failed her.’