‘In a way she did. And before you ask it wasn’t about calling up my wife’s spirit. Lisa seemed to really understand what I was going through and that made things easier for me.’

‘Interesting. So, is she based in Kirkby Abbey?’

‘No. She’s over in Ravenstonedale. She’s a widow and lives by herself.’

‘Then why don’t I drop by your place on my way home and you can tell me more about her.’

‘Great. And you can update me on the case.’

‘I’ll see you in about an hour then,’ James said.

CHAPTER FORTY

James made the team aware of what Giles Keegan had told him and asked if any of them had heard of the psychic Lisa Doyle. No one had.

‘I might pop over to Ravenstonedale tomorrow to find out what she can tell us about the Batemans,’ he said.

‘Does this mean we’re buying into the idea that there’s a supernatural aspect to the case?’ Abbott asked with a smile.

James rolled his eyes. ‘Absolutely not and the last thing we want is for the press to think we are. So, I want you all to keep your lips buttoned on this one.’

He ended the meeting with a quick catch-up on all the other leads they were following.

‘Let’s hope we can make better progress tomorrow,’ he said, as he grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

On the way to Kirkby Abbey, James phoned Leo Freeman at Scotland Yard to find out if they’d managed to collar Stuart Ross. Freeman didn’t answer, but he did ring back five minutes later.

‘I’m sorry I missed your call,’ he said. ‘I was in a team meeting.’

‘I’m just wondering what’s happened with Stuart Ross,’ James said.

‘That’s what we were discussing. The guy was brought in a few hours ago and we’ve just finished interviewing him.’

‘And what did he have to say for himself?’

‘Well, when we raided his flat, we found a revolver and a quantity of Class A drugs. So, we already had him by the balls before we showed him Andrew Sullivan’s phone and the photos of you and your wife. He coughed up straight away after we told him that it would play well with the judge if he cooperated.’

‘Did he confirm that he took them?’

‘He had no choice. They were still on his own phone. He reckoned that Sullivan had decided that it was time to settle some old scores. While in prison he drew up a list of people he wanted to get his own back on. The guy he shot last week was on it along with several other blokes who disappeared over the last couple of months. You’re the final name on the list. You’re lucky in a way, because he fucked up with the guy before you and he’s now on the run.’