James took out his phone and snapped pictures of all four photographs. Then he told the chief forensic officer about his meeting with Bateman.

‘That’s obviously why the farm is up for sale,’ Coppell said. ‘The past few years have been really tough for farmers across the north. I know of at least two who’ve been forced to throw in the towel and do something else.’

‘So maybe that was a factor in what led to this,’ James said.

‘It could well be.’

By now a few more SOCOs were in the house and setting about their tasks with the usual professional detachment.

‘I’d better go and talk to the woman who called it in,’ James said to Coppell. ‘Meanwhile, can you confirm for me that the knife used on Charlotte is from the set on the worktop and also see if you can find any mobile phones?’

‘Consider it done, Inspector.’

It was busier in the front yard now, and colder. James felt a stiff breeze pull at his face as he took off his mask and pushed back the hood of his forensic suit.

Two other detectives had arrived from Kendal along with more uniforms and they were all in a group being briefed by DS Stevens and DC Abbott.

Before he approached them, James took a moment to organise his thoughts and take in his surroundings. He tried to picture what the farm would have looked like when it was thriving. He guessed there would have been cattle, chickens, horses and sheep around the place and grazing out on the surrounding moors.

Robert Bateman and his wife would doubtless have been kept busy feeding, shearing and tending to their livestock, while they battled against the extreme elements that were always a challenge for farmers in this part of the country.

James quickly filled the team in on what he had seen inside the house – the bodies, the wounds, the weapons used to kill the family and the bloody shoeprints on the floor.

‘This crime scene presents us with a real challenge,’ he said. ‘Right now, it’s impossible to determine who killed who. It could be that Robert Bateman shot himself after shooting his wife. Or maybe that’s what we’re supposed to believe, and what really happened is that someone else was here and committed three murders. Someone who then left in such a hurry that he made the mistake of leaving his shoeprints behind.’

‘What makes you so certain of the gender, guv?’ Abbott asked.