‘I’ve met Robert Bateman a few times and I even went to the farm once to interview him for a feature about the problems facing farmers in the county,’ Carver said. ‘I therefore find it strange, as well as quite unsettling, that such a thing has happened, and I’m desperate to know more.’

James mulled this over for a few moments before confirming that the bodies were indeed those of Robert and Mary Bateman and their daughter.

‘I’ll speak to the press office about releasing the names,’ he said. ‘There’s no reason to hold them back now, and I won’t object to you having a head start.’

‘So, who was shot?’ Carver asked.

‘The parents.’

‘And Charlotte? How did she die?’

‘I can’t release those details at this time.’

‘So, what the fuck went on there?’

‘We’re still trying to work that out.’

‘Do you think it was purely a family affair, or was someone else involved?’

This was where James had to tread carefully. He wanted to pick and choose what information was fed to the media at this early stage in the investigation. But he knew that once the floodgates were open it was always hard to control things.

He decided to throw caution to the wind and get Carver on his side. The reporter lived locally and had his ear to the ground. James was pretty sure he would be a useful source on information in the days ahead.

‘Have you heard of a guy named Neil Savage?’

Carver rolled out his bottom lip as he thought about it.

‘No, I don’t think I have. Is he a suspect?’

‘He’s Charlotte’s boyfriend. They lived together and we believe he was at the farm for Christmas, but he seems to have disappeared.’

‘I’ll sift through our files to see if he’s there,’ Carver said. ‘Can I go with this and also offer it to the nationals?’

James nodded. ‘I’ll square it with the press office when I go inside. The sooner his name is out there the better as far as I’m concerned. We need to know where he is and I’m sure there’s someone out there who can tell us.’

‘What line should I take?’

‘The usual. The police are anxious to speak to the guy because they believe he was at the farm at some point during the weekend, and they’re hoping he might be able to help them with their enquiries. But don’t quote me directly,’ James said.

‘When exactly did it happen?’

‘That’s yet to be confirmed, but we believe it was late on Christmas Eve.’