James waited for Carver to scribble it all in his notebook, then said, ‘In return for this heads-up I’ll expect you to let me know what you unearth in the coming days, Gordon. I’m sure that with your knowledge of the village and the people in it you’ll find some things out before we do.’

‘That goes without saying, Inspector. Now, as a matter of interest, are you aware of the history of Oaktree Farm?’

‘I take it you mean the killings that took place there in 1997.’

‘That’s right.’

‘Yes, I know about that, although I didn’t before today.’

‘I suppose it would be stretching it to think that there might be a connection, apart from the fact that Robert Bateman worked on the farm back then.’

‘It seems unlikely on the face of it,’ James said. ‘But there are striking similarities between what happened then and what’s happened now. Two married couples killed at the same remote location. In each case the husband died from a shotgun wound. Plus, one daughter disappeared and the other appears to have been murdered. So nothing can be ruled out. How well did you know Robert Bateman?’

‘We were on first name terms, but to be honest our paths rarely crossed,’ Carver said. ‘He was an unassuming bloke and whenever I saw him with his wife, they seemed pretty happy together.’

‘Can you think of anyone in the village who didn’t get on with him or bore a grudge for whatever reason?’

The reporter chewed on his bottom lip while he gave it some thought. After about thirty seconds, he tilted his head to one side and said, ‘Actually someone does spring to mind. Someone who fell out big time with Robert. In fact, I was in The King’s Head one evening when the pair almost came to blows. I remember how the other guy flew at Robert when he walked into the pub. He yelled at him, claiming that he’d ruined his life and that he would make him pay. Some of the other customers had to get between them and calm things down.’

‘Who is this other guy?’

‘His name is Kenneth O’Connor. He was a farmhand at Oaktree but was sacked earlier this year and took it badly. You might even know him since he lives a few streets away from you in Kirkby Abbey.’

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The office was teeming with detectives and civilian staff when James walked in. A bunch of them had been drafted in from other stations to lend support to the investigation.

It was half past four and the Christmas calm had been well and truly shattered. James hadn’t seen the team so anxious and determined since they were hunting down the serial killer in Kirkby Abbey a year ago.

He clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention and told them he would hold a briefing in ten minutes.