There was something strange afoot here or his name wasn’t Jack Fenton. Picking up the telephone he dialled the police. Then he sat at the kitchen table and waited patiently for them to arrive.

A Panda car finally came over an hour later. Jack opened the door and showed them the evidence in silence. The two young PCs dutifully looked around and declared him right. There had been some kind of break in.

‘Do you know where the occupants of the house are?’ Jack looked at them as if they were imbeciles. They didn’t total his age between them.

‘They’re at work, of course.’

‘Where do they work? Do you know?’

‘’Course I know. I’m their neighbour, aren’t I?’

The elder of the two PCs took a deep breath.

‘Well, if you’d be so kind as to tell us?’

‘Her, that’s the wife, Elaine, she works at the supermarket in town. What’s it called? Lowprice or whatever. As for George, he works on the Industrial Estate at Kortone Separates.’

‘Thank you. Did you notice anything suspicious at all, before you saw the window?’

‘Well, I don’t know if this means anything, but I saw a Rolls Royce here the other night. Two men got out of it and knocked here.’

‘Are you sure it was a Rolls Royce?’

‘’Course I’m sure. I just said so, didn’t I?’ His strident voice was beginning to get on the PCs’ nerves.

‘You want to get a plumber in, boys, that overflow’s going to do some damage, I tell you. Well, I’m off home. I only live next door if you need me.’

He left the house, shaking his head sadly. He had expected detectives at least.

PC Dendy radioed the break-in to the information room. The duty officer sent a constable to Lowprice to speak to Mrs Markham and was told she had been off sick for a week. The constable had then gone to Kortone Separates and been told Mr Markham had recently retired.

Puzzled, he radioed both messages in, and the desk sergeant, being a suspicious man, had a talk with plain clothes. There was more going on here than met the eye. Rolls Royces turning up in the middle of the night? Holes cut in windows and the video still in the front room? Neither occupant of the house to be found? One sick and one retired? It didn’t add up.

Caitlin was told about the mysterious case in his coffee break and would have laughed if it hadn’t been for one thing: the Rolls Royce. A deep red Rolls Royce, Kelly’s car.

He got the address from the desk sergeant and drove around to Bychester Road himself. The PCs were surprised to see him.

‘Has anyone been back yet?’

‘No, sir. It doesn’t look as if anything’s been taken.’