Caitlin had the gun in one hand in her lap and the TV remote in the other, her eyes glued to the screen. At one point she even slipped off her unattractive sandals and put her bare feet up on the coffee table, a warped facsimile of domesticity. When Meredith caught the first whiff of cheesy odour she felt bile rise in her throat and had to swallow hard not to gag.

Instead, she forced herself to concentrate; alternating between glancing at the gun and keeping her attention outside the cottage – Leonard sometimes popped in on his night rounds, for a chinwag and a cup of tea. She didn’t love the unannounced visits, since Leonard had a habit of wittering mindlessly on until Meredith had to feign a yawn and tell him she needed to get to bed, but she tolerated him doing this as she could tell the man was lonely. And he only dropped in occasionally – anything past the orchard and vegetable gardens wasn’t, strictly speaking, in his patrol remit.

She’d have given anything to hear his footsteps on the gravel now though – but would that just precipitate something worse? Caitlin didn’t seem like she would be reluctant to use that gun. I can’t be responsible for another death, Meredith thought.

She needed to pee, but guessed that Caitlin would insist on coming into the bathroom with her. That was too humiliating to contemplate. She’d just have to hold it.

Finally, as Big Ben bonged on screen to signify the ten o’clock news, Caitlin put down the remote and fished a mobile out of her skirt pocket, tapping out a text with her free thumb. The phone was on silent but a reply must have come almost immediately, as she nodded with satisfaction and hauled herself off the sofa, pushing the gun into Meredith’s side and sliding her feet back into her shoes.

Shit, Meredith thought. She’s got an accomplice. It would be two against one, assuming that Pete was in some way incapacitated.

Oh God, perhaps it was the man from the Luton van … Meredith’s bowels contorted in a twist of terror.

‘Righty ho, time to go. Hey, that rhymes!’ Caitlin cackled. ‘Let’s go visit your precious twinny. I’m sure he’s missing you. And guess what? He’s only five minutes’ walk away!’

Meredith stared up at her. ‘Pete’s here, on the estate?’ she croaked. ‘You know we have security. CCTV cameras everywhere. Night security guards.’

Her thoughts immediately turned to the ice house, Ralph’s body in the pond. There had been a round-the-clock police cordon put on the ice house now it was a crime scene. Caitlin had some nerve, coming back here.

Unless she had disposed of the police guards … And even if she hadn’t, how could she, Meredith, raise the alarm? The ice house was a ten-minute walk away.