As they drove, Jackman wondered what would have happened if Freddie Shields had turned up at the Hideaway last night. Both men were probable murderers, and old mates or not, neither would have been happy to see the other there. His money would have been on Spiller doing away with Freddie. Spiller was determined to carry out his plan and would allow no one to get in his way.

While the others chatted, Jackman remained silent. Ignoring his worries about alerting Spiller and putting Davy’s life in danger, Ruth had called out the drone unit. She had been adamant that they were not going to proceed with such a difficult operation without first seeing what the terrain was like. The new drone was their own property, paid for from the Proceeds of Crime Act, which — ironically — meant that it and the officer training to pilot it had been funded from cash donated by convicted criminals. It was available for their exclusive use twenty-four-seven, and as it could scan a large area in very little time, it would be invaluable in many different situations. It was a top-of-the-range model with the ability to supply them with photographs, live-link and recorded video, and thermal images, so they would know immediately how many heat sources there were in or around the hut. It was a great piece of kit, but he still had reservations about what Spiller might do if he, or even Davy, happened to notice it.

When they arrived, he found Marie talking to the drone pilot, explaining what they knew already and what they needed to know before they approached.

‘Just how loud is that thing?’ asked Jackman, staring at the six rotor blades on the drone.

‘Not too bad. Like a large fan or a garden strimmer, I guess, but out here on the Fen, you know how sound carries.’ The officer shrugged. ‘There’s a bit of a breeze today. I’ll try to approach into the wind, which should carry some of the sound away, but he could hear it, I can’t deny that.’

‘How long will it be up there for?’ asked Marie.

‘For the shortest time possible,’ he said. ‘I’ll grab your images, check the surrounding area and lanes, and get back to base.’ He addressed Jackman. ‘I have to operate this within my sight range and I’m not allowed to exceed 500 metres. I’ll ferry her to the closest point, then she’s all charged up and ready to go.’

Jackman nodded. ‘We’ll be moving to an area owned by the waterways people. It’s close to the creek but can’t be seen because of the sea bank. Send her up from there and I’ll make sure we’re ready to go the moment we’ve seen the images. I want my officers all over that place as fast as possible.’