He decided not to go straight to the jetty after all. Instead, he veered off to the right along a winding path that he knew would take him to the rear gate. He wanted to check it out for himself and have a look at the overflow car park.

The gate was now being manned by a uniformed PC who informed the inspector that in the two hours he’d been stationed there only his colleagues had passed through.

It was a wooden gate set into a high hedge and James counted ten cars in the field beyond it, which had a row of three solar lamps at its centre. It might well have been convenient when the venue was particularly busy, but it clearly wasn’t very secure and would have provided an easy escape route for Rachel’s killer, assuming they weren’t still in the hotel.

And it would also have been a quick and easy way for someone who wasn’t a wedding guest or member of staff to have gained access to the grounds.

The level of activity down by the lake had increased when James returned as a tent had been erected over Rachel’s body and the search for the weapon used to kill her was progressing in earnest.

More officers with torches were now searching the shoreline, bushes and grass, while members of the dive team were using spotlights to scour the water around the jetty.

The task would become much easier once visibility had improved, but delaying the operation was not an option as the first twenty-four hours of any murder investigation were crucial and if there were clues lying around they needed to be found as quickly as possible.

Dr Pam Flint emerged from the tent as James was approaching it. She acknowledged him with a flick of the head and lowered her mask.

She was in her late forties with a pointed nose and narrow eyes. As usual, her expression was composed and neutral and there was no indication that she found the job she did too unpleasant or demanding.

‘Good morning, Detective Inspector Walker,’ she said. ‘I won’t wish you a Happy New Year because I don’t think it would be appropriate in the circumstances.’

‘I couldn’t agree more,’ he replied. ‘How long have you been here?’

‘Just long enough to have carried out an initial examination of the body.’

‘And?’

She worked her jaw in circles for a few moments as she considered her response.

‘It’s a nasty one for sure,’ she said. ‘The cause of death is almost certainly blunt force impact, and the fatal blow was to the back of the head. If you want me to take a guess, I’d say it was when she struck the jetty post with what would have been extreme force.’

‘And the other wounds?’

‘She was certainly attacked with a weapon that was hard enough to have pierced the skin and caused extreme bruising. It could have been a smooth stone or a metal bar, or something similar.’