‘They have my number and I told them I’d pop over in the morning,’ she said. ‘They’re still in a terrible state and not very communicative, sir, so I’m afraid I didn’t learn anything about their daughter that we don’t already know.’

The second call was from DC Abbott who was responding to a text he had sent to her earlier, asking for an update on Belinda Travers.

‘I went to see her just as you asked me to,’ she said. ‘She was angry rather than upset with Greg Murphy for accusing her of lying. She said it didn’t surprise her that he chose to believe Slade because she claimed they always stick by one another.’

‘Is she still at the hotel?’

‘I phoned her an hour ago and she told me she’d left. I also took the liberty of running a check through the database. She’s as clean as a whistle with no priors.’

‘Do you still believe she told us the truth about what happened?’ James asked.

‘No question in my mind, guv. Mark Slade comes across as an arrogant bastard with an inflated opinion of himself. And it really wouldn’t surprise me if he turns out to be our killer.’

A thin layer of snow had settled over Kirkby Abbey and it was still coming down when James arrived in the village.

He drove past the small Catholic church and the White Hart pub, and when he came to the market square, he saw that the large Christmas tree at its centre still hadn’t been taken down.

Their four-bedroom cottage was close to the primary school that Annie had attended as a pupil and now worked in as a teacher. Across the road, a gate led into a field that had spectacular views of some of the surrounding fells.

He was feeling like a flat battery when he let himself in through the front door, but the mere sight of Annie in the hallway lifted his spirits. A full-wattage smile lit up her face as he walked towards her.

‘I can’t believe I haven’t seen you since about this time yesterday,’ she said. ‘What a way to start the new year.’

He slid his arm around her waist and they shared a long, lingering kiss that charged up James’s battery.

‘You must be absolutely knackered,’ she said as he removed his coat and shoes. ‘Dinner is about ready and there’s a drink waiting for you in the kitchen.’

‘And Bella?’

‘Fast asleep on the sofa. I haven’t dared move her because I don’t want to wake her.’

‘Has she still got a temperature?’

‘A slight one, as I said in the message, but I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. We just have to keep an eye on her.’

He went straight into the living room where the radiators were blasting out a fierce heat.

Bella was lying under a blanket with only her head showing. Her mouth was open and she was breathing silently through it.