‘No,’ George said. ‘She told us that she was going to keep the baby and raise it on her own. There was a crèche at the university. She’d manage things. I asked who the father was, but she said he wouldn’t play any part in bringing up the child. It was clear she didn’t want to talk about it.’

‘Did you ever meet any of her friends? Women or men?’

George shook his head. ‘Anna hadn’t brought anyone here recently. It was difficult. Joan finds it hard to cope with anything outside her normal routine. And no one writes letters any more, do they? So we didn’t get news that way. Anna would phone once a week from uni, but that was really to find out what her mother was doing. She was always chatty enough, but we never knew what was going on in her life. Not the important things.’

Perez stared out of the narrow window into a bare, winter garden, and tried to make sense of this. ‘Does the name Tom King mean anything to you? He’s a doctor. I understand that he might have been friendly with you and your wife.’

George looked puzzled. ‘Joan’s seen lots of doctors since she’s been ill, but none of them are called King.’

So why, Perez thought, did Doctor James Given think that King was close to Anna’s parents? None of it made sense.

George was speaking again. ‘Anna was so excited to get the job in Stonebridge. She came here specially to tell us and she brought Lucy with her. She’s always loved kids. We knew she’d be a teacher when she grew up. She always loved the country too – we took her out walking in the hills from when she was very young – so I thought the little village school would suit her. Recently I could tell things weren’t going so well, though. She made an effort to sound bright on the phone but she wasn’t herself.’

‘When did you last hear from her?’

‘Two days before she died.’ He paused. ‘I thought she sounded a bit better. She was talking about the future, about coming home to spend Christmas with her mother and me. I thought perhaps she’d turned a corner.’ He smiled. ‘I wondered if there was a new man in her life.’

‘Did she give you a name?’

George shook his head sadly. ‘She was always one for secrets, our Anna. Maybe this is one she’s taken to her grave.’ He turned to Perez. ‘I’m glad you’re looking into this, Inspector. It’s good that someone cares enough to search for the truth.’

In the living room, Joan Blackwell was still watching the cooking programme. As the old man showed him out of the house, Perez thought that he hadn’t gained anything new from his chat with the dead woman’s father. It felt as if the drive to Berwick had been a waste of time and he was no closer to finding Anna’s killer.