‘Then why not use a more accessible church? Normanton’s got to be one of the most difficult-to-access churches in the country.’

‘Exactly. It looks like it’s been chosen specifically, and we’re running around like headless chickens trying to find out why. What if it wasn’t? Or what if it was, but purely for the purposes of throwing us off track?’

Caroline stopped for a moment. She had to concede that it was, of course, possible. But something still didn’t sit right. The religious aspect wasn’t a hill she was prepared to die on, but she felt sure it fitted into the equation somewhere, somehow.

‘What if it’s all linked?’ Dexter said. ‘What if there’s a connection between the church, the history of the area and Arthur coming back to the UK a week and a half before his brother’s murder?’

‘Such as?’

‘I don’t know. But it’s all too weird otherwise.’

‘It’s weird whichever way we look at it, Dex. Nothing about this case is normal. Have we had the library CCTV back from the council yet?’

‘Not yet, no,’ Sara said, looking a little embarrassed. ‘I’ve been on at them again this morning, but they’re dragging their heels.’

‘For Christ’s sake, we asked for it two days ago. Get onto them again. Put a rocket up their arse. Tell them if it’s not here within the next few hours, we’ll get a court order.’

‘Will do.’

‘In the meantime, my brain is at severe risk of actually melting if I don’t take half an hour, so I’m going for a walk. Anyone need anything from town?’ Caroline was pleased to see heads shaking rather than shopping lists being thrust at her, and smiled inwardly as she looked forward to a break in the fresh air.

A few minutes later she was strolling down Church Street, the warm sun on her face, a gentle breeze in her hair and the stunning Church of All Saints looming over her to the left. She couldn’t deny Oakham was a beautiful town to walk round, and she told herself she’d make much more of an effort to do this — daily, if possible — and not only when she’d come so close to a complete breakdown that she needed the air and the space. Mark was right. It’d be good for her.

A little further down the road, she noticed an A-board outside Costa Coffee advertising the new Orbis restaurant and bar, reachable by a small passageway next to the coffee shop. She’d heard good things, and made a mental note to check it out. A moment or two after she’d walked past the sign, she stopped herself. No, she wasn’t going to make a mental note. She and Mark needed a night out together. She decided to bite the bullet and book a table for later that week.