They followed him into a bright, airy living room. All the windows were open and a gentle cross breeze helped cool the place. It also carried in the whiff of the farmyard smells. A woman sat on the sofa, and when she stood to greet them, Annie could see that she was very pregnant.

“Sit down, please,” Annie said. “Sorry to bother you. We won’t disturb you for long.”

“But what is it?” the woman asked, slowly subsiding back onto the sofa. “I’m Mandy, by the way. Mandy Ketteridge. My husband, Toby. Please sit down.”

“I’m DI Annie Cabbot, and this is my colleague DC Gerry Masterson. There’s nothing to worry about. Just a few routine questions.” They sat in the flower-patterned armchairs opposite the matching sofa.

Toby sat beside his wife and took her hand in his. “Isn’t that what you always say when you mean business?” he said. “That it’s just routine?”

“You’ve been watching too much TV, sir.”

“Probably.” Toby looked lovingly at his wife. “As you can see, we don’t get out much these days.”

“How long?” Annie asked Mandy.

“Eight and a half months.”

“Is it your first?”

Mandy nodded. “Have you . . . ?”

“No,” said Annie. “Never met the right fella.”

Toby squeezed his wife’s hand. “Mandy’s getting a little nervous, though the doctor assures her that everything is fine.”

I don’t bloody blame her, Annie thought. If it were me, I’d be scared stiff. “I’m sure it will be,” she said. She glanced at Gerry, who already had her notebook and pen out, and guessed that motherhood was probably the furthest thing from her mind at this stage of her career. Toby and Mandy were watching them both apprehensively.

“It’s nothing to be worried about. Honestly,” said Annie. “Our visit, I mean.”

“Well, it’s not every day we have the police here,” said Toby.

“I should imagine not. You own the field that stretches up to Bradham Lane, don’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“There’s a section of the wall topped with barbed wire. How long has it been like that?”

“About two years.”

“Any reason?”

“To stop people getting in.”

“You were having problems?”

“No,” said Toby. “Not us, specifically. But Glen on the other side said he’d caught some lads trying to make off with several of his sheep one night. Passing them over the wall where they had a van waiting. We heard so much about rural crime and being vigilant and all, we thought that was the best solution. Why? Is it illegal?”

“No. Nothing like that,” said Annie. “There were a few strands of barbed wire in the ditch. Know anything about that?”