“I heard a car door slam, then someone’s voice. It might have been a scream and some shouting. I thought it was just someone being noisy. A drunk stopping to be sick or something, and her friend shouting at her. I’m sorry.” She put her fist to her mouth and started sobbing. Toby put his arm around her.

“You weren’t to know,” Annie said. “It’s a wonder you could hear anything at all from so far away.”

“My hearing’s good, as a rule. And as I said, sounds carry in the country in the dark. Mostly I just heard the car engines and the music in the distance, and the music was so loud and unusual. That’s why it seemed odd . . . I . . . I’m sorry. Perhaps if I’d realized what was happening, called the police . . .”

“There was nothing you could have done,” Annie reassured her. There was no way Mandy could have heard a girl being beaten to death almost a mile away, even if she had heard the music, the car engines and the whooping. And perhaps a scream. The victim would have stopped screaming soon after the first blow and the sounds of punching and kicking would have been muffled and wouldn’t have carried over the distance.

“You said ‘her friend’ a moment ago, when you mentioned someone being sick. Did you hear a woman’s voice?”

“I must have done, I suppose.”

“And a man’s? The friend shouting at her?”

“Yes.”

“Was he angry?”

“I don’t know. I could only hear sounds, not words or anything.”

“But he shouted?”

“Loud enough for me to hear. Yes.”

“Is there anything else you can tell us?”

“Well, there is one thing. The second car turned and went back the way it came. The gears made a sort of crunching sound, like when you do a three-point turn in a hurry. And again I could see the direction from the glow of the lights. That seemed odd.”

“It didn’t drive on down the lane?”

“No.”

“Did you hear anything, Mr. Ketteridge?”

“I was fast asleep,” said Toby. He smiled. “Getting as much in as I can before the wee one comes along.” He patted his wife’s knee and stood up. “I think my wife should rest now, if you don’t mind. You can see she’s distraught.”

Annie handed him her card. “If either of you thinks of anything else, please don’t hesitate to phone. And we may need to come back for a statement. We’ll be in touch.”

As they walked toward the door, Mandy looked over at them and said, “We’re not in any danger, are we? I mean, a murder so close to our home. There isn’t some sort of maniac on the loose, is there? Are you sure my baby’s not in any danger?”

“No,” said Annie. “I can’t think of any reason why you would be.”