‘Why am I getting the impression of someone living on nostalgia?’

‘She certainly seems to have surrounded herself with sound. Or noise, at any rate.’

‘I think I’d be the same if I lived on my own. I’d need to drown out the silence somehow,’ said Murfin.

‘There’s quite a collection of CDs in the racks. She had some DVDs, too. Sleepless in Seattle. I still haven’t seen that.’

‘She must have bought those things from somewhere.’

‘Mail order, probably. They’re small enough items to go into the letter box. Unlike the package of books that Bernie Wilding tried to deliver.’

‘You know, there’s something strange about this house,’ said Cooper tentatively.

‘What do you mean?’

‘It doesn’t feel lived in.’

‘Rose Shepherd lived here.’

‘Hardly. She just seems to have existed.’

Kessen nodded at him, ‘What’s your impression, Cooper?’

‘Well, you can still detect traces of the family who lived here before her. On the other hand, Miss Shepherd has hardly left her imprint on the house at all. It’s almost as if she’d never been here.’

He looked out of the window at the garden. At least the armed officers deployed on Monday had been withdrawn, and the scene looked more peaceful again. Then he saw a tortoiseshell cat sitting under a tree, watching the house. When a SOCO walked across the lawn, the cat crouched cautiously, but didn’t move away.

‘Who searched the kitchen?’ said Cooper. ‘Did they find any cat food in the cupboards?’

Hitchens laughed. ‘I don’t think so. There was some fish in the fridge, though. Fresh salmon.’

‘That makes sense.’

‘Why, Ben?’

‘I think I’ve spotted Rose Shepherd’s means of not being alone.’WITNESS APPEAL AFTER

FOXLOW SHOOTINGDetectives are appealing for witnesses after the murder of a woman in Foxlow on Sunday.Miss Rose Shepherd, sixty-one, was killed by two shots from a high-powered rifle, fired from a field behind her house in Pinfold Lane during the early hours of the morning. Miss Shepherd had lived in the village for the past ten months, and police have yet to establish a motive for her killing.Meanwhile, officers are keen to talk to witnesses who might have seen anyone suspicious in the area during the last few days. They would particularly like to trace the owner of a blue Vauxhall Astra saloon which was seen in Foxlow around the time of the murder.The driver of the car is described as a white male, aged around thirty-five years old, about five feet ten inches tall and of medium build. He was wearing a black Parker style coat with the hood up.Anyone with information is asked to contact Edendale CID, or call the Crimestoppers line in confidence.

‘A Parker style coat?’ said Murfin when he saw the press release. ‘Will that be from the same people who make pens?’

‘Oh God,’ said Cooper. ‘That’s embarrassing.’

‘They mean “parka”, don’t they? Even I know that.’

Murfin folded the press release up and tried to create wings so that he could throw it across the CID room.

‘It’s not reading enough that does it, you know,’ said Cooper. ‘People hear “Parker” and “parka” on the TV and they sound like the same word.’

‘Now, we’ll have a load of old biddies going round looking for coats that say Parker on the label. I don’t think “parka” is even a brand name, is it?’

‘No, it’s an Inuit word. It means a coat made from a fur pelt.’

‘Well, I can see you read books all right, Ben. No one else I know would have that sort of information at their fingertips.’

‘I might even find a use for it one day.’

‘Our local pub has a quiz on Tuesday nights. Fancy going in for it some time? You can win a keg of beer.’

‘I don’t think so, Gavin. Thanks.’

‘Oh, I forgot. You’ve got better things to do in the evenings these days. Not allowed in the pub with your mates any more?’

‘You’ve got it all wrong.’

To change the subject, Cooper asked Murfin if he’d heard about the fire service dog and its identification of accelerant at the house in Darwin Street.

‘Now, me – I’m not a big fan of dogs,’ said Murfin. ‘Cats need less work to look after. And they don’t crap on your lawn just because you haven’t mowed it for a few weeks, like.’

‘Working dogs are different,’ said Cooper. ‘I’ve seen that fire service dog in action at previous incidents. She has a great time when she’s working. Absolutely loves it.’

‘Well, I have to admit, the bitch did a good job at Darwin Street.’

Cooper caught a movement from the corner of his eye, and saw Diane Fry frozen in the doorway. She was staring at Murfin, and Cooper suddenly realized that she’d heard only the very last part of their conversation.

‘Hi, Diane,’ he said. ‘We were just talking about the accelerant detection dog.’

Fry unfroze slowly. ‘Oh, yes. That bitch.’

She moved forward into the room, waving a copy of the press release. ‘Have you seen this?’ she said. ‘It’s ridiculous.’

‘Yes, we know,’ said Murfin. ‘We spotted it straightaway.’

‘Somebody should speak to Media Relations. This sort of thing makes us look stupid. I mean, what use is an appeal for information when they leave our phone number off?’

Murfin looked at the press release again. ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘So they did.’

‘The DI says we have a meeting tomorrow to review progress.’

‘Another review? We never seem to do anything else.’

‘It’s better than wasting time and effort rushing off in the wrong direction,’ said Fry. ‘Regular reviews ensure the most effective use of resources.’

Cooper glanced at her. She was sounding more like a manager every day.

‘Progress? What progress?’ said Murfin.

Fry flushed. ‘All right. That’s enough.’

‘Diane, before you go,’ said Cooper. ‘How obsessed would you say the Ridgeways were with exterminating squirrels?’

‘Oh, very.’

‘Obsessed enough to drive around the village at night shooting them out of the trees in other people’s gardens?’

‘Like Rose Shepherd’s garden, for example?’

‘Well, she has grey squirrels. If Mr and Mrs Ridgeway had taken a peek over her garden fence, they might have seen she was encouraging them and even feeding them, so decided to do something about it.’

‘Without speaking to her about it?’

‘Does that seem to fit their character?’

‘Oh, yes. I can believe they’d opt for direct action. In fact, I think Mr Ridgeway probably blasts everything in sight that doesn’t fit his criteria for being allowed to survive. You’re thinking Rose Shepherd went to her bedroom window at the wrong moment and got hit by a stray shot?’

‘Something like that.’

‘In fact, there’d have to be three stray shots, wouldn’t there?’

‘True.’

‘And – I’m sorry, Ben – but Mr Ridgeway only has an air rifle.’

‘So he says.’

Fry gave it some thought. ‘I didn’t like either of the Ridgeways – as you probably gathered.’

‘You don’t always make a secret of your opinion.’

‘And it’s true that they sounded as though they were already offering some kind of justification. When they talked about alien invasions, they didn’t just mean squirrels.’

‘Can I hear a “but” coming?’

‘Well, I think they’re probably all mouth. The really dangerous ones act on their beliefs – they don’t talk about them to any police officer who happens to come calling.’

‘I see.’

‘And, unfortunately, we don’t have any evidence to justify searching their house for an automatic weapon.’

‘Ah, that is true. We could ask them to let us do it voluntarily, though.’

‘Tell you what, why don’t you suggest your idea to the DI yourself, Ben? I’m only a supernumerary on the Shepherd enquiry. I’ve got other fish to catch.’

Before he switched off his computer, Cooper checked the Matlock Bath webcam to see if it was still running, as the site claimed.

When the picture came up, he saw it was already dark in Matlock Bath. He looked at his watch. Six o’clock. He hadn’t realized it had got so late.