O’Dowd scowled around her yawn as she trundled into the office and dumped herself into her chair. Her eyes were red and there was a whiff of alcohol crawling out beneath her perfume.

‘Right my little bunch of reprobates, today is the day we catch a killer.’ A finger was pointed at Thompson. ‘Have you learned anything new?’

‘Not yet. Paul has come up with the theory that it may have been a taxi which picked Angus up.’

O’Dowd scrunched her nose in thought. ‘Makes sense. He’d trust a taxi. Nice thinking, Paul.’

‘Actually, ma’am, it was Beth’s idea not mine.’

‘You never told me it was Young Beth’s idea.’

Beth felt her temper rise when she heard Thompson’s sneered rebuke of Unthank the moment he realised it’d come from her. ‘I just put myself in his place. Thought about whose car I’d get in if I was in his position.’

‘You could be right.’ O’Dowd turned to look at Thompson. ‘Get onto the CCTV boys, get them to pay close attention to any taxis that left that area.’

‘Already done, but I doubt we’ll get much. There’s only one camera in Longtown and it looks along the A7. We’ll see if any taxis turned onto Moor Road, but that’s all. I was going to get onto the taxi companies, but then I realised it would probably be a waste of time.’

Beth was about to ask why, when she realised the answer to her question. No driver working for a firm would take unsolicited pick-ups – only the black cabs in Carlisle did that – therefore the person who picked up Angus would more likely be working for themselves. There were a couple of dozen independents in Carlisle and probably only a couple of one-person operations in a place as small as Longtown. Once Unthank had spoken to them all, she’d get his notes and add them to her spreadsheet in case one of them had a connection to Angus.

O’Dowd fixed Thompson with a look. ‘So what are you doing?’

‘I’ve asked Paul to contact the council licencing office when they open at nine. Once we know the name of every independent registered taxi in the area, we’ll run a trace on where their mobiles were. With luck one will be a match for Angus’s movements and we’ll have our murderer identified.’

O’Dowd jabbed her pen towards Unthank. ‘Don’t bother calling the council office. Get down there in person. Shout all you need to, and if you’re not getting results, call me. I’m in the mood to shout at someone today.’

Thompson left the room with Unthank striding after him.

Beth wanted to speak, but was afraid of how O’Dowd would respond. The DI was slamming papers about and looked as if she was getting ready to explode. Until she knew the reason for O’Dowd’s anger, Beth planned to tread with great care.

‘Right then, Beth. Spill it. You’re sitting there itching to say something. I just hope it’s to do with the case.’

‘Angus Keane’s grandmother used to be a cook at Arthuret Hall. She worked there when they housed evacuees.’

O’Dowd’s eyes lit up for the first time that morning. ‘Is she still alive?’

‘Yes. I’ve traced her to an old folks’ home.’ Beth averted her eyes from O’Dowd. ‘I called Angus’s wife when I learned of this connection. She doesn’t know anything, but Angus’s mother will be home tomorrow.’

‘Tomorrow? Her son has been brutally murdered and she’s not back until tomorrow? What the hell is wrong with some people?’

Beth picked her words with care.

‘She’s driving back. Apparently, she winters in Spain every year and drives so that she has a car and she can take her dogs with her.’

O’Dowd harrumphed as she collapsed into her seat.

‘There’s something else, ma’am. One of the evacuees, a George Bellingham, has done time for arson. Admittedly it was back in the seventies, but still…’

‘He’s got to be too old to be the killer; I mean, he’s bound to be at least mid-seventies by now. Give him a quick look over in case he’s put the killer up to it. What else do you know about him?’

‘Not a lot.’ Beth made a sheepish gesture. ‘I didn’t want to spend too much time looking at him until I had gone through the whole list. Since he came out of prison, he has worked for a firm called RGKMS Limited and he’s listed as a director on their Companies House profile, but there’s no website for the company on Google, and when I did a Street View on their registered address in Manchester, it’s nothing more than an abandoned warehouse.’

‘So, we’ve got the dinner lady’s grandson turned into a dragon, and a man who likes to play with matches. Our arsonist knows Arthuret Hall and has a derelict building as his business address.’ O’Dowd grimaced. ‘That speaks of organised crime to me. Like the building it uses as an address, RGKMS Limited may be a shell.’ She pointed at Beth’s computer. ‘What did the PNC say about him?’

‘Just the arson.’

‘What about HOLMES?’

The Home Office Large Major Enquiry System allowed all the police forces in the UK to simultaneously access information connected to large investigations, such as murder cases. Its database held case notes and details of all people connected with any particular case, and allowed officers to follow cases in real time.

‘I didn’t find anything. I’ve sent an email to his local force asking if he’s on their radar.’

‘Good. If you haven’t heard anything by noon, follow it up with a call.’ O’Dowd took a noisy slurp of the coffee she’d carried in with her. ‘C’mon then, let’s go and see Granny Keane. With luck she’ll still have her wits about her.’