Savage Moon

'So what happened?'

'They paid for the lambs.'

'Did you get involved in this?' asked Jon, turning to Adam.

'No, I didn't. How did they pay you Ken?'

'Cash of course. Rose spoke to them. I was too angry for words.'

'Did you get their names or anything?'

'No.'

'Were they local?' Jon asked.

'Of course not. Day trippers they were. From a city I should think.'

We'll never trace them, Jon thought. 'Have you ever had to shoot a dog, Ken?'

'Once. About eight year ago.'

Jon saw Ken's eyes connect briefly with Adam's once again. These two are sharing a lot of information I don't know about.

Adam coughed. 'Ken had to shoot a Collie. It was all properly documented, the report will be at the station.'

'And the dog's owners? Who were they?' Jon asked. Adam shrugged. 'I don't know.'

Jesus Christ, Jon thought. 'Well, we'd better dig that file out. I take it the owners weren't too happy?'

'No they weren't.' Sutton smirked and Jon saw cruelty in the twist of his lips. 'I gave them a sack to carry the animal's body in. Saved the boot of their car from getting covered with blood.' Jon glanced at the gun cabinet. 'So what sort of weapons are in there?'

Sutton placed his mug on the hearth. 'I own a Browning twelve-bore shotgun and a Ruger point twenty-two rifle.'

'License for the shotgun and firearms certificate for the rifle?' Sutton looked at him as if he was stupid. 'Of course. Shall I fetch them from the kitchen?'

Adam gave another cough. 'Ken's just put in an application at the station for a Remington two four three-calibre hunting rifle.' More information emerging only when it has to, Jon thought.

'Two rifles? What's wrong with just the one?' he asked Sutton.

'I use the twenty-two for vermin control. Rats and the odd fox, mainly. But I've been having problems with a few deer lately. They can cause a lot of damage, so I need something with more range and power.'

'And this Remington will give you that?'

'It will,' Sutton replied.

Jon sat back. 'The man you were with earlier. Was he carrying the twenty-two rifle?'

'No, that was his own weapon.'

Jon didn't like the fact that several guns were being kept on the farm. 'Is it licensed?'

'Of course. And, as the land owner, I've granted him full permission to discharge it anywhere in the areas designated by my firearms certificate.'

'Which are?'

'The area immediately surrounding the farm and the upper moor land.'

Jon tapped the pen against the top of his notebook. The heat from the fire was now getting uncomfortable and he swivelled his knees away from the flames. 'I presume this hunting rifle you're applying for would also be big enough to bring down a panther if you happened to spot one?'

Sutton breathed in slowly through his nose, as if considering the possibility for the first time. 'I suppose it would.'

You're a crap actor, thought Jon. 'You seem certain a panther is killing your sheep, Mr Sutton, despite any actual evidence.' Jon watched as he passed a hand over his lips. 'Something's killing them. Something that doesn't belong in this country.' Strange, Jon thought. That sounded like a touch of nervous- ness. 'And you believe the same creature killed your wife?' Sutton sat up in his seat. 'What else did, man? Tell me, what else did?'

Jon kept his expression neutral. 'I aim to find out.'

Looking disgusted, Sutton turned away and muttered, 'Well, you won't do that warming your socks in front of my fire.'

Jon looked down to see curls of steam rising from his wet feet. Shit, I must look like a right fool. He shifted in his seat again.

'The nature of the bite marks on your dead sheep. Did you observe those yourself or were they pointed out to you by a third party?'

'You mean Hobson? He showed them to me, yes.'

'Has he been to your farm much?'

'Every time we find a dead sheep, even if it's just a scattering of bones.'

'You'd take him to the remains each time?'

'Rose would usually. She was fascinated by the whole thing.' Another bloody link Adam forgot to mention, thought Jon.

'So Hobson and your wife were quite well acquainted?' Sutton stared at him. 'What are you suggesting by that?'

'Nothing,' Jon replied. 'I'm trying to ascertain who knew your wife, that's all.'

Sutton glanced at the clock on the wall. 'Is that it? It will be dark soon. I've got to burl those ewes.'

'One last thing. Does the name Derek Peterson mean anything to you?' Jon watched the man's face carefully, but spotted nothing as Sutton replied that it didn't. He closed his notebook and they all stood. 'Thanks very much for your time.' Sutton flexed his knees a couple of times before walking stiffly towards the door. In the kitchen he started climbing into his waterproof trousers as Jon reluctantly slid his now warm feet back into his cold and soaking shoes. Adam put on his boots and opened the door. Cold air rushed in and Jon saw the light was beginning to fade.

'What do you want to do next?' Adam asked as they walked towards their vehicles.

Jon's eyes strayed to the sheep watching them from the corner of the pen, their muzzles seeming to smoulder in the rapidly chilling air. 'Have a word with you, but not here,' Jon murmured. 'Let's stop at the top of the lane.'

'OK,' Adam replied cautiously.

They waved goodbye to Sutton who briefly held a hand up in return as he strode over to the barn. What a life, Jon thought, watching him in his rear-view mirror as he drove away.

At the end of the track to Sutton's farm Jon pulled over and got out. Adam came to a halt and Jon got into the jeep. 'You didn't tell me Hobson knew Rose Sutton.'

Adam raised his eyebrows. 'It slipped my mind. To be honest, I thought you knew.'

'How the hell would I?'

'That's a good question, now I think about it. Sorry.'

Did it slip your mind deliberately or are you just slow? Jon wondered. 'I thought Sutton's behaviour was odd.'

'How do you mean?' Adam started adjusting the fan vent on the dashboard.

'When I mentioned the possibility of a panther just now, it really unsettled him. He almost seemed scared I thought.'

'Scared? Wary, maybe. It killed his wife after all.' Jon shot him a glance.

'I mean, he believes a panther killed his wife,' Adam hastily corrected himself.

'I'm not sure. He looked like he was sweating it a bit. You're happy with his alibi? What was it, some sheep market up in the Lake District?'

'Yes, he was staying at a hotel in Keswick.'

'Statistically we're always best off looking at immediate family in murder cases.'

Clegg shook his head. 'He can't have done it. There are plenty of witnesses who saw him stagger off to his room at gone two in the morning. Totally pissed apparently, and his bar bill backs that up. Next day he was down for breakfast at seven sharp. To get from Keswick to here and back again in under five hours is practically impossible.'

'Practically, but not totally.'

'No, but then he'd have had to get Rose up on to the moor, kill her, tidy himself up and set off back to Keswick. Not possible in the time he had.'

'What about the other guy? The one with the rifle. Do you know him?'

Adam shook his head again. 'I only saw him from behind as he was walking towards the farm house.'

'Sutton said he was a neighbour.'

'Not from any farm I'm familiar with.'

'There are too many people roaming around with hunting rifles. It's an accident waiting to happen, especially with everyone so on edge. Can you find out who that bloke is and if he has a license for that gun?'

'Will do.'

'And keep back approval for Sutton's application for that

Remington hunting rifle.'

'It's already been signed off.'

Jon's eyes narrowed. 'It's obvious he doesn't want that rifle for culling any deer.' Adam shrugged again and Jon's suspicions moved up a notch. 'I'd like to speak with Rose's friends as well. Someone is hiding something. I know Sutton said they were a good team, but there's more to a marriage than that. Maybe she was having an affair. There was a bit of an age gap between them, and no kids either. When I mentioned another person being killed this morning, he was concerned to know the person's age. Perhaps there's something in that.'