‘Well, how else do the horses come into it?’
‘I don’t know. But there are an awful lot of the hunting fraternity hallooing about down there with their fancy jackets and strangled vowels.’
‘Ah. The fox-hunting re-enactment society, I call them.’
‘I prefer “the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable”,’ said Fry.
‘That’s not one of my quotes.’
‘No, it’s Oscar Wilde.’
Fry hated not knowing more about the victim. Was he a saboteur? Could his killers have been members of the hunt? But he didn’t look the type to be an animal rights protestor. No mohican, no sabbing equipment. And none of the genuine sabs had any knowledge of him. Or they weren’t willing to admit they had. But why were horses’ hoof marks found? There had to be a reason for their presence, and the hunt were the obvious suspects.
She turned at the sound of clumsy footsteps clattering on the rocks. She was met by a startled gaze and a snort of alarm from a black muzzle.
‘Those damn sheep.’
Then she looked up at the sky in surprise. Well, at least it had stopped raining at last.
Cooper had reached the outer cordon, where blue-and-white crime-scene tape was strung between two gate posts and across the path. He gave his name to the officer at the cordon as he passed through, and saw Fry and Murfin walking back across the field from the body tent. Fry looked cold and tired, her coat and hair filmed with rain.
‘Ben – I didn’t think you were serious,’ she said when he got nearer.
‘Why wouldn’t I be?’
‘Nobody comes out of a nice dry office on a day like this, if they can possibly help it.’
‘But I said I’d come, didn’t I? Why would I say that, if I didn’t mean it?’
Fry shrugged. ‘To impress someone?’
Cooper turned away. Though Fry was wrong about his reason, he didn’t want her to probe any further.
‘So what’s the situation?’ he said. ‘Have you got an ID? Any initial lines of enquiry?’
‘Just a minute,’ said Fry. ‘Before you get carried away – I don’t really need you here. I don’t want to be responsible for wrecking the duty roster just because you got bored sitting around on your backside.’
‘Actually, I think you do need me, Diane.’
‘Oh? How do you make that out?’
‘You said members of the Eden Valley Hunt were involved?’
‘They might be. We haven’t established that yet.’
‘Horses, though.’
‘Yes.’
‘And what do you know about horses? What do you know about the hunt, or hunt supporters?’
‘I can ask.’
Cooper gazed steadily at her. ‘You know perfectly well that I can talk to them better than you, and get more information out of them. You’ll just get everyone’s backs up.’
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘You know what I mean.’
‘No, do tell me. How do I get everyone’s backs up?’
‘Well, I bet you have your own fixed views on field sports already. Have you expressed any opinions yet while you’ve been here? Shall I ask Gavin?’
Fry bit her lip. She always seemed to hate admitting that he was right.
‘All right, I’ll compromise,’ she said finally. ‘I’ll fill you in with what we have so far, and I’ll let you look at the scene. If you can contribute anything useful, you can stay, and I’ll square it with the DI.’
‘Great.’
‘Wait. But if I think you’re just bullshitting and you’ve nothing new to contribute, you’re out of here and back to your paperwork, no matter how boring you’re finding it.’
Cooper smiled. ‘OK, Diane. It’s a deal.’
She looked at him, evidently wondering whether he was serious. She had never really understood him, and he didn’t suppose it was going to be any different today.
Cooper listened carefully while Fry filled him in.
‘These hoof marks,’ said Cooper when she’d finished. ‘You said something about the hunt?’
‘As I told you, the Eden Valley Hunt has been out this morning. There was a police presence for the meet. They were expecting trouble from saboteurs. Got it, too.’
‘Yes, I saw the hunt.’
‘There were so many dogs. Why do they need so many?’
‘Dogs?’ said Cooper. ‘You mean hounds.’
Fry shook her head. ‘I know a dog when I see one.’
Cooper sighed. He’d grown up with a different relationship to the Eden Valley Hunt. Not only did the hunt rely on the goodwill of local farmers, it was one of the great organizers of social events. A dinner dance at Hassop Hall, a hunt ball at the Palace Hotel in Buxton, Buck’s fizz and a horn-blowing competition, a charity auction in aid of the air ambulance… Not many weeks ago, the hunt had thrown their annual Christmas party for farmers’ children. Cooper could recollect being taken to it himself a few times, when he was very small. The parties actually took place just after Christmas – but nevertheless involved a visit by Santa, dropping in at Edendale on his way home to Lapland.
‘But apart from the hoof marks, you have no evidence anyone from the hunt was involved?’
‘Well – that, and all the people milling around on horseback a few hundred yards away from the scene. It’s pretty persuasive circumstantial evidence.’
‘Was it the hounds who found the body?’ asked Cooper.
‘Apparently, they came down this way, but the dog men were on hand – oh, what do you call them?’
‘The huntsman? The whipper-in?’
‘Yes, them. They called the hounds away, but didn’t realize what the pack had found. They assumed it must be a dead sheep or something. It was the helicopter crew who actually called it in.’
‘The hounds are supposed to follow a scent trail. I wonder why they would get distracted by a human smell?’
‘I don’t know. Perhaps he smelled a bit foxy.’
Cooper could see that Fry was getting exasperated. But the light was fading anyway, and there wasn’t much else that could be done here. There was just one thing more.
‘If he was killed at around eight thirty, it would have been daylight,’ said Cooper. ‘I wonder who would have been able to see the scene from the surrounding area.’
Fry gazed around. ‘Can’t tell in this light. There seems to be a farm way over there, past that barn. Maybe a lorry driver on one of the quarry roads. No one in Birchlow – the village is in a dip from here.’
‘You might see the lower part of the track, though.’
‘If his killers came that way. The SOCOs will try to establish an approach route in the morning when the light is better. And hopefully, the weather.’
Cooper peered through the dusk. ‘What about Eyam? Some of those houses are in a direct line of sight to the crime scene. And there aren’t even any trees in the way.’
‘It’s way across the valley,’ said Fry. ‘Too far away for anyone to have seen anything, surely?’
The southern side of Longstone Moor was occupied only by a few quiet, self-contained farmsteads sheltering behind their walls of silage bags. But on the north side of the moor, it was quite different. Lorries and giant dumper trucks ran backwards and forwards to the quarries on unmade roads, blowing clouds of white dust behind them, as if their wheels were on fire. The rain had carved channels down some of those roads, forcing lorries up on to eroded bank sides. Cooper could hear the booming of the empty wagons, the scream of reversing alarms on the dumpers. Nobody would be out walking in this area – the dust was too thick, too gritty on the wind.
‘It depends,’ said Cooper. ‘It depends on what there was for anyone to see.’
Seventy-five miles away, in the Great Barr area of Birmingham, Erin Lacey was watching her father pack. The Mercedes already stood in the drive, and his laptop was in its case, ready to go.
‘How long will you be away?’ she asked.
‘I’m not sure, love.’
‘Will you phone?’
‘Of course.’
Michael Clay looked at his daughter. ‘I know how you feel about this, Erin. I realize you don’t approve.’