The scene-of-crime people had finished now and had departed with their bagged loot of dust, mud and blood specimens. The place should have been regaining an air of normality, but just one policeman on the door was enough to prevent that. Inside, however, there was only a single representative of the law tucked away in each house, and in number twenty-four Charlie found Derek putting the dining room to rights. ‘I don’t know that anyone will fancy eating here tonight,’ he said dubiously. ‘Katy was talking in terms of a fork meal, which is probably sensible. Still, we’ve got to come back in here some time, and nobody’s dead.’ ‘Nobody’s dead yet.’ ‘The kids have had a message from the hospital. They can go and see Ben, but he won’t be able to talk to them.’ ‘Great,’ said Charlie, unenthusiastically. ‘I suppose that means we can go and question him in Morse code.’ ‘He may be up to writing his answers. Or you could ask him questions that need a yes or no answer, and he could make signs,’ Derek suggested.
