Excerpt

Two uniformed coppers prowled the lay-by. The woman was searching the ground for who knows what while the man peered through my Land Rover's passenger window.

'Sir.' He stepped back smartly as CID arrived.

The woman continued her search, utterly focused as she walked along the edge of the tarmac towards the patrol car parked further up the road. To my relief, the dryad went to see what she was up to.

I unlocked the driver's door and held it open so CID could get a good look inside. He took his time before nodding.

'And the back?'

We walked round and I opened up to show him my tools and all the other fixings and bits and pieces I carry. You never know what you'll need on a job only to find no one else has thought of bringing it.

'Thanks very much, sir.' CID stepped back. 'Did you see any other vehicle as you pulled up? Did anyone pass you on your way here, after you'd made the turn?'

I shook my head. 'Sorry, no.'

'Did you see anyone walking in the woods? Maybe down by the river?' He gestured in the direction of the water meadows, where a curving line of black poplars marked the river's course. Those trees had once been carefully pollarded but now grew ragged and wild.

'Not that I recall.'

'And what brings you to Derbyshire?' He looked at me intently.

'A tourist brochure.' I shrugged. 'It looked like a nice place.'

I wasn't about to tell him I was visiting parts of the country where I hoped some overlooked, ancient woodland might still be home to a dryad. I absolutely wasn't going to mention the dreams that had prompted me to turn off the M1 when I saw the signposts for Hardwick Hall.

'I see.' He didn't sound convinced. 'Well, if you do remember anything later, please give me a ring.' He reached inside his suit jacket and produced a business card. 'Even if you don't think it's important, let us decide that. Something that seems trivial might be significant.'

The card told me I was talking to Detective Sergeant Jason Tunstead. 'What's this all about?'

I kept half an eye on the dryad, who was coming to hear what he had to say. Even the way she walked was seductive, her legs long and bare, her elegant feet heedless of sharp stones where the road had been resurfaced.

'A girl was attacked in the woods,' the detective said grimly.

That got him my full attention. 'This afternoon? I was nowhere near here, and you can check that out.'

'We will, sir,' he assured me. 'The sooner we can eliminate you from our enquiries, the sooner we can catch the c—' He caught himself on the edge of an obscenity. 'The culprit.'

I could see that he meant it.