Mr and Mrs Muirhead lived at 15 Railway Cutting Road in Cambridge

They had lived there for fifteen years with their son Jack

Both were keen gardeners and each Winter they would haunt their rear garden

In search of primroses and other early Spring flowers

On the fifteenth of January Mr Muirhead found a solitary primrose not far from the concrete path

That lead to the fence that overlooked the wide railway cutting

The tiny flower was almost shy in its yellow overcoat and had been hidden from the house

By the long grasses that had kept it warm during the long freezing nights

On the second and fourth week of the month Mrs Muirhead would travel to Peterborough to see her mother

She would be accompanied by Jack and his girlfriend Jill and the twins Jasper and Jane

They last travelled on January 24th and as they were passing her home

Mrs Muirhead noticed clumps of primroses grouped under the numerous bushes that clung precariously to the railway bank

These bushes had obscured these tiny flowers from being seen from all but the Muirhead’s bathroom window

Which was glazed to protect their modesty when taking a bath