Shut up she did, without taking offence. She turned to George, smiling expectantly, full of curiosity.

“I thought this was a social visit. I didn’t know you wanted to ask questions. I thought all that would be secret.”

“It is a social visit, but you know everyone in Rushy so well that I thought you might be able to help. You’re friendly with the birders and the locals, and so, I suppose, was Tom.”

“Well,” she breathed, leaning forward, her elbows on her strong, shapely knees, her eyes gleaming with excitement, “ what do you want to know?”

“We’ve just met a rather strange individual in the hotel grounds. He says that his name is Terry. Do you know him?”

“Of course,” she said. She was a little disappointed. She had been expecting some dramatic revelation. “But he’s harmless, you know. He can’t be the one you’re looking for.”

“Oh?”

This was all she needed to provide them with a full life history.

“He came from the big hospital over towards Skeffingham. That must have been about ten years ago. The Lodge was a different place then, I can tell you. The major and his wife still ran it, and we had a lovely class of guest. I used to go in sometimes as a chambermaid if they were busy. They only had local staff then. The hospital asked the hotel to give Terry a job. The major took him on a month’s trial to do the dirty work in the kitchen, then said that he could stay. But he wouldn’t let Terry live in. He felt that he couldn’t take the responsibility with all the elderly guests, so the hospital looked for lodgings in the village.

“They asked Mrs. Black if he could stay with her. They explained that he’d be working long hours, so she wouldn’t see a lot of him. She wasn’t at all sure what to do. She needed the money because her husband Billy had just ran away with the barmaid from the Dragon at Fenquay. We talked about it and agreed that she ought to take him in. She’s never regretted it. I think she’s fond of him now, though she wouldn’t want to admit it, because folks would laugh. We’ve never had any trouble with Terry. The village is used to him now.”

“Has he ever been violent?”

“No.” She laughed sadly. “The village lads used to bully him and tease him. He’s bigger than any of them but he never had the guts to fight back.”

“Does he tell the truth? Can you rely on what he tells you, or does he make things up?”

“No,” she answered uncertainly. “ He doesn’t exactly tell stories, but sometimes he gets a bit confused.” She looked at George anxiously. “He wouldn’t have hurt Tom. Tom was the only person in that hotel who was kind to him.”

George cupped the glass of whisky in his hands, before looking directly at Ella. “As I understand it,” he said, “everyone seems to have liked Tom. Except perhaps Bernard Cranshaw.”