Again Harry nodded, wishing that this was all somebody else’s headache. But it wasn’t. The mess had been dropped well and truly in his lap, and now he had to try and steer a course that kept a superintendent happy, whilst showing no bias or favour in his pursuit of closing the Carmody case.

And the best of British luck with that, he thought sourly. On the one hand, he had his immediate bosses braying at him to close the case, and on the other, he had Superintendent Keith Finch, who was not going to be happy if he solved the case at the expense of his family and his dead son’s reputation.

‘You thought that he would soon get tired of Iris and find someone more suitable sooner or later.’ The inspector followed his line of thought easily. ‘Yes, sir, I understand, and who’s to say you wouldn’t have been proved right?’ Harry was careful to keep his voice neutral.

The superintendent eyed him with another weary smile. ‘I realise this isn’t exactly an ideal situation for you either, Harry. Especially now. David’s death has hit us all hard, but there’s no denying …’ He paused, took a deep breath and sat up straighter in his chair. ‘You know, of course, that they’re saying that David killed her? And then killed himself out of guilt?’

Jennings nodded miserably. Three days ago, this man’s son had been found hanging in a barn belonging to a close friend of the family. So far, although it was early days, there were no signs to suggest that it had been anything other than suicide. Naturally, the village was aflame with speculation, and the newspapers were only too happy to stoke the fires.

‘I find that impossible to believe,’ Keith Finch said. Then he held up a placatory hand as the inspector opened his mouth to respond, adding quickly, ‘And yes, I know, how many times have we heard family members of suicide victims or murder suspects say exactly the same thing?’ He ran a hand helplessly over his face.

The inspector, aware that he could put it off no longer, said, ‘Sir, I assure you that we’re going to conduct a proper investigation into everything, but, obviously, I can’t keep you apprised of anything …’

Luckily, he didn’t have to continue. Usually, telling a superintendent things that he didn’t want to hear wasn’t a smart move for a man with ambitions, and Harry Jennings hadn’t been looking forward to doing it. So it was with something of a relief that he stopped speaking as his superior officer again raised a hand.

‘Don’t worry, Harry, I’m not here to ask you to keep me updated. The chief constable has already made it clear that I can’t be involved in this thing in any way. Especially with David being a murder suspect in the Carmody case.’