‘Do you know a Mrs Millicent Vander?’ she tried again.

‘I do not.’

‘Are you sure you weren’t at her party, here in Oxford, on New Year’s Eve?’

‘I’m very sure,’ Phyllis Raynor said flatly.

‘What would you say if we had witnesses who could put you at that party?’ Trudy said, feeling on surer ground now. Surely Mrs Vander would recognise her, and probably several other party guests, if it came to that?

‘I would say they were mistaken,’ Phyllis said calmly. ‘Is there anything else you need?’

Trudy wanted to say yes. Her back was up, and she wanted to throw Terry Parker’s name at Phyllis and see how she reacted to it. But caution held her back. For a start, she was on very shaky ground already. They didn’t know, yet, that there was anything criminal in his death, and her remit to investigate the case probably didn’t include aggressive questioning. Besides, something told her that she would need more ammunition before seriously tackling this woman in earnest.

‘Thank you, Mrs Raynor, that’s all,’ Trudy forced herself to say, and gave a tight smile.

The door shut instantly in her face.

Clement, who hadn’t said a word, backed up to let his young friend pass him, then followed her equally silently down the stairs. There, the landlady – who hadn’t budged from the reception hall – watched in silence as they left.

Once outside in the frigid, deeply unpleasant air, Trudy pulled her coat tighter around herself and sighed. ‘I didn’t like Mrs Raynor,’ she admitted with a wry laugh. ‘She was lying, wasn’t she?’

‘Oh yes, I think so,’ Clement agreed at once.

Trudy sighed. ‘Well, I wasn’t in any position to really question her properly, and Inspector Jennings would have had a fit if she lodged a complaint against me. And speaking of the inspector, I’d better get back to the station and report on everything we’ve found out,’ she said without enthusiasm. The day was wearing on and he’d no doubt have any number of other duties to allot her that had nothing to do with the fatal car crash.

‘Yes, and I should get back to Vincent,’ Clement said. ‘I promised to beat him at nine-card brag. I’ll just pop into the office first and see if anything urgent has come in.’

And so it was that Clement dropped her off at the station to face the music, and then set out for his place of work, where he found his secretary had failed to arrive, and admin had all but ground to a halt.

He went back to his house, grumpily wishing that the snow would clear so that everything could get back to normal. Surely this blasted arctic spell wouldn’t last much longer?

*