Gwen unfurls from his side. ‘What does it say? Why did he do it?’

‘The note … is a confession, Mrs Ellison.’

‘A confession? A confession of what?’

‘Murder.’

‘What?’

‘Mr Marsh confesses, in his note, to the murder of Gordon Allingham.’ He allows the revelation to sink in before he continues. ‘Apparently, he’d clipped a fox with his shotgun that night and had set off in pursuit to put it out of its misery. He was walking back along the lane when he saw Gordon Allingham approaching – he recognised the motorbike and his clothing, the flight jacket and aviator cap. I understand he’d witnessed the earlier altercation, Mr Ellison?’

‘Yes. Yes, that’s right,’ Jack confirms quietly.

‘He must have been very fond of your son. He writes that he was still furious with Mr Allingham for the danger he’d put Tom in that day – he was keen to teach him a lesson. He claims he was aiming for the bike, but the shot went high. He had only intended it to be a warning, by his account – he never meant to kill him.’ Gwen refrains from commenting. Ted was an expert shot, even better than her father. She had never known him to miss his mark. ‘It seems his sense of guilt was so overwhelming that, coupled with his cancer diagnosis …’

‘Cancer?’ Gwen exclaims.

‘I’m sorry, Mrs Ellison, I presumed with you being so close, you already knew? I’m afraid, it appears that Mr Marsh had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer.’

‘Oh God … Ted …’ Gwen smothers her cry. Jack’s fingers press into her shoulder.

‘He never said anything to us,’ he explains for the detective’s benefit.

‘I’m so sorry, I thought it likely he’d have told you. Anyway, it appears the prospect of the inevitable suffering ahead held little attraction for him. That was another factor that contributed to his decision to … take his own life.’ He pauses, watching Jack closely. ‘I suppose it must have been Mr Marsh my witness saw the other night with the shotgun, Mr Ellison … though I would have said you cut a much taller figure myself.’

‘Mistakes are easily made, especially when it’s dark,’ Jack replies evenly.

‘Indeed. Well, I have my confession and I think Mr Allingham’s family will be satisfied – they wanted the matter resolved as quickly as possible. I don’t doubt they will be grateful to know exactly what happened … and why.’

‘Ted loved Tom very much,’ Gwen says softly. ‘His own son died … I sometimes think Tom almost became a substitute for the boy he’d lost. He would have done anything for him … done anything to protect him. I know he was very angry that Gordon had behaved so recklessly that day. I just hadn’t realised how angry.’

‘Well … a man who has nothing left to lose is often prepared to do all manner of things he might not otherwise have considered, Mrs Ellison.’