“Now,” he said. “You’re a student so you’re a bright lad. We’ll have no messing. Do you know who killed Mr. Todd?”

“No,” Mark said. “ If I knew I would tell you. Without waiting to be asked. I liked Charlie. And not all students hate the police.”

Savage allowed himself one short, bark-like laugh.

“No. I don’t suppose that they do. Describe in detail what happened to you yesterday evening. Start after the evening meal. Unless anything important happened before that.”

“No, there was nothing important, except that everyone seemed more irritable than usual. I had coffee in the common room with everyone else. Everyone except John, of course, and Elizabeth who was in the kitchen. Then I went to help her wash up.”

“Why would you want to do that? Fancy her, do you?”

Mark blushed deeply and uncontrollably. Savage pretended not to notice and continued: “ Not that that’s got anything to do with me. What happened then?”

“I went with her to help her to carry some wood for the common-room fire. Pam and Jerry were there. It looked as if they’d been arguing. Anyway, I felt a bit awkward about intruding. Liz went to the flat and I went to find Nick. He was in the ringing room trying to untangle one of the mist-nets. We went ringing.”

“He says that he came back to the observatory to fetch some pliers. What did you do while he was away?”

“Carried on ringing.”

“You didn’t leave the net?”

“No.”

“And this morning, did you go out before Mr. Mardle woke you at seven-thirty?”

“No.”

Once again Savage looked at his watch. “I’ve no more questions just now, Mr. Taylor. Thank you.”

They went to interview Elizabeth in the kitchen, where she was preparing the evening meal. It would have been just as quick for Connibear to have fetched her into the ringing room, but Savage felt the need to demonstrate his impatience, the hurry. She was carrying a large pan of potatoes from the table to the stove. He took it from her, set it on the gas ring.

“You shouldn’t be doing that,” he said, “in your condition.”

She sat on the stool by the table. She was wearing red. Connibear, looking at her and at Savage, thought how alike they were, with their dark hair and strong features. She could have been his daughter. There was an immediate antagonism between them, more like that between family members than between strangers.

“John told you,” she said. The superintendent could tell that she did not like him. “ I wish that he hadn’t done.”

Despite his impatience, Savage was intrigued by her. “How did you come to be living here, Miss Richards?” he asked. He wondered why it seemed so important.

“Mrs. Richards,” she said. “ I’m divorced. I was married to a BBC camera man. He was working on a documentary film on Bardsey—that’s an island in North Wales. I went with him. It was the last attempt to save our marriage. John Lansdown was assistant warden at the observatory there. When Frank, my husband, left, I didn’t go with him. John got the job here the following season, and I came too. Though what the hell that has to do with you or with Charlie Todd, I don’t know.”