I shook my head. “I’m afraid not. I’ve asked a lot of questions, but I’m not a whole lot further forward. Anyone could have done it, and nearly everyone seems to have some kind of motive. But I’ve got a few interesting leads that I need to follow up. Then I might have a clearer idea.”

“You’ve got to find who did it, Kate. There’s a really bad atmosphere round here. Everybody suspects everybody else. They might not admit it, but they do. It’s poisoning everything.”

“I know. I’m doing my best, Jett. It would help if I could ask you a few questions.” I was treading gently. I didn’t know how close to the edge he was and I didn’t want to be the one to push him over. Besides, he was the client, therefore not up for any kind of badgering.

He sighed, and forced out a half smile that looked grotesque on his haggard features. “I laid you on, so I guess I have to pay the price. Look, I have to go see Moira’s mother. Why don’t you drive me into town and we can talk on the way.”

“How will you get home?” I asked. Trust me to find the completely irrelevant question.

He shrugged. “Gloria’ll come and pick me up. Or Tamar. It’s not a problem.”

I followed him out the door and down the stairs. On the front steps, he paused and said, “You can ask me anything you want, you know. Don’t worry about sparing my feelings.”

“Thanks.” I unlocked the car and kept an anxious eye on him as he squeezed into the passenger seat. The briefest of smiles flickered on his face as he strapped himself in.

“I’ve got too used to flash motors,” he remarked.

I revved the engine and headed off down the long drive. The tires hissed on the wet road, the wipers struggled to keep the screen clear. “Weather looks like I feel,” Jett said. “OK, Kate, what d’you want to know?”

“Can you run through your own movements from about eight? I particularly want to know where and when you saw anyone else.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jett massage the back of his neck with one hand, then rotate his head a few times. “Tamar came back from one of her shopping sprees, and said she’d cook us some dinner.”

“Was that usual?” I butted in.

He shrugged. “We don’t stick to formal routines round meals here. Everybody kind of fends for themselves, except for Sunday. Gloria always cooks a proper Sunday dinner and we all get together then. But Tamar often cooks for the two of us. Moira did dinner a few times the first couple of weeks she was here, but once we’d really got stuck into the work, she didn’t bother.”