‘I should danged well hope it is ridiculous,’ he said violently and at once produced his own alibi. ‘Little though I ever thought to be put in the way of making such a demeaning statement,’ he added angrily. ‘However. Being a Sunday, Mrs Nankivell and I did not raise up until nine o’clock and was brought our cup of tea at eight by the girl that does for us. The first I hear of this ghastly affair is at ten-thirty when Mrs Nankivell and I attended chapel and then it was no more than a lot of chatter about an accident and George Pender, looking very big, by all accounts, and saying he’d nothing to add to the information. When we come out it’s all over the village. I should of been informed at the outset but I wasn’t. Very bad.’

Alleyn did his best to calm him.

‘I’m very grateful to you for calling,’ he said. ‘I was going to ring up and ask if you could spare me a moment this afternoon but I wouldn’t have dreamt of suggesting you took the trouble to come over. I really must apologize.’

‘No need, I’m sure,’ said Mr Nankivell, mollified.

‘Now, I wonder, if, in confidence, Mr Mayor, you can help me at all. You see, I know nothing about Miss Cost and it’s always a great help to get some sort of background. For instance, what was she like? She was, I take it, about forty to forty-five years old and, of course, unmarried. Can you add anything to that? A man in your position is usually a very sound judge of character, I’ve always found.’

‘Ah!’ said the Mayor, smoothing the back of his head. ‘It’s an advantage, of course. Something that grows on you with experience, you might say.’

‘Exactly. Handling people and getting to know them. Now, between two mere males, how would you sum up Miss Elspeth Cost?’

Mr Nankivell raised his brows and stared upon vacancy. A slow, knowing smile developed. He wiped it away with his fingers but it crept back.

‘A proper old maiden, to be sure,’ he said.

‘Really?’

‘Not that she was what you’d call ancient: forty-five, as you rightly judged and a tricksy time of life for females, which is a well-established phenomenon, I believe.’

‘Yes, indeed. You don’t know,’ Alleyn said cautiously, ‘what may turn up.’

‘God’s truth, if you never utter another word,’ said Mr Nankivell with surprising fervour. He eased back in his chair, caught Alleyn’s eye and chuckled. ‘The trouble I’ve had along of that lady’s crankiness,’ he confided, ‘you’d never credit.’

Alleyn said ‘Tch!’