‘What happened,’ he asked, ‘about Mr Dakers? As quick and complete as you can.’

‘He arrived, sir, about three minutes after you left your instructions, according to which I asked for his name and let on it was because of an accident. He took it up it was something about a car. He didn’t seem to pay much attention. He was very excited and upset. He went upstairs and was there about eight to ten minutes. You and Mr Fox were with the two gentlemen and the lady in that little room, sir. When he came down he had a case in his hand. He went to the door to go out and I advised him it couldn’t be done. He still seemed very upset, sir, and that made him more so. He said: ‘Good God, what is all this?’ and went straight to the room where you were, sir.’

‘Good. Thank you. Keep going.’

‘Sir,’ said the constable.

‘And Philpott.’

‘Sir?’

‘We’ve sent for another man. In the meantime I don’t want any of the visitors in the house moving about from room to room. Get them all together in the drawing-room and keep them there, including Colonel Warrender and Mr Templeton if he’s feeling fit enough. Mr Dakers can stay where he is. Put the new man on the door and you keep observation in the dining-room. We can’t do anything about the lavatory, I suppose, but everywhere else had better be out of bounds. If Colonel Warrender wants to go to the lavatory, you go with him.’

‘Sir.’

‘And ask Mr Fox to join me upstairs.’

The constable moved off.

A heavy thumping announced the descent of Old Ninn. She came down one step at a time. When she got to the bottom of the stairs and saw Alleyn she gave him a look and continued on her way. Her face was flaming and her mouth drawn down. For a small person she emanated an astonishingly heavy aura of the grape.

‘Mrs Plumtree?’ Alleyn asked.

‘Yes,’ said Old Ninn. She halted and looked into his face. Her eyes, surprisingly, were tragic.

‘You’re going to look after Mr Richard, aren’t you?’

‘What’s he been doing to himself?’ she asked as if Richard had been playing roughly and had barked his knee.

‘He fainted. The doctor thinks it was shock.’

‘Always takes things to heart,’ Old Ninn said.

‘Did you bring him up?’

‘From three months.’ She continued to look fixedly at Alleyn. ‘He was a good child,’ she said as if she was abusing Richard, ‘ and he’s grown into a good man. No harm in him and never was.’

‘An orphan?’ Alleyn ventured.

‘Father and mother killed in a motor accident.’

‘How very sad.’

‘You don’t,’ Old Ninn said, ‘feel the want of what you’ve never had.’

‘And of course Miss Bellamy – Mrs Templeton – took him over.’