‘And do we know that was the case? What the provisions of his former will were and whether he had yet changed it?’

‘No, of course we don’t. As I said, the source of this suggestion is Barney Poulton, none of whose theories are ever backed up by the thinnest wisp of research. But let me say that, though there is a kind of logic that fingers Billy as chief suspect, it is not a suggestion that finds much support in the Crown and Anchor.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because Billy’s a regular there. All the other regulars are his mates. And they’re not going to grass up one of their own. Besides, and this is a slightly more compelling argument, he’s been so public about his criticism of his father. Everyone in the Crown and Anchor has heard him whingeing on about the old boy. The general view is that someone planning to commit murder would be a little less vocal about the shortcomings of his proposed victim.’

‘That’s quite a good point. And the Crown and Anchor’s second suspect?’ Carole knew the answer, but she didn’t want to volunteer more names until she had heard in full the wisdom of the pub’s regulars.

‘Well, of course, it’s the new wife, isn’t it? Malee.’

‘Have you met her?’

‘Yes, I have. Yes. Very briefly.’ He seemed about to say more but changed his mind. ‘I’m afraid with someone like her, you don’t see the attitudes of an English country village at their best. From what I’ve observed, Fethering seems to distrust newcomers, even if they’ve only come from as far away as Fedborough. So, when you’ve got someone all the way from Thailand … and that someone marries a well-loved local, whose first wife Valerie was very popular in the village … Did you ever meet her, by the way, Carole?’

‘No. I think she must have died before I started living down here full-time.’

‘Ah. Well, anyway, in the Crown and Anchor’s favourite scenario, Bill Shefford had changed his will, leaving everything to Malee.’

‘This is based on the same amount of knowledge of the facts as supported the thesis that he hadn’t yet changed it?’

‘Identical. And that meant, of course, that she had the perfect motive to kill her husband … so that she would inherit everything … which was the only reason she married him in the first place.’

‘I see.’

‘But making Malee the prime suspect is not just racism and distrust of the outsider, though there’s plenty of that. The clincher for the Crown and Anchor Major Incident Team is that she had apparently been taking evening classes in car maintenance. I don’t know if that’s true …?’

‘It is.’