‘Must’ve been fun for her,’ said Jude wryly, trying not to visualize the grisly details of the occasion. Malee’s progress in becoming part of the Shefford family cannot have been easy, and having no backup from her own side could only have made things worse.

‘No,’ Rhona went on, ‘her people were no doubt back in Thailand, busy on their calculators, working out how much money they’d get when Bill kicked the bucket.’

Jude knew there was no point in saying anything. Rhona Hampton was not about to change such entrenched attitudes at this advanced stage of her life.

‘Shannon’ll try again,’ Rhona went on. ‘Not easily put off, my daughter. She’ll be back at that house and she’ll get in, even if she has to break in. She’ll find the will that Bill drew up before he met his “Mail Order Bride”.’

‘Could you just move on to your other side?’ asked Jude. She helped ease the frail body on the bed. There now seemed to be only a thin layer of skin over the old woman’s bones. Jude’s healing efforts were helping with the pain, but Rhona was also on a lot of prescription medication. She was not much longer for this life, but she was still capable of great malignancy where Malee Shefford was concerned.

In shifting her client’s position, Jude dislodged a pile of A4 sheets from the bedside table. With Rhona settled, she bent to pick them up.

‘Oh, those are copies of Bill’s death certificate,’ said the old woman. ‘I told Shannon they were going to need lots of them. You can never have too many. I remember when my Roy passed, I couldn’t believe how much paperwork there was, and how many people needed to see a copy of the death certificate. So Shannon got lots of spares from the registrar.’

Jude was only half-listening. She had seen something on the death certificate that intrigued her.

‘Shannon’s a tough woman,’ said Jude. ‘No question. She’s incredibly protective of Billy. I get the impression he’s quite a weak character, maybe grew up too much in the shadow of his father. But Shannon’s more than ready to fight his battles for him.’

‘How far do you reckon she’d go?’ asked Carole. They were sitting over coffee in the High Tor kitchen. Gulliver snuffled in his dog dreams by the Aga.

‘As far as killing the father? Is that what you’re asking?’

‘Well, it’s a thought.’

‘I don’t know. I can see her squaring up to Malee, no problem, but I somehow get the impression she was fond of her father-in-law.’

‘Maybe. Fondness hasn’t been allowed to stop a great many murderers.’ Carole took a sip of coffee. ‘Do you believe in the existence of this earlier will that Rhona mentioned?’

Jude shrugged. ‘No idea.’