Darcy glanced out of the window. “I don’t really see how I could slip away at this moment without it looking suspicious. And I expect the body has already been put into a police van by now.”

“You’re not being very helpful.” I stood up. “I’m going to have a word with the inspector.”

Darcy put his hand over mine. “Is that wise? Shouldn’t we just let the police go about their business?”

“Not if they are going to get it wrong,” I said. Conscious of all the eyes on me, I went over to the chief inspector, who was hovering in the background.

“Might I have a word with you?” I said, and led him out of hearing range of the others.

“Well?” he asked.

“That young man may be uncouth and naïve,” I said, “but he’s definitely not stupid. If he had wanted to kill his cousin, he could well have stabbed him with his knife, but would he leave the knife in Cedric’s back? Especially a knife so easily identifiable as his?”

“We’ve already heard how skilled he is at throwing a knife. Perhaps he threw it, struck his uncle down then heard someone coming and didn’t have time to retrieve it,” he said.

“But the body was covered with Cedric’s jacket,” I said. “If he had time to do that, he’d have had time to remove the knife.”

“That’s true,” he admitted. “That is strange, isn’t it? I’ve wondered about that coat. Why would anyone want to cover the top half of a body but leave it there on the path in full view for anyone to see? And, as you say, leaving the knife in its back?”

“My guess would be that the person wanted the body to be found and wanted to make us think that Jack did it,” I said.

“Thus getting rid of the duke and his heir at the same time?” the chief inspector said thoughtfully. “So who would be next in line if they both went?”

“Nobody. I’ve been told that the title would die out and that the estate would probably revert to the crown.”

“You mean the king would get all this lot?”

“I believe so. I understand the title was created to include a land grant from the sovereign—which means the crown can take it back if the title no longer exists. That was the usual way things were done in the old days.”

Chief Inspector Fairbotham sucked through his teeth. “So the old biddies would lose their home?”

“And Irene and her children.”

He sighed. “So none of them would want to change the status quo.”

“Exactly.”