“No,” Judy said. “ That’s not true. She was well-read, intelligent, especially concerned about environmental problems.” She turned to Ramsay. “Alice was a scientist,” she told him, “ a chemist. She met her husband at Newcastle University, where they both worked. He was a historian and quite famous. You might have seen him on television. Alice may have dressed rather strangely and been a bit eccentric, but she was no fool.”

“Perhaps you could explain about the new houses and what they had to do with Mrs. Parry,” Ramsay said.

“Alice originally owned the land where the housing development is proposed,” Judy said. “She sold it to a builder on the understanding that it would be used for cheap starter homes for the village people. Then she found out that the development would be much bigger than she’d been led to believe and that he was going to build big executive homes for people prepared to commute into Newcastle. Of course the villagers are furious and think Alice sold out—though she let the land go to the builder for well under the market value.”

“What is the name of the builder?” The interruption was gentle and she hardly paused.

“Henshaw,” Judy said. “ Colin Henshaw.”

Ramsay recognised the name immediately as the builder who owned the land behind his cottage. He said nothing, and Judy continued:

“There was an action meeting in the hall yesterday afternoon. Alice went to it, and apparently it got very nasty. Later in the day she received a threatening letter. It really upset her.”

“Were you at the meeting?” Ramsay interrupted again. “Can you tell me exactly what happened?”

“No,” Judy said. “We didn’t arrive until it was all over. But one of your reporters went, didn’t she, James? She would be able to tell the inspector what went on.”

“Yes,” James said absently, “though I’m not sure how reliable she is.”

“What is her name?” Ramsay asked.

“Raven,” James said. “ Mary Raven.”

Ramsay turned to Judy. “ You mentioned a letter,” he said. “Could you tell me about that?”

“It was delivered here some time after the meeting,” Judy said. “By hand, I suppose. But if Alice guessed who had made it, she didn’t say. It was anonymous. There was no handwriting, only words cut out from newspaper. It was horrible, violent. It said something like ‘If you kill our village, we’ll kill you.’”

“How did Mrs. Parry respond to the letter?”

“She wasn’t frightened,” Judy said. “ She was sad and upset but not frightened. She loved Brinkbonnie. She didn’t want her friends to think she’d let them down.” She looked at James and smiled a little maliciously. “She was angry, too. She thought James could do more to support her by making a fuss in the Express. She threatened to cut him out of her will if he didn’t help her.”

“Nonsense!” James said. “She said no such thing! This is preposterous.”