‘Well, first, there is the question of Worry,’ said Mrs Bradley.

‘Question of what?’

‘You mean Who. Worry, the gamekeeper’s dog. The story of Worry is brief but significant.’

‘Let’s have it, then.’

‘Very well. I came here first two days before Christmas Eve; in other words, on December the twenty-second. On the following day I went for a walk with Deborah and Jonathan and we saw the ghost-gate at the top of Groaning Spinney. We went on to the Fullaloves’ bungalow where I met Tiny. I took an instant dislike to him. I learned later that he was disliked by several other people. My own dislike you may dismiss as mere prejudice, but these others all had some grounds for their distaste.’

‘Who are they? – And what were their reasons?’

‘My nephew Jonathan did not dislike him at that time, so I will mention him first. He grew to dislike him when he learned that Tiny had annoyed Deborah.’

‘Yes. Bit of a heel,’ said the Chief Constable. ‘Forget when I first learned things about him. Wants kicking, but I always thought that.’

‘Possibly. His own cousin may have disliked him. I mention Bill next because there is no certain information except that he is said to have given Tiny a black eye. Tiny is not the kind of man to get over a thing like that very easily.’

‘You don’t suggest he murdered Bill on the strength of it?’

‘No. But, all the same, somebody in the village (or somebody who has visited the village recently) wants us to believe that Bill died in the snow as the result of an overdose of aspirin – not an overdose large enough to kill him or large enough to leave distinct traces in the body, but large enough to make him very sleepy. The person who wants us to think that Bill’s death was brought about in this way took the trouble to “plant” an empty packet of aspirin tablets where I should find it, and, I have little doubt, watched me pick it up and saw me throw it away.’

‘You tampered with evidence?’

‘It wasn’t evidence, and it might have been misleading. One of the two persons who saw that I was not to be misled had a good but crude try at breaking into my London house a short time ago, whether with the intention of murdering me, terrifying me or of having a confidential chat has not been established.’

‘Tiny Fullalove!’

‘Yes.’

‘But why should he …?’