“Enough to know that you tried to bribe Lorna Smith-Couper into pulling out of the concert. You can’t have been so sure about Derbyshire House failing to reach their target. I also heard Lorna sending you off with a flea in your ear, threatening to expose you. And I saw the expression on your face. Murderous, I’d call it. None of it very edifying, is it?”

“All right, so I did try to bribe her. But that’s no crime, not compared with murder. And I didn’t murder her. I’ve already cleared this up with the police. I was in one of those two pubs at the time. Look, I’ll write their names down. You can check up.” He pulled a memo pad over, scribbled the names of the pubs with a thick, dark pencil, and handed the paper over to Lindsay. “There you are, take it. Murder’s not my way, you know. I may have been underhand, but I’m not one of your bully boys that believes violence is the answer.”

“And you’re sure you didn’t see Sarah?”

“I didn’t. I didn’t go there to see her. I went to see Lorna Smith-Couper.”

“How did you know where to find her?” asked Cordelia.

“I rang her up before she came to the school and asked for an appointment because she refused to discuss business over the phone. She agreed, and rang me on Saturday morning to arrange a meeting in Music 2 at quarter to five. I knew exactly where that room was—in fact, when I was just a little two-man operation, I replaced all the windows on that floor. Like I said, I’ve done most of the building work there. The woman was there, sorting out some strings for her cello. I put my offer to her. She laughed in my face. When I left, she left too. I don’t know where she went, but I went straight to my car and drove around for a while. When the pub opened, I went in for a drink. I didn’t feel like going home to an empty house—I often don’t—so I went to the Stonemason’s. I wanted to put my thoughts about the matter out of my head for a while, so I had a meal and a few pints. That’s that. There’s no need to tell the police after all, now is there?”

For a shrewd businessman, he was a shade too eager, thought Lindsay. She shrugged. “I make no promises,” she said. “I don’t see the need just at present. Thanks for your time, Mr. Cartwright.” Again, she and Cordelia left the office. This time, they made it out of the front door and back to the car.