‘Why now?’ Ben repeated. ‘That’s always a useful question. Maybe something has shifted in the legal wrangling. And maybe …’ his face brightened, ‘maybe 298somebody does think you can get DNA from ashes, and they’re trying to prove a relationship. I bet that’s it,’ he concluded cheerfully.

‘Have you any relatives called Williams?’ Thea wondered, still convinced the accountant was the culprit.

‘Not to my knowledge. I’ll need to have a proper look at the whole family tree to be sure.’

‘Hang on,’ Clovis objected. ‘This definitely doesn’t connect to the murder at all, does it? We’ve got completely sidetracked. Shouldn’t all this wait until we’ve finished discussing the Grace woman?’

‘Well, yes,’ said Ben dubiously. ‘Except I thought we had finished. What else did you want to talk about?’

Clovis wriggled his shoulders. ‘Just … what about those initials on the ring, for example?’

‘Yeah,’ said Ben, with no sign of enthusiasm. ‘We could have a think about that – but this feels more urgent, to be honest. If I can just sit down with my phone and notebook for a minute, I’ll be able to get my thoughts straight. We could use the house on the corner, for preference.’

‘Yes!’ said Thea. ‘Come on, then.’

‘I’ll have to move the car,’ said Clovis. ‘I’ll catch you up.’

For the third time, Thea paused to scrutinise him. Something wasn’t right. It was akin to the feeling she had about Drew. Both men were withholding something from her. Both were behaving oddly. Or was it her, imagining things? Was she suspecting secrets where they did not exist? In contrast, the boy Ben was wonderfully refreshing. He said what he was thinking, he had no 299inhibitions about casting accusations right and left, and his mind had all the sharpness of a healthy young genius.

‘It can’t possibly connect, though, can it?’ she said, as they walked briskly through the village, past the Village Pub, the church and a handful of old stone houses. ‘The murder, and your family feud, and Barnsley Park and the ashes. How could they possibly all be part of the same thing?’

‘We should accept that it’s not impossible,’ he said sententiously. ‘We’ll know more when I’ve checked out a few things.’ He looked up at the building in front of him, as Thea steered him through the lopsided gate. ‘Nice old house. What’s being done to it?’

‘Just updating the kitchen and bathroom, basically. Nothing’s been touched for seventy years, or something. Forty years, more likely, in the kitchen, I suppose. They’re not doing anything structural, apart from a new piece of wall at the back. That part isn’t so old, anyway.’

‘How do you get on with the builders?’

‘Fine. They’re really nice chaps.’

‘My mother’s an architect. I get to hear a lot about builders. Mostly good, funnily enough – but there’s a few she’d quite like to slaughter.’

‘Sid and Dave work fast as well.’ She was speaking quietly, unsure whether the men could hear her. ‘They’ll be knocking off soon. Early start, early finish seems to be the pattern.’