‘Lord help us,’ groaned Thea. ‘I suppose I’ll have to go and see for myself, once I’ve finished here. Drew’s going to love that, isn’t he.’

‘There could be other explanations,’ said Jocelyn hesitantly. ‘Maybe she’s preparing for a party, or keeping it for somebody else.’

‘Didn’t Toni ask her?’

‘She didn’t like to. Couldn’t think how to phrase it, I suppose. They went out both evenings with some of Jess’s workmates and there was a lot of booze flowing both times. She came home pretty convinced there was an issue.’

Issues, thought Thea. Everywhere she looked, there seemed to be stacks of them. Even murder was probably some sort of issue, as well. ‘I’ll phone her tonight,’ she said. ‘And fix up a visit in a week or two. Stephanie could come as well, maybe.’

‘You can’t take one without the other,’ Jocelyn warned. ‘Who’s going to mind Timmy if you do that?’

‘Oh, shut up,’ said Thea. ‘It’s just one darned thing after another.’195

It was a family saying, gleaned from old Laurel and Hardy films, and Jocelyn obediently laughed.

At six, they ate scrambled eggs, prepared on the new hob, with Thea taking extreme care not to spill anything. ‘I’m going at eight,’ said Jocelyn. ‘Can we have a little walk before then? I want to see this village.’

‘No problem,’ said Thea, thinking there really wasn’t very much to see. ‘There’s just a pub, a church and a village hall and a big hotel, basically.’

‘Show me where you went on Sunday, while that poor woman was getting herself murdered. Maybe we’ll find a clue or something.’

‘I don’t see how, but we could do that, yes.’

Thea led the way out of the front gate and headed towards the centre of Barnsley. The houses were reliably gorgeous in the setting sun, the shadows deep and dark. The road at that point ran north−south, thanks to the sharp kink on the Bibury side of the village. The church tower was one of the few buildings on the eastern side to catch some of the light. Jocelyn glanced at it as they passed. ‘Have you been in?’ she asked.

‘Only the graveyard. I went there yesterday and met some people. And I had a chat there this morning, as well.’

‘What else is there to see?’

‘There’s a rather wonderful barn. A little way along here, look.’ She pointed to the next junction and they walked on.

‘Wow!’ breathed Jocelyn, as they turned the corner. ‘That’s amazing! Who does it belong to?’196

‘No idea. It’s totally abandoned, as far as I can see.’

‘Look at all those brambles and things. It’s like Sleeping Beauty’s castle. However could you get into it?’

‘Probably round the other side. There’s a yard, I think. But it all looks more or less disused.’

‘But it must be prime real estate, worth millions. They can’t just leave it.’

‘There could be stuff stored in there, maybe. The roof looks fairly watertight.’

‘Let’s have a look! There’s nobody about. It’s too intriguing to resist – don’t you think? We need a magic sword to cut through all these prickly things.’