Kelvin Arrowsmith was charged with murder for commissioning the killing of Ozzy Blanchard. He maintained his innocence, but was found guilty. The sentence was life with a minimum of twenty years and five years to run concurrently for the fraud. Ray Slater, who admitted murder, got life with a minimum of fifteen years. Aidan and Rory Tickett pleaded guilty on the kidnapping charge and were each sentenced to nine years, with a three-year charge for the fraud to run concurrently. Christopher Tickett went down for another ten years on the same charges. Vicky Willow and Guy Naylor were given two-year suspended sentences for preventing a lawful burial, and ordered to do a hundred hours of community service. Crystal Willow, too, was given a suspended sentence. She returned to her massage and tattooing business in Haslemere.

Sheila and Stewie Ransome stayed living in their cottage on Bourne Lane. Stewie’s friendship with Callum Willow developed further, now that the child was old enough to play Cluedo. Callum was never told what had happened to Tomas Valdovas, and in the excitement of childhood gradually forgot about the incident involving the Lithuanian barman. Only in his nightmares, which have worsened over the years, does that scene of horror ever come back to him.

Rowena Willow is still living in the same cottage, but goes to college full-time now. The Rev Matthew Cleaver moved away shortly after the case was closed, and now runs a thriving urban church in Wolverhampton. Rowena got over her attachment to him, which despite all appearances to the contrary was – and at the vicar’s insistence – never consummated. Her ambition is to become a fully-fledged archaeologist, and she is still to be seen on sunny evenings with a metal detector, going over the grounds of her family farm on the banks of the River Wey looking for Anglo-Saxon coins. She was closely involved in the restoration of Biorthelm’s dagger, which is now to be seen on display in the British Museum, along with the prophecy found in St Crispin’s church.

ᛁᚾ×ᚪᚷᛖᛋ×ᚻᛖᚾᚳᛖ×ᚹᚻᛖᚾ×ᛖᛝᛚᚪᚾᛞ×ᚠᛚᛖᛖᛋ×ᚦᛖ×ᚠᚱᚪᚾᚳᛁᛋᚻ×ᚪᚱᛘ×ᚻᛖᚱᛖ×

ᚪᚾ×ᛁᚾᚾᚩᚳᛖᚾᛏ×ᚹᛁᛖᛚᛞᛁᛝ×ᚪ×ᛚᚩᛋᛏ×ᛋᚳᚱᚪᛘᛋᚪᚳᛋ×ᚹᛁᛚᛚ×ᚠᛖᛚᛚ×ᚪ×ᚠᛁᚳᛁᛝ×ᚳᚱᚩᚹᚾ×

Afterword

The boundaries between familiar truth and fiction need to be carefully drawn. So although readers may find the account of water company misdeeds familiar, I would like to stress that all the companies mentioned in the story, and their actions, are fictitious and unconnected to any of similar name to be found anywhere in the world. I have taken a few liberties with the geography around Chieveley Services. The village of Rissington Common is likewise an invention, although set within known territory south of Haslemere.