‘It was indeed a tragedy,’ James said. ‘Now, you mentioned earlier that everyone knows who the vandals are.’

‘That’s right. Joseph Paxton and Toby Moore. They’re a couple of teenage hooligans who’ve vandalised the church itself and other landmarks in the village. But nothing ever happens to them because their parents and friends always give them an alibi.’

There was pure venom in his voice, and as he spoke his gaze seemed to go in and out of focus.

‘Tell me this, Mr Patel,’ James said. ‘Have you ever been driven to seek retribution against the people you’re angry with?’

‘What exactly do you mean by that? Are you suggesting I’ve done something wrong? Has someone made an accusation against me? Because if so, it’s a lie!’

‘No, you haven’t been accused of anything, Mr Patel. But, given what’s happened to you, it’s a question that needs to be asked.’

‘Well, the answer is no – I haven’t done anything that would land me in trouble, even though I’ve been tempted to on more than one occasion.’

Patel looked at his watch then and got abruptly to his feet, a clear signal that he was calling a halt to the conversation. ‘Now, I don’t think there’s anything else I can tell you so if you don’t mind, I’ve got things to do.’

James saw no point in asking more questions since he really didn’t have enough grounds to turn it into a full-blown interrogation just yet. He stood and picked up his coat. ‘Thank you for your time, Mr Patel. I’ll make sure that you’re informed of any progress my colleagues make in respect of your mother’s grave.’

‘I’m not going to build up my hopes, Detective. I know that your lot have got bigger crimes to solve, so this won’t be treated as a priority.’

As James turned towards the door, he spotted something that caused his heart to trip. On top of a sideboard there was a pile of those now all-too-familiar Christmas cards. They and their envelopes had been taken out of the packet.

‘It’s funny you should have these,’ James said, picking one up. ‘Yesterday I received the exact same card.’

‘The store has got a lot of them in and they’re cheap,’ Patel said.

‘Have you sent any yet? It’s late in the day if you want to ensure they get there before Christmas.’

‘That’s what I intend to do when you’ve gone. I’ll put them in the post before the end of the day.’

James looked at him. ‘It’s worth saying that the one I got wasn’t from a friend or relative. It contained an anonymous threat and I’m now in the process of finding out who it was from. Because I can assure you that I will.’

‘Well, it wasn’t from me,’ Patel said indignantly. ‘If I want to threaten someone, I’ll do it to their face.’

‘I’m not suggesting it was from you,’ James said. ‘But it’s interesting to note that it was left on my doorstep early yesterday evening, about the time my wife saw you walking past our house …’