‘It’s not what you think,’ he said. ‘I did take it from the house but it wasn’t on Christmas Eve. It was weeks ago.’

‘Are you telling us that you stole it?’

‘I still have a key to the farmhouse. I’ve been desperately short of money since I was sacked so I decided to go back there and take a few things. I felt they owed me.’

‘I take it this wasn’t the first time you stole from them?’ James said. ‘When Robert Bateman accused you of pilfering before he was right, wasn’t he?’

O’Connor pulled a slightly pained expression and nodded. ‘I did it because they were paying me shit wages and I knew the business was gradually going under. So, when I saw things lying around that I thought I might be able to sell I helped myself to them.’

‘And how many times have you burgled the house since you were sacked?’

‘Just the once. I waited until I knew they were both out. I didn’t go looking for the box but I found it when I started going through their stuff. It was the only thing that looked as though it might be worth something.’

‘So why should we believe you, Mr O’Connor?’ DC Abbott asked him. ‘After all, you lied to us when you insisted you had nothing to hide.’

‘Well, I knew you would jump to the wrong conclusion, and it turns out that I was right,’ he said. ‘But I’m not lying to you now. It’s true I stole the jewellery and that was stupid of me. But I did not kill anyone. You have to believe that.’

‘I’m not sure what to believe right now,’ James said. ‘Just look at it from our point of view. You used to work at Oaktree Farm so you knew the family well. Then you had a major falling out with Robert Bateman because he accused you, rightly, as it turns out, of stealing from him. And as a result, you harboured a serious grudge. You then broke into the farmhouse after he’d sacked you and stole his wife’s jewellery. And to top it all there’s no one to corroborate your movements on Christmas Eve before you arrived at your brother’s house.’

‘That’s circumstantial evidence at best,’ the solicitor said. ‘You haven’t produced anything that directly links Mr O’Connor to the killings. I understand that none of my client’s footwear matches the bloody shoeprints you found at the farm and I’m sure that if you had any incriminating DNA or fingerprints you would have told us by now.’

‘Not all the evidence from the crime scene has been processed yet,’ James said. ‘For instance, the cellar is still being examined, along with the hidden space at the top of the cellar stairs.’