Kelly looked momentarily confused. ‘Look, I’ve no idea how my fingerprints got onto Jack’s wallet. But if you’re suggesting I killed Jack Tyler for his money you’re barking up the wrong tree. The bloke was skint. I already told you, I’d been paying for his drinks all night in the pub.’ He sat distractedly, shaking his head. ‘I don’t understand it. I don’t … Shit! I remember now.’ He looked up at Sally. The desperation in his eyes clear to see. ‘When we got to the lobby of Jack’s block of flats we couldn’t get in. You need one of those card thingies. Jack was out of it, so I had to go through his pockets to see if he had it on him. I found it in his wallet.’

Sally stood up.

He was pleading with her now. ‘That’s why my prints are on his wallet.’

Sally said, ‘One too many changes of story, I’m afraid, Mr Kelly.’ She paused. ‘Damian Kelly, I’m charging you with the murder of Jack Tyler. PC Davies here will take you down to see the custody sergeant.’

It had been a week now since Clare had been to see Mark Stone. And the seven days had passed entirely without incident aside from a brief visit from the Western Daily Press, who wanted to run a story about the discovery of the shrine. Even the weather had been on their side. There’d been no more torrential downpours. And though the sun hadn’t shone, the thick grey cloud that hung over the site did at least make taking the site photographs a little easier.

At the back of her mind she still couldn’t help feeling anxious about what Crabby had told them. But she was beginning to wonder if Stone had had a point. She might have developed a soft spot for Crabby but no one could doubt that he had what might politely be described as a sideways take on reality at times.

She’d spent much of the first two nights after her excursion to Stroud lying awake worrying about what she could do to make someone take the situation seriously. Then, as she lay there tossing and turning, she realised that she only had Crabby and Sheila Foggarty’s word for the fact that Beth had been opposed to the housing development. And Beth, like Clare and the Hart Unit, were being paid by Paul Marshall.