Margaret descended from the stage and joined Clare and Jo, scooping up a plastic cup full of water along the way.

Jo said, ‘Off hard liquor, Margaret?’

Margaret delved into her handbag and, producing a hip flask, poured a shot of its contents into her plastic cup. ‘What do you think?’

The two younger women laughed.

Jo said, ‘What I still don’t understand is whether Neil did it for the money or because he’d really lost it.’

Clare said, ‘When I was in that bathroom I can tell you there was no doubt in my mind that Neil had really lost it. I was talking to Mark about it. He reckons Marshall was only paying Neil to get the dig done and dusted, no questions asked. He needed the money from the development – his business was on its uppers. What Neil hadn’t counted on was Beth finding out that he was taking backhanders from Marshall.’

Jo asked, ‘Do you think she confronted him about it?’

Clare didn’t look convinced. ‘Perhaps. But Beth was a smart woman. She must have realised he was dangerous, otherwise she wouldn’t have left the video footage with her father or given Crabby the inscription. I’m not sure she would have risked tackling him head-on. My guess would be that she was trying to gather enough evidence together to present to the police. She may have just inadvertently let something slip that made Neil realise she knew what he was up to.

‘Either way he killed her to shut her up. The hare and all of the dead animals started out as an attempt to make it look as if Beth was the obsessive Stuart Craig had wanted everybody to believe she was when they split up. But it was killing Beth that seems to have pushed Neil over the edge. Mark reckons he might have started using again. Or maybe he was suffering psychotic episodes from his previous drug use. It’s not uncommon, apparently.’

Jo nodded. ‘I guess it would explain why Sadie walked out on him.’

Margaret butted in, ‘But what about this Tyler chap?’

Clare said, ‘You mean the one whose murder Sally banged up some poor builder for?’

Margaret looked over her spectacles. ‘Quite so.’

Clare said, ‘Apparently Tyler somehow found out about Neil taking money from Marshall and was threatening to spill the beans unless he got his old job back.’

Jo said, ‘How desperate would you have to be to want to work alongside a murderer?’

Clare shook her head. ‘Mark reckons he may not have realised. Just because he knew Neil was on the take it doesn’t necessarily follow that he had any idea Beth’s death was anything other than suicide.’

Margaret asked, ‘Did you ever hear any more from DCI Stone about that antiquities dealer?’

Mark Stone appeared behind Clare.

He tapped her on the shoulder. ‘Did I hear someone taking my name in vain?’