Although, as she regathered her breath after her exertions, she became aware of something in the air, a fetid smell, like an old compost heap. Was it the river? She looked down at the water flowing through the grille. An old tree branch was half submerged, blocking the water, and leaves had backed up.

But then Judith realised something.

It wasn’t a branch in the water.

It was a human arm.

It was reaching out of the water, the skin of the hand as white as marble. And, deeper still, Judith could just make out the body.

It was Stefan Dunwoody.

And in the centre of his forehead was a small black hole. A bullet hole.

Judith staggered back, her hand going to her neck.

She’d been right all along.

Stefan Dunwoody, her friend, her neighbour, had been shot dead.

Chapter 3

An hour later, Judith was sitting on a bench in Stefan’s garden being interviewed by Detective Sergeant Tanika Malik. The police officer was in her early forties, wore a smart trouser suit, and had an air of teacherly efficiency about her that Judith already found irritating.

‘But I don’t understand, Mrs Potts,’ DS Malik said. ‘You say you came back to Mr Dunwoody’s property?’

‘Yes,’ Judith said, her chin raised in defiance. ‘It’s like I told you on the phone. I knew I heard a shout and a gunshot last night. And if your police officer wasn’t going to investigate it properly, I thought that I should.’

‘Was there any other reason you returned?’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘Were you expecting to find a dead body?’

‘No, of course not.’

‘And yet, you did find one, didn’t you?’

‘Which is more than your officer managed, I can’t help noticing. Now tell me, did you know Stefan had a bust-up with a man called Elliot Howard a few weeks ago?’

‘I’m sorry?’

Judith told DS Malik about the local newspaper diary piece that described the argument at the Henley Royal Regatta between Stefan and the owner of the Marlow Auction House, Elliot Howard.

‘This was six weeks ago?’

‘That’s right.’

‘I see.’

DS Malik thought for a moment.

‘What is it?’ Judith asked.

‘Can I ask you a question? As Mr Dunwoody’s neighbour.’

‘Of course.’

‘Only, it’s standard procedure to cross-reference named subjects in witness reports with the police database. So I looked up Mr Dunwoody. He doesn’t have any kind of record. He owns the art gallery in Marlow, he lives on his own, it’s all as expected. But five weeks ago, he reported a burglary to us.’

‘He did? What was stolen?’