‘And that’s exactly what I mean!’ Judith said, enthused. ‘Because her husband Danny told us she’d used Iqbal’s taxi, and that’s the proof right there, isn’t it? Liz met Iqbal two weeks before she died. And we know she was a regular in Stefan’s art gallery as well. So that’s one clear and direct link between all three of them. Liz knew the other two victims.’

‘Although her husband said it shouldn’t be much of a surprise,’ Suzie said. ‘What with her running the rowing centre her whole life and going to church and everything. She knew everyone in Marlow.’

‘It’s still a connection,’ Judith said with finality. ‘So we just need to keep looking for other connections between the victims. For example, I see here that Stefan Dunwoody went to Sir William Borlase’s School.’

‘Just like Iqbal did,’ Suzie said.

‘You see? That’s another link.’

‘But not Liz,’ Becks said, looking up from her file. ‘She went to Great Marlow.’

‘Very well. We should still keep looking.’

The women set to their work, the silence of the room only disturbed by the occasional sound of a page turning, or a brief slurp of tea, or the crunch of a chomped biscuit.

‘Here’s something,’ Becks said, looking up from her file.

‘What have you got?’ Judith asked.

‘It’s a report on Liz Curtis’s social interactions. The police have been through her phone calls. And her electronic diary. And analysis of her emails and web history and everything. It’s very impressive what they’ve done, it’s her whole life. And there’s nothing suspicious about it at all.’

‘There must be something,’ Suzie said.

‘Honestly, there isn’t. Liz led a totally blameless life. There are countless work emails sorting out bookings for the rowing centre, phone calls to family, that sort of thing. She barely had a social life beyond that. But although her diary’s a blank, there’s one entry.’

‘Go on,’ Judith said.

‘It says “Rowing dinner”. It was for last month.’

Judith pursed her lips.

‘Her diary’s completely empty apart from that one entry?’

‘For months on end. Just blank. And then you get “Rowing dinner” on the fifth of August. So I wonder if any of the other victims attended it?’

‘Good thinking!’ Suzie said.

‘The fifth of August?’ Judith asked.

‘That’s right.’

‘Now that’s interesting,’ Judith said, and started flicking through the file on Stefan Dunwoody’s murder. ‘If I’m not much mistaken, that was the same day that Elliot Howard went to Stefan’s art gallery and had his argument with him.’

‘He had his argument with Elliot at Henley Regatta,’ Suzie said.

‘No, that was a few weeks before. I’m talking about when Elliot went to Stefan’s art gallery and argued with him there. Here we are.’