‘Which maybe explains why the intruder didn’t take it,’ Judith offered. ‘If it’s not valuable.’

DS Malik turned the painting over and together they looked at the simple wooden backing and metal twine from which it had been hanging. It was dusty, but there still wasn’t anything in particular of interest to see.

‘I’m not saying you should dust the backs of pictures,’ Becks said in a tone that suggested that she very much was, ‘but they are such terrible dust collectors. Once a year, at the very least, you have to take them down for a thorough clean. What’s that?’ she added, indicating a smudge of something on the inside of the frame.

It was a small, faded sticker with spidery handwriting on it.

DS Malik bent down to look at it.

‘It says “Sold by Marlow Auction House, fifteenth December 1988”.’

‘I was right!’ Judith said. ‘This proves Elliot Howard is involved, it’s from his auction house. Elliot killed Stefan, and now he’s broken into his house and stolen the frame from this painting he sold Stefan back in 1988. Don’t you think, DS Malik?’

DS Malik looked at the short, passionate woman in front of her, and the tall, somewhat bewildered woman who was standing to her side, a woman she’d last seen trying to make a cup of herbal tea for herself while holding a trumpet case under one arm and a pile of sheet music under the other.

‘You know what I think? I think you should call me Tanika.’

‘Quite right,’ Judith agreed. ‘And none of this Mrs Potts nonsense. I’m Judith.’

‘And I’ve never introduced myself properly to you, have I? I’m Becks Starling, I mean Becky Starling, Rebecca really. Most people call me Becks.’

Judith looked at Tanika with a feeling of real warmth. Tanika looked back at the two women with a similar understanding, although both she and Judith could see that Becks still wasn’t sure if she should have introduced herself as ‘Becky’ or ‘Becks’.

‘So this is what I’m thinking,’ Judith said. ‘Elliot argued with Stefan at Henley. We know that. Not that we know what it was about.’

‘He told me it was because Stefan was blocking his view of the races,’ Tanika said.

‘I find that very hard to believe.’

‘I agree with you.’