The seats in Suzie’s van were ripped, there were old bits of fast-food packaging strewn on the floor, and where the ignition key should have been there was an old screwdriver jammed into the wheel’s steering column. Judith tried to pretend the van wasn’t a death trap as Suzie lit herself a liquorice rollie, coaxed the engine into coughing life, and drove them both to the Marlow Rowing Centre.

‘Told you I know everyone in Marlow,’ Suzie said, very pleased with herself. ‘Although me and Liz Curtis haven’t spoken in about ten years. She had a Welsh Springer Spaniel called Crumble. The nicest dog you’d ever meet. All soft ears, energy and bounce, you know? And the most soulful eyes. Anyway, he wasn’t Liz’s dog originally, he was her dad’s. That’s how she told it to me. But her dad died. Which was when Liz inherited the rowing centre. And she also inherited Crumble.’

‘Let me guess. She wasn’t a dog person?’

‘You can say that again. She brought him to me for walking, and for looking after overnight. But she didn’t care about him. And she complained about how much I was charging her. Couldn’t I leave Crumble in my garden and charge less? Or take in some other dogs at the same time to bring down the costs. Even though I don’t like having more than one dog at a time. I can give better care if it’s one-to-one. And then one day, she stopped bringing Crumble around.’

‘Why? What happened?’

‘I bumped into her on the High Street a few months later and asked her how Crumble was. And she said she didn’t know. He’d gone out one day and not come back. Just vanished. And there was something about the way she said it. I could tell she was lying. Or trying to hide her guilt. Well, the next time I was at the vet’s, I got talking to the receptionist. She and I go way back. We were at Great Marlow School together. So I asked her if Liz’s Crumble had ever been found. She was shocked I knew about it, which I didn’t, but I pretended I did. Anyway, she told me she’d heard that Liz had taken her dog up to the vet in Bovingdon Green and had him put down.’

‘I’m sorry, she did what?’

‘Even though Crumble was perfectly healthy.’

‘She killed her own dog?’

‘That’s what the receptionist told me.’

‘Is that even legal?’

‘It may be legal, but there’s no vet I’d use who’d kill a healthy animal.’

‘I’d agree with you there.’