‘I’ve got Hetty here, Mr J. We been chatting, like, you see. She didn’t want to bother you, but I thinks it’s important.’

‘Put her on, Len, and tell her not to worry about bothering me.’

Then Hetty was on the line, full of apologies. ‘Well, I had a visitor today. You might remember her — my oldest friend, Elspeth Berridge. She’s the one who left the village and went to live with her daughter in Cleethorpes, only to find herself being an unpaid childminder, so she came back and got a nice little flatlet in a warden-controlled block in Saltern and—’

Jackman was very fond of Hetty, but he really didn’t have time for Elspeth Berridge’s unabridged biography. ‘Yes, I remember her, Hetty, but what did she tell you that was so important?’

‘Ah, well, she used to live next door to the Spillers, at number seven Glebe Close.’

Jackman’s ears pricked up.

‘Well, I asked her if she recalled Jordan Spiller and the family and all the trouble they caused, and she got a bit uncomfortable, like.’ She lowered her voice. ‘Then Len gave her one of his toddies, and she started to talk about them. I reckon she heard a lot through the wall — all the shouting and hollering and the fights — but she never spoke up at the time. She said she thought it weren’t quite like people said — you know, him hitting her and all that.’

Jackman glanced at Marie, who was listening on speaker. ‘How do you mean, Hetty?’

‘Elspeth thinks he was defending himself, and it was her, Claire Spiller, what was doing the hitting.’

Jackman was stunned. Claire the abuser? Was that possible? ‘But the neighbours said the little lad had told them some real horror stories about what went on in that house.’

‘I think they just assumed it was the father. And who can say what the poor little mite made of what he saw, Mr J?’

‘You could be right, Hetty.’

‘Elspeth is certain Jordan Spiller loved that little lad to bits. She thinks the mother used threats against little Teddy to make her husband do as she said.’

‘Was Elspeth there the night they left, Hetty?’ Jackman asked.

‘Yes, Mr J, she was.’

‘I need to talk to her. Can you let me have her address in Saltern?’ Luckily, it was only five minutes’ drive from the station. ‘Will she be at home now, do you think, Hetty?’

‘Yes, she will. One of her neighbours who still drives dropped her off here this morning and collected her over an hour ago. They’ll be back at the flats by now.’

He thanked her and hung up. ‘Well, what do you make of that, Marie?’

‘I’m totally confused, boss. I don’t know what to make of it.’