Dalgliesh turned to Chandler-Powell. “And you’re confident that you bolted the door at eleven?”

“I bolted it as usual at eleven and I found it bolted at six-thirty this morning.”

“Did anyone here unbolt it for any purpose? You can all see the importance of this. We need to get this cleared up now.”

No one spoke. The silence lengthened. Dalgliesh said, “Did anyone else notice that the door was either bolted or unbolted after eleven?”

Again a silence, this time finally broken by a low murmur of negatives. Benton noticed that they avoided one another’s eyes.

Dalgliesh said, “Then that will be enough for now. Thank you for your co-operation. I would like to see you all separately, either here or in the incident room in Old Police Cottage.”

Dalgliesh got to his feet, and the rest of the room quietly and in turn also rose. Still no one spoke. They were crossing the hall when Chandler-Powell caught up with them. He said to Dalgliesh, “I’d like a quick word now, if you can spare the time.”

Dalgliesh and Kate followed him into the office and the door closed. Benton felt no resentment at an exclusion which had been subtly conveyed but not spoken. He knew there were moments in any investigation when two officers could elicit information and three inhibit it.

Chandler-Powell wasted no time. While the three of them stood, he said, “There’s something I ought to say. Obviously you saw Kimberley’s discomfort when she was asked why she hadn’t woken Flavia Holland. I think it likely that she tried. The door to the suite wasn’t locked, and if she or Dean partly opened it they would have heard voices, mine and Flavia’s. I was with her at midnight. I think the Bostocks may have felt some inhibition in telling you this, particularly with the others present.”

Kate said, “But wouldn’t you have heard the door opening?”

He looked at her calmly. “Not necessarily. We were busy talking.”

Dalgliesh said, “I’ll confirm that with the Bostocks later. How long were you together?”

“After I finished setting the alarms and bolting the garden door, I joined Flavia in her sitting room. I was there until about one o’clock. There were things we needed to discuss, some professional, some personal. Neither has any relevance to Rhoda Gradwyn’s death. During that time neither of us heard or saw anything untoward.”

“And you didn’t hear the lift?”