“We can hope to learn who is going to benefit from this largesse when Newton Macklefield gets here with the will.”

They turned their attention to the rank of files containing copies of all her press and magazine articles. Each box, labelled with the years covered, contained the articles in date order, some in plastic covers. They took a file each and settled down to work.

Dalgliesh said, “Note anything she wrote that relates, however indirectly, to Cheverell Manor or any of the people there.”

For almost an hour they worked in silence; then Kate slid a bunch of press cuttings across the desk. She said, “This is interesting, sir. It’s a long article in the Paternoster Review about plagiarism, published in the spring number in 2002. It seems to have attracted notice. There’s a number of newspaper cuttings attached, including a report of an inquest and another of a burial with a photograph.” She passed it across. “One of the people at the graveside looks very like Miss Westhall.”

Dalgliesh took a magnifying glass from his murder bag and studied the picture. The woman was hatless and standing a little apart from the group of mourners. Only her head was visible and the face was partly obscured but Dalgliesh, after a minute’s scrutiny, had little trouble with the identification. He handed the magnifying glass to Kate and said, “Yes, it’s Candace Westhall.”