“So Miss Gradwyn didn’t ask you to drive her down?”

“No, she didn’t, and I didn’t expect her to. She likes driving, not being driven. Anyway, she needed to be here early for examinations and so on, and I couldn’t get away until the evening. I brought some food with me for breakfast on Friday, but otherwise I thought I’d shop locally for what I needed. I rang the Manor to say I’d arrived and to enquire after Rhoda and was told she was sleeping. I asked when I could see her and I was told by Sister Holland that she had specifically asked for no visitors, so I let it rest. I did consider calling in on my cousins—they’re next door, in Stone Cottage, and the lights were on—but I didn’t think they’d exactly welcome me, particularly after ten at night. I watched TV for an hour and went to bed. On Friday I’m afraid I slept in, so it’s no good asking me about anything before eleven; then I phoned the Manor again and was told that the operation had gone well and Rhoda was recovering. They repeated that she didn’t want visitors. I had lunch at about two in the village pub and afterwards went for a drive and did some shopping. Then I came back here and was in all evening. On Saturday I found out about Rhoda’s murder when I saw the police cars arriving and tried to get into the Manor. In the end I managed to push past PC Plod on the door and broke into the cosy little set-up your boss had arranged. But you know all about that.”

Benton asked, “Did you at any time enter the Manor before you forced your way in on Saturday afternoon?”

“No. I thought I’d made that plain.”

“What were your movements from four-thirty on Friday afternoon until Saturday afternoon when you learnt about the murder? I’m asking in particular if you went out at any time during Friday night. It’s very important. You might have seen something or someone.”

“I told you, I didn’t go out, and as I didn’t go out, I saw nothing and nobody. I was in bed by eleven.”

“No cars? No one arriving late at night or early Saturday morning?”

“Arriving where? I’ve told you. I was in bed by eleven. I was drunk, if you must know. I suppose if a tank had crashed through the front door I might have heard it, but I doubt I could have made it downstairs.”

“But then there’s Friday afternoon, after you’d had a drink and lunch at the Cressett Arms. Didn’t you visit a cottage near the junction with the main road, the one set back from the road with a long front garden? It’s called Rosemary Cottage?”