“Nothing. He’s been particularly anxious recently about leaving the job here and going to work in Africa and I saw no reason to burden him with what was essentially nonsense. And, of course, he would have had no sympathy with my plan to bide my time and devise the maximum humiliation for Robin. His is a more admirable character than is mine. I think that Robin was working himself up to a final accusation, possibly a suggestion that I should hand over a specific sum in exchange for his silence. I believe that’s why he stayed on here after Rhoda Gradwyn’s death. After all, I take it that you couldn’t legally detain him unless he was charged, and most people would be only too glad to get away from the scene of a crime. Since her death, he’s prowled around Rose Cottage and the village, obviously unsettled and, I think, frightened. But he needed to bring the matter to a head. I don’t know why he climbed into the freezer. It could have been to see how feasible it was for my father’s body to be placed there. He was, after all, considerably taller than Robin, even when shrunken by his illness. Robin might have had an idea of summoning me to the utility room and then slowly opening the freezer and terrifying me into an admission. That’s exactly the kind of dramatic gesture that might appeal.”

Kate said, “If he was frightened, could it be because he feared you personally? It might have occurred to him that you could have killed Miss Gradwyn because of her involvement in the plot and that he, too, might be at risk.”

Candace Westhall turned her eyes to Kate. And now the dislike and contempt were unmistakable. “I don’t suppose that even Robin Boyton’s fevered imagination could seriously conceive that I would see murder as a rational way out of any dilemma. Still, I suppose it’s possible. And now, if you haven’t any more questions, I would like to get back to the Manor.”

Dalgliesh said, “Only two. Did you put Robin Boyton into the freezer dead or alive?”

“I did not.”

“Did you kill Robin Boyton?”

“No.”

She hesitated, and for a moment Dalgliesh thought she had something to add. But she got up without speaking and left without another word or a backward glance.

Chapter 12

12