Sheila let out a sigh. ‘Oh, all sorts. There was one time, back when he still lived here, we had an evening soiree. All sounds very la-di-da, I know, but really it was just a chance to open the church, raise some money and drink prosecco with a few nibbles. Roger had clearly been in the pub since lunchtime, and had come looking for Alice. Peter told him she’d already gone home, and he started ranting and raving, saying he knew she was here somewhere. She wasn’t, though. She’d started to feel a bit ill about an hour in and had gone home to bed. But Roger wouldn’t take no for an answer. He was going off on one, shouting about how the church had got in the way of their marriage, was taking up all her time, how it was all a load of old nonsense anyway. Peter stepped in and tried to defuse the situation, and Roger started yelling at him too.’

‘Oh dear. That doesn’t sound very nice.’

‘No, not at all.’

‘How did it end?’

‘A few of the chaps stepped in and threw him out.’

‘Do you remember who?’

‘If my memory serves me correctly, I think it was Tim, John and Patrick. Why?’

‘I just wondered. I imagine quite a few people will have been upset.’

‘Not enough to murder him, if that’s what you’re thinking. We don’t get quite that protective over our religion.’

‘No, I didn’t mean that. Sorry,’ Caroline said.

‘Ah. Hang on. Are you the two detectives who came to speak to Peter yesterday?’

There was no way Caroline could wriggle out of this one. ‘We are. We wanted to come and apologise, actually.’

‘Don’t worry, I know you were just doing your job,’ Sheila said, almost conspiratorially. ‘Between you and me, I think Peter’s been quite rattled by the whole thing. He’s been trying to keep the peace for a long time, and it’s been quite upsetting for him to see it come to a head like this.’

All of a sudden, Caroline got the distinct impression there was far more to this than a simple row over theology. ‘What do you mean, Mrs Tottman?’ she asked.

Before Sheila could respond, her eye was taken by the returning reverend, who’d taken this moment to rejoin the group.

‘It’s good to see you again, Detective Inspector,’ he said, smiling. ‘I received your apology from Chief Superintendent Arnold. Thank you for that. Humility is a great virtue.’

Caroline forced a smile, but inside she was seething.

25

That evening, Caroline struggled to relax. She was having trouble focusing her mind on any one thing right now, and that was a major problem. Being the Senior Investigating Officer on a murder investigation was no small task, and required full attention at all times. But then so did a lot of other things in her life right now.