Molly had become aware during their friendship that this was one of Cassie’s tricks, to talk about something random and complicated rather than anything personal. It usually meant she had a problem.

It had been a surprise to Molly that Cassie was a real home-maker. The cottage might not have any modern conveniences, but she’d made it homely with jumble-sale finds and things that had been given to her. An old wardrobe had been transformed by Cassie painting it white and stencilling flowers all over it. The chairs around the scrubbed wood table were all painted primary colours, there was a colourful old blanket over the shabby sofa, bright cushions, and the walls were covered in pictures she and Petal had painted.

Outside, she’d fixed a checked table cloth up like a sun shelter over the old table and chairs. There was even a vase of wild flowers on the table, and cushions on the chairs. She made her own bread, wonderful soups with vegetables she grew, and during the winter there was always a pot of rich, tasty stew simmering on the fire.

‘Right, out with it,’ Molly said. ‘What’s the matter? You only tell me long, boring things like how to make ginger beer when you’ve got something on your mind.’

Cassie sighed. ‘Oh, it’s nothing really, just that bastard Gerry I’ve told you about. He got a bit nasty with me yesterday. He thinks I’m seeing someone else.’

‘Are you?’ Molly asked.

‘Yes, of course, I’ve told you before I like different men for different things. Gerry is good in bed, but he’s a mean bastard and no fun. Brian is boring, but he’s kind and lovely with Petal. Mike is really good fun, generous, too, but he’s as unpredictable as the weather and I never know when he’ll turn up.’

‘Did you admit to Gerry that you were seeing other men?’

‘Yes, no names, of course, and I said they are just mates, not lovers. But Gerry went mad, saying I was a tart, and a whole lot more, which I won’t go into.’

‘Did Petal hear all this?’

‘No, at least I don’t think so. We were outside. She had gone to bed and was asleep before he arrived. She was still asleep when he left.’

‘How did you leave it with him?’ Molly asked.

Cassie shrugged. ‘Told him he had no right to tell me who I could or couldn’t see, and if he didn’t like the way I was he could sling his hook. Or words to that effect. He took a step towards me like he was going to hit me, but I picked up a bottle to let him know he’d have a fight on his hands. He left then.’

Cassie dropped the subject and began to talk about the vegetables she was growing, and Molly left soon afterwards to get back to the shop.

She realized she had to tell George about this, but she didn’t know how to. Cassie was the only person she’d ever met who talked about sex openly; other girls either didn’t mention it at all or used prim little euphemisms. Molly knew that if she repeated what Cassie had told her word for word, George and the other policemen would think her friend was a common tart, and she couldn’t bear the thought of them sniggering about her and making crude remarks.

‘I only stayed for about half an hour with them,’ she said carefully, trying to give herself time to think of a way to tell George what she knew. But just as she was preparing herself, the door opened and Sergeant Bailey came in. He was a burly man in his fifties and he’d been at Sawbridge police station for as long as Molly could remember.

‘How are you bearing up, Molly?’ he said, crouching down by her chair, his big face soft with sympathy. ‘It must have been an awful shock to walk in on something so nasty. You were right, Miss March is dead, and I’m very sorry to have to tell you, but we think it was murder.’

‘No!’ Molly shrieked in horror. It was one thing thinking it, but quite another to have it confirmed. ‘Why would anyone want to kill her? And where is Petal? Has she been killed, too?’

‘There is nothing at the cottage to suggest Petal has been hurt. We made a quick search of the surroundings, but found no sign of her. I’ve called in some of my men and some reinforcements from Bristol to do a thorough search, but I doubt they will arrive today. As to your question about why would anyone want to kill Miss March, that’s what we need to find out. And you can help us with that by telling us all you know about her.’

‘But all your men should be searching for Petal now,’ she burst out. ‘She’s only six, she must be terrified; cold and wet, too. You can’t leave her out there till tomorrow.’

Sergeant Bailey and George exchanged glances. ‘Molly was telling me about the last time she spent some time with Miss March,’ George said. ‘But I could go up to Stone Cottage now and start searching if you like.’

The sergeant looked from George to Molly, then patted her on the shoulder. ‘Carry on talking to PC Walsh. I have to get in touch with CID at Bridewell in Bristol, and talk to people to see if anyone saw or heard anything unusual today. Couldn’t have picked a worse day for a serious crime – half the force are on leave and the rain is likely to wash away evidence. But we’ll try to get a search going today, I promise you.’

Molly still thought that finding a missing young child should be the priority, not questioning villagers. But she could hardly argue with him.

George touched her elbow as the sergeant left the room. ‘Before Sarge came in, I got the feeling there was something you wanted to tell me about Cassie,’ he said. ‘Am I right? Was it about a boyfriend?’

Molly was still a virgin and had every intention of staying that way until she got married, so she was crippled with embarrassment at having to tell George what Cassie had told her. But one of those men might be the murderer, so she had to spill it out.

Keeping her eyes downcast, she began to tell him what Cassie had said about the men in her life.

‘She said Gerry was “good in bed”, but mean,’ she managed to get out, not fully understanding what the first phrase meant.

From sixteen until she was eighteen she’d been courted by Raymond Weizer. They occasionally went to the pictures but mostly just went for walks. When he was called up for National Service, it fizzled out. And, as she had once confided in Cassie, there hadn’t even been any fizz to start with; they’d never done anything more than kiss. Her parents had approved of Raymond because his family were farmers and he would inherit the farm in due course. Raymond married Susan Sadler six months after he was demobbed and they now had three children. Since then Molly had been to the pictures and to the village dance lots of times with various young men, but kissing was still as far as she went and, with just one exception, none of the men had been exciting enough to make her wish she dared go further.

However, realizing that the men in Cassie’s life were vital to the investigation into her death, she had to tell George exactly what Cassie had told her, albeit blushing and stumbling over her words sometimes.

George looked a little embarrassed, too.

‘It was hard to tell you something like that, which was a confidence,’ she admitted when she’d finished. ‘Especially as, sometimes, I didn’t fully understand what she was telling me, and I didn’t like to ask her to explain.’

‘You did very well,’ he said, and she noticed he had a little dimple in his chin when he smiled. ‘I don’t suppose you know these men’s surnames, or where they live,’ he asked.

‘No, but they can’t live far away, not if they just turn up when they feel like it,’ Molly said. ‘Have you looked to see if Cassie had an address book? I’ve seen her in the phone box lots of times. She could’ve been phoning one of them.’

George gave her one of those ‘you don’t need to make suggestions to the police’ looks.

‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I’m being bossy.’

‘It’s okay. Better to be bossy than say nothing. Would you be able to tell us what Petal was wearing today?’