very interesting indeed , Miss Hocking murmured when he ended . but I &apos;m afraid I can n&apos;t enlighten you . not at all . Mrs Pritchard frequently marked books , made little annotations on passages that interested her . oh , lots of people do that , I know . but this mention of a neighbour &apos;s name - and his suspecting something - and the sentence not finished - and the book on the floor when she died . come now , Miss Hocking , you can n&apos;t tell me you do n&apos;t think that adds up to something . she did n&apos;t answer , just looked down , her eyes moving slightly behind lowered lids . satisfied that he had silenced her , he said : this message - do you reckon it could &apos;ve been for Mrs McEvoy , warning her that her husband suspected her of using the boatshed as a place of assignation ? I &apos;ve told you I have no idea who this warning could have been for . if it was a warning . did anyone turn up at her place , he probed patiently , soon after she was dead ? everyone . the news spread quickly , and everyone came in to see if there was anything they could do . Grogan turned to Stephen . what were the grounds for your and Mrs McEvoy &apos;s divorce ? he asked . desertion , Stephen said promptly , and flicked on a lighter and lighted a cigarette . on whose part ? mine . on our return from Singapore things were n&apos;t too happy between us , and I left her and she divorced me . and that was that , Grogan thought . a nice clean decent desertion , and she never so much as turned her eyes on any other bloke ! no ! a brick wall here every bit as thick as the old girl was putting up . pointedly , Miss Hocking reached over and took Stephen &apos;s cup , and put it back on the tray and straightened the things on it as though to say , good morning , Inspector , and I hope you &apos;re satisfied with what you have n&apos;t learnt . forestalling her , Grogan got up , took his hat off the chair and stood a moment turning the brim round in his hands . by the way , he said , and kept his eyes steadily on her face , about where McEvoy was shot . yes ? she said , as he paused . we find now that it did n&apos;t happen down by the fowlyard and him carried indoors . he was shot in the bedroom , as it first appeared . so it does n&apos;t have to be a strong man after all . Miss Hocking &apos;s expression was admirably impassive under his stare . but the blood that rises to or drains away from the face at certain moments is under no one &apos;s control . in the shade of a tree on one of the stones that enclosed his small domain , Jeffrey Cornwall was sitting filling a mid-morning pipe . to the tune of cherry ripe droned several tones flat he rolled the tobacco round and round in his palms . round and round and round , while meditatively , as a cow chewing the cud , he let his eyes rest on the flat water ahead of him . the near-to-overhead sun seemed to flatten it still further so that hardly a ripple stirred its surface . the shadow of a bird flying low was a black cloud , a small fish leaping was an explosion . h&apos;m &amp;hellip; h&apos;m ... h&apos;m ... . ripe I cry , full and fair ones come and buy . round and round and round &amp;hellip; . Grogan , leaving Miss Hocking &apos;s , stopped to have a word with him . leaning up against the tree , taking out a cigarette and lighting it , the inspector said there were worse occupations than what Mr Cornwall was engaged on ! that himself he was n&apos;t half looking forward to the day when he &apos;d sit in the shade and smoke his pipe and give the job away . Cornwall agreed heartily . he &apos;d always said , retire while you &apos;ve got the health to enjoy your leisure , cultivate your mind instead of an ulcer . then , talking of jobs , he wanted to know whether the police had got any nearer to solving the crime . Grogan said that there had been several small developments . for instance - and he brought Cornwall up to date about the warning message written by old Mrs Pritchard in the book . Cornwall listened , blew a cloud of fragrant smoke , and pressed the tobacco down with his thumb . would you think , Grogan asked , that McEvoy suspected his wife of meeting a feller in the boatshed ? what fellow ? Cornwall wanted to know in exchange , with an upward squint of the eye . say , Mr Pritchard . Cornwall gave a soundless whistle . well &amp;hellip; I do n&apos;t know anything about that . everyone admires the girl , of course . but I have n&apos;t seen any signs of her carrying on with anyone . but then , more than likely , I would n&apos;t have seen it if it &apos;d been right under my nose . I &apos;ve got beyond the stage , thank God , of being interested in love affairs , would n&apos;t give a damn even if it was my own . and frankly I do n&apos;t think Boris would &apos;ve cared two hoots if she &apos;d had a dozen men in the boatshed . no ? how say he wanted to divorce her and was snooping around for evidence ? Cornwall rejected this , too , with a shake of his long , thick head . no &amp;hellip; . he enveloped a passing fly in a cloud of smoke . no . divorces cost money . well , he had a bit , had n&apos;t he ? did n&apos;t have to work , seemed comfortable enough . yes , but he did n&apos;t like to spend it . not in getting rid of a wife when all he had to say was - if he wanted to , that is - I know what you &apos;re up to , beat it . look , if you can prove adultery against a wife you do n&apos;t have to keep her . if you have n&apos;t got the evidence but just turn her out on suspicion , she can force you to support her . maybe it would n&apos;t &apos;ve suited her to clear out with nothing , even if it was n&apos;t much of a match for a girl as young and pretty as that . you may have something there , Cornwall nodded . for Dal &apos;s sake , too , she might &apos;ve wanted to stay with him . however , I would n&apos;t know . all that side of life - I &apos;m not concerned with it . Grogan , looking down at him thought , not a bad looking old cove . upright and well-preserved , hair still dark and thick . was he a bit too emphatic about how little interest he had in the other sex ? he said suddenly : by the way , Mr Cornwall , about that gun of yours . by jove , yes . when am I going to get it back ? chatting with Mrs McEvoy , she says again that she never saw her husband fire a gun , or speak of shooting . does n&apos;t mean a thing . he was an odd sort of chap . he &apos;d plant vegetables and forget to water them , yet he &apos;d wage war on anything that took a nibble at them . his wife says he did n&apos;t give a damn for the vegetables . he did n&apos;t give a damn till somebody else wanted them - even if it was only a rabbit . he was like that about a lot of things . he did n&apos;t give a damn for a lot of his old records but he &apos;d hit the roof if young Dal Owen touched them . you &apos;d say , then , McEvoy was n&apos;t too fond of his brother-in-law ? I thought that might be why he came down here to your place to sleep . look , Inspector , I would n&apos;t know . do n&apos;t quote me , Cornwall said hastily . no , Grogan thought as he nodded and passed on his way , do n&apos;t quote me - do n&apos;t expect any opinion - do n&apos;t expect any help . do n&apos;t help the police if there &apos;s a dozen murderers loose in the community . stand on the sidelines and cheer on anyone out to down the cops . well , he &apos;d forget &apos;em all if he could just get one bit more on the old girl . half-way up the hill , he met Manning coming down it . grudgingly , Manning admitted that the other &apos;s guess had not been too bad a one . he &apos;d just been talking to the Fordham police , and this was the way it was &amp;hellip; . chapter 15 . the Frys were home by midday . there had been no nice little lunch out , no trip to the pictures ; instead , the hire car deposited them at the top , and they came down the hill even more slowly than they had gone up it . Edward &apos;s face was still more pale and drawn , and Jane &apos;s manner more determinedly cheerful than when they had set out . walking ahead , as earlier , she quickly opened the door with her key so as to have it wide before he reached it , and hurried into the living-room , lowered the blinds half-way , arranged cushions on the sofa , and went out to the refrigerator to get him a cool drink . she sat and watched him as he sipped the milk and soda ; and now one more fear was added to all the others in Jane &apos;s eyes . one fear worse than the others , worse than the hateful children in class , the birds in the morning , the frogs in the night . Edward had voiced the fear several times in the car on the drive home ; and each time , with dry mouth and a faith that she was far from feeling , Jane had said : do n&apos;t worry , Eddie . it &apos;s like the confessional . should be , but is it ? of course it is . of course it is . even now , when steps sounded on the veranda , she said , with last-ditch courage ; that &apos;ll be Vetch &apos;s boy , though the steps were clearly of four feet , not two , and Vetch &apos;s boy never came to the front door . the entry of Grogan and Manning , following on Manning &apos;s information to Grogan , left no room for further ostrich tactics on Jane &apos;s part . the Frys greeted the visitors with no small talk . Jane , having brought them in , murmured : the police , Eddie , and went back to her chair and they sat looking at the two detectives with their habitual air of resigned anxiety . the room was as trim and orderly as the Frys themselves . from year to year not the smallest thing in it was ever changed . Jane dusted it once a day , and put each object back in its allotted place . Grogan was n&apos;t long in explaining the reason for their call : the Frys &apos; visit to a doctor &apos;s surgery , their visit to a chemist near by , the purchase of surgical lint , bandages and antiseptics . the damning facts gathered by a police constable in Fordham could n&apos;t be denied , nor could the deductions to be drawn from them . yes - yes - and yes , Edward admitted . it was his blood that had spattered the stones in the yard outside Boris McEvoy &apos;s fowl-run . Edward , his legs along the sofa , reached out and put his glass down on a table . Jane , her eyes filled with burning intensity , seemed not to breathe now . it would have been hard to say just what the Frys were clinging to with such tenacity , life in the austere house seemed so joyless , its barrenness so little different from that of that fine and private place , the grave . where were you wounded , Mr Fry ? Grogan asked when the facts had been stated and admitted . in the calf of the leg , a flesh wound , Edward rapped out . the bullet ricocheted off a stone . my wife thought it had begun to look more than slightly angry today , and I was persuaded to see a doctor . otherwise , we could have been able to keep the whole miserable incident to ourselves . or , even , if I could have relied on this much-vaunted medical etiquette I might have maintained that the things I bought at the chemist &apos;s were for some minor injury that had nothing to do with McEvoy &apos;s death . who fired the shot ? Boris McEvoy . I &apos;ve lived in this locality for three years , and all I ask is to be left in peace to - was it deliberate ? kindly allow me to tell the story in my own fashion , Edward rasped at him . the stern schoolmaster &apos;s glance was turned on the inspector . Edward would be in control of the class and none other , and interrupters would be promptly dealt with . his injured leg up on the sofa did little to lessen his air of authority ; his uplifted hand commanded it , and the sharp turn of his head and the snap of his eyes . 