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police duty. But she didn’t comment, probably from fear of annoying Kate again.
    ‘Don’t run away just yet,’ said Kate. ‘While you were baby-sitting Mrs Gregory, did she say anything about what had happened?’
    ‘Only that she’d been frightened out of her life when the man appeared, ma’am. She said she thought he was going to rape her. And then she said she hoped he wouldn’t come back again.’
    ‘Did she say anything about having been naked the whole time this was going on?’
    ‘She did say that she was naked when she first saw the man in the hall, ma’am.’
    ‘In the hall ?’ queried Kate. ‘She didn’t say that the man was in the sitting room?’
    ‘No, ma’am, she said he was in the hall.’
    ‘Are you absolutely sure about that?’
    ‘Yes, ma’am.’
    ‘Give me your book,’ said Kate, holding out her hand. ‘Why isn’t there anything here to that effect?’ she asked, having read the last few entries.
    ‘I didn’t think it was important, ma’am.’
    ‘And who the hell are you to decide whether it’s important?’ snapped Kate. ‘For all you know, it could be vital evidence. Well, put it in your book now. And when you’re called to give evidence at the Old Bailey or wherever, you’ll say that I directed you to put it there and that you only put it there some time after the statement was made by Mrs Gregory because I had to tell you to do so. Clear?’
    ‘Yes, ma’am.’ The WPC spent a few moments making notes and handed the book back to Kate.
    Kate read through the entry and then signed it, adding the date and time. ‘You need to note everything a victim says to you, young lady, especially at the scene of a murder. Got that? And if defence counsel asks why you didn’t make the entry earlier, you’ll have to admit that you failed to do your job properly, won’t you?’
    ‘Yes, ma’am.’
    ‘Good. Now get Mrs Gregory her tea.’
    As I said earlier, Kate could be very hard on her own sex. But above all else, she was a good detective and knew the value of apparently inconsequential statements made by anybody immediately after a crime had been committed. Especially those made by the victim.
    Linda Mitchell appeared in the hall from the kitchen. ‘I thought I’d bring you up to date, Mr Brock.’
    ‘Anything interesting so far, Linda?’
    ‘There are obviously fingerprints all over the place and it’ll take some time for Fingerprint Bureau to come up with any matches. And there’s this.’ Linda held up a plastic evidence bag. ‘It looks like the jewellery that Mrs Gregory said was stolen.’
    ‘Where on earth did you find it?’ I asked.
    Linda smiled. ‘On a shelf in the garage behind some pots of paint, would you believe? I’ll have it checked for prints, not that I hold out much hope of finding any.’
    ‘But why would someone steal jewellery and then hide it in the garage?’ I asked. ‘What d’you make of that, Kate?’
    ‘If he did,’ said Kate. ‘On the other hand, it might not be the real thing,’ she suggested. ‘And when he realized that it was valueless he dumped it.’
    ‘But why bother to put it in the garage?’ I asked. ‘Why not just leave it anywhere. Having looked round the house, I doubt that he was too worried about being untidy.’
    ‘I can tell you now that it’s not valuable,’ said Linda. ‘The necklace might look like gold, but it isn’t. The stones aren’t diamonds either – they’re crystal – although they have the appearance of being the real thing at a first glance. I’d say that she’d get away with it in a room with soft lighting, but an expert would spot the difference immediately.’
    ‘Any other surprises?’
    ‘Yes, I found a window sash weight in the garage as well, and what appears to be an almost new clothes line, but a length has been cut from it. They were also secreted on a shelf behind paint tins, along with the jewellery. I’ll keep you posted on anything else we find.’
    ‘Could the rope that was