Purbright spoke. “When you left your wife yesterday evening, she was quite normal, was she? In good health, I mean. Not upset in any way.”
“Oh, yes. Perfectly.”
“Was she expecting a visitor, do you know?”
“I don’t think so. No one in particular. I told you, though, various people did call. People mixed up with this social work of hers.”
“It would be helpful if you could tell us who these people were, sir.”
Palgrove looked dubious. “Well, I’ll try, but I didn’t take all that interest, actually. Some of them I know. Mrs Arnold, from up the road. She’s one of the dog ones. Then the woman from that Red Cross place—Miss Ironside. Oh, and a schoolteacher called...no, wait a minute, he’s not—he’s something to do with insurance, I think; can’t remember his name. Then the vicar, of course—Mr Haines. I’ve seen a couple of others occasionally but I’ve no idea who they are.”
The inspector waited. “No one else you can think of, sir?”
“No. I mean, they weren’t people I had anything to do with myself.”
Palgrove stretched restlessly. Again his hand went to the breast pocket inside his jacket. Purbright watched. He smiled, leaned forward.
“Is this what you are looking for, sir?”
Surprise lightening his face, Palgrove took the slim, yellow metal case. “Hello, where did that turn up?”
Purbright looked pleasant, said nothing.
“Well, thanks, anyway,” Palgrove said. He turned the case about in his hand. “It’s only plated, actually. Eighteen quid, all the same.” Slickly he opened it.
“What the hell...”
Purbright looked with polite interest at the five brown, sodden cigarettes. “Hasn’t done them much good, has it?”
Hostility was in Palgrove’s eye. He stared at the policeman. “I don’t get it.”
“That is your case, sir?”
“Of course it is.”
“The officers found it a short while ago at the bottom of your garden well, Mr Palgrove. Where your wife was drowned.”
“Hey, now hold on a minute...”
“Yes, sir?”
Palgrove’s anger rose. “Now look, I can see what you’re bloody well getting at. But you’re quite wrong. How the hell could I have had anything to do with...with what happened to Henny when I wasn’t anywhere near the place? I know nothing about it at all. Absolutely nothing.”
“Can you suggest how that case came to be in the water, sir?”
“Of course I can’t.”
“When was it last in your possession?”
“Yesterday, I should think. Yes, I had it at teatime. I must have left it around in this room somewhere.”
“Did your wife smoke?”
“No.”
“So it’s not likely that she had the case with her when she went out to the well?”
“You don’t know that. She could easily have picked it up. I mean, she was always tidying things up. For that matter, she could have chucked it into the water herself. I wouldn’t put it past her.”
Purbright considered. “That does rather sound as if you and Mrs Palgrove did not always get on very well. I hadn’t realized. I’m sorry.”
“Good heavens, all married couples disagree occasionally.”
“True, sir, but they don’t all throw away valuable cigarette cases to spite one another.”
“Now, look, inspector—if you think you can goad me into...”
Purbright’s hand went up. “Perish the thought, Mr Palgrove.”
“Yes, well, don’t be so damned provocative.” He was silent a moment. “I’m sorry, but this has been one hell of a shock. I suppose I’m a bit knocked up. No, the fact is that Henny and I got along as well as most. Not around each other’s necks all the time, but so what? I certainly wouldn’t have done her any harm.”
“Mr Palgrove, was your wife a wildly imaginative woman?”
“I wouldn’t have said so. She was a bit gone on animals... But, look—we went into all that when you were here before.”
“That’s right, we did. But if I might say so, you are not in quite the same mood as you were then. That is perfectly natural. First reaction to shock can often take a form that people might mistake for flippancy.”
“Did you think I was being flippant?”
