Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death (The Grantchester Mysteries)

she had finally left him alone, Sidney picked up his pen and wrote out the list of principal suspects.
    Simon Hackford: he and Lord Teversham had been former business partners; there had clearly been a row of some sort, and there were rumours of intimacy. But he seemed an unlikely murderer.
    Clive Morton: Sidney would need to check the will. There could be a financial motive.
    Michel Morel: unlikely, Sidney thought, but he did have considerable expertise in knives.
    Frank Blackwood: it was hard to know what he was doing in the production in the first place. It was out of character, Sidney thought ruefully. But if he had joined the cast for the explicit purpose of murdering Lord Teversham, then what was his motive?
    Ben Blackwood: despite not being a conspirator, Sidney had to admit that, however unlikely, it was not impossible. Perhaps he stood to inherit the art collection? He could have had a concealed weapon when he was crouched over the body and committed the crime while pretending to weep. But his behaviour on the night in question, and his grief after the death, were surely genuine? If Sidney were to pursue this line he would have to be careful.
    Later that day he put down his pen, fetched his hat and coat and set off on the half-hour bicycle ride to Locket Hall. After he had ridden through Trumpington and carried on for a few miles he realised that, rather than burning Mrs Maguire’s steak and kidney pudding, he had completely forgotten about it. No wonder he felt hungry. But it was too late to go back. Perhaps Leonard Graham would help himself and finish it off? Sidney certainly hoped so, because if Mrs Maguire discovered that it had not been touched when she returned the next morning with her welsh rarebit, then there would be hell to pay.
    But how was he supposed to remember everything? Sidney thought to himself. The things he had to keep in his head . . .
    On arrival at Locket Hall, Forbes Mackay took his hat and coat and offered him ‘a wee sharpener’ to steady himself ‘in these coal-black times’. He warned his guest that the mood upstairs was more sombre than he had ever known.
    The butler gestured to the staircase and Sidney climbed it to find Ben and Amanda sitting together on the sofa.
    ‘Forgive me for borrowing your friend but I’ve been in a funk,’ Ben began. ‘Cicely has taken to her bed, the staff have been stunned into silence and I don’t know how what to do. I keep thinking of Dominic and wandering about the house. I forget why I have come into a room. I’m unable to listen to anything people are saying or make any reply. Nothing has any point any more.’
    ‘You need to rest,’ said Sidney. ‘And sleep.’
    ‘I try, but then, just before I fall asleep I remember what has happened and all I can think about is that appalling crime.’
    ‘The police have been to see you?’
    ‘They wanted a lot of personal information. I suppose it is understandable. Is Mackay getting you a drink?’
    ‘He is . . .’
    Amanda turned to Sidney and asked, ‘Why do such terrible things have to happen? Surely it shakes your faith?’
    ‘Not in God. It shakes my faith in people.’
    ‘Have the police finished with their interviews?’ Ben asked.
    ‘They will probably have to go round again. Do you know who benefits from the will?’
    ‘Most people get something. I think Clive Morton has handed it over.’
    ‘Yourself?’
    ‘I have been bequeathed some of the lesser paintings. A Palmer landscape that I always admired, a charming Landseer and a beautiful set of Bewick engravings. It was incredibly thoughtful of Dominic but I’d rather he was still alive. The works don’t mean anything without him.’
    ‘Anyone else?’
    ‘Cicely inherits the whole collection but there are a few other bequests: Simon Hackford, for example. I think Dominic changed the will recently to cut his inheritance down. At one point he was going to give Simon a Turner. That would have raised a few eyebrows.’
    ‘I think they were already raised. Did Simon Hackford and Lord Teversham work together?’
    ‘I thought you knew that?’
    Sidney smiled. ‘I don’t always admit to what I know, Ben.’
    ‘They were the greatest of friends. They went to auctions together. In fact, Simon is responsible for many of the items in the collection. He would spot the painting, Lord Teversham would buy it and then they would either keep it or sell it on. Simon’s really an expert on silver, but he knows his eighteenth