‘That’s the one. It was a chess-based quiz. Very popular in its time . . . It was co-hosted by Debbie McGee! I was also a commentator at some of the major tournaments, but they’re not covered so much these days. And if I’m going to be honest with you, I’m getting too old for the major ones. Magnus Carlsen, the current world champion, is twenty-four. Levon Aronian is only a few years older. He became a grandmaster at seventeen. Anyway, Teri was never very comfortable at Riverview Lodge. It wasn’t a home we’d made together. So when The Stables suddenly became available, it felt like a no-brainer.’
‘I never liked the house,’ Teri agreed. ‘It’s better here.’
‘I still don’t understand why Giles Kenworthy and his family couldn’t fit in more,’ Strauss continued. ‘You don’t buy a house in a place like this if you’re not going to get on with your neighbours. I’m sure he wasn’t a bad person, but he did manage to annoy the hell out of us. The parking, the noise, the camper van, the children. We invited them to a meeting here about six weeks ago. We thought it might be an opportunity to sort things out – but at the last minute they didn’t show up. That was typical of them. Maybe they were just thoughtless, but they came over as rude.’
‘Everything got worse after that,’ Teri said.
‘That’s true, my love. Yes.’ He took a sip of his tea. ‘First there was the dog belonging to those two dear ladies in The Gables.’
‘How well do you know them?’
‘Oh – we’re very close. The Gables and The Stables! They had a French bulldog, which was found at the bottom of the well. They were quite sure the Kenworthys were responsible. Then Andrew Pennington – he’s a retired barrister and our neighbour across the way in Well House – he had his flower display ruined by the children. They drove through it on skateboards, would you believe? Not a motive for murder, I’m sure, but he was very upset.’
‘And also there was your chess set,’ Teri reminded him.
‘Oh, yes.’ For a moment, Strauss lost his cheerful composure. ‘That was extremely annoying.’
‘What happened exactly?’ Hawthorne asked.
Strauss put his cup down. ‘I was in town, having lunch with a journalist friend of mine. This was the week before my accident. Teri was also out. When I got back, I noticed that one of the windows had been broken, and my first thought was that we had been burgled. In fact, it was simpler than that. The two Kenworthy boys – Hugo and Tristram – had taken to playing cricket in the courtyard, even though there’s supposed to be a rule about no ball games. There had been quite a few complaints about it. I remember that the Beresfords were particularly worried – but then they’ve got small children.’
‘They said it was dangerous,’ Teri agreed.
‘Well, I could see at once what had happened. They had hit their ball through my window. I found it on the floor. That would have been bad enough, but it had also smashed one of my most treasured chess sets, a gift from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.’
‘Did you complain to the parents?’ Dudley asked.
‘Of course I did. I telephoned Giles Kenworthy and spoke to him at length.’ He sighed. ‘He refused to accept responsibility. He said that he talked to the boys and they had denied it and suggested that it might have been one of their friends. He promised he would look into it, but I have a feeling he couldn’t really have cared less.’
‘Do you still have the chess set?’ Dudley asked. ‘There’s a model-maker I know. Brilliant at putting stuff together.’
‘I’m not sure it’s possible,’ Adam said.
‘I wouldn’t say that,’ Hawthorne cut in. ‘A tube of Revell Contacta Professional and a handful of fast clamps . . .’
Teri had already got to her feet. ‘It’s here!’ she said. She went to a low cupboard, reached inside and took out a chessboard, holding it carefully so that the pieces wouldn’t fall off. She brought it over for Hawthorne to examine. It was a set modelled on
‘It looks a bit hopeless,’ Hawthorne admitted. ‘You wouldn’t have thought that a cricket ball could do so much damage.’
‘Well, the pieces were extremely fragile,’ Adam muttered tetchily. ‘There were only six sets ever made,’ he went on. ‘Put it away, dear. I can’t bear looking at it.’
Teri returned it to the cupboard.
‘So Kenworthy refused to accept responsibility,’ Dudley said. ‘He lied to you. And a few days later, he was dead . . .’ He sounded surprised by the force of his own logic. ‘Where were you on Monday night?’ he asked.
