" Probably .sx " .sx " OK .sx So any better luck with Sharon ?sx " .sx " Depends what you mean by luck .sx She certainly loved her time at the studios today , even though there wasn't anything too exciting going on .sx I would think it helped her a bit to get over the shock of Elvis's murder .sx " .sx " I assume you eventually got her around to that ?sx " .sx She nodded .sx " Sure .sx But I waited until I'd got her out to lunch and had plied her with the odd drink before I probed too much .sx " .sx " And then .sx .. " .sx " She became .sx .. well , very talkative .sx By the end of lunch she had really poured her heart out .sx A trifle embarrassing it became at times .sx I felt a bit like an aural voyeur .sx " She smiled .sx " Doesn't sound quite right , does it ?sx You can't have an aural voyeur , can you ?sx " .sx " Depends how you spell aural , " I deadpanned .sx She laughed .sx " Either which way , she told me things that I'm sure she would never want her parents to know .sx Or anybody else , for that matter .sx " .sx " As I'm not just anybody , I take it you will pass a little of it on to me .sx " .sx She pulled a schoolmarm frown .sx " What parts may be relevant to our quest , Mr Marklin , yes .sx " .sx " Right , Miss Trench , I'm all ears .sx " .sx " I'll get the intimate bits over first .sx Sharon told me she and Elvis had often made love , and guess where , a lot of the time ?sx " .sx " On sitting room sofas when their parents were out , on the beach .sx ..? " .sx " Not even warm .sx " .sx " Well , it wouldn't be , on the beach .sx " .sx She slapped my hand .sx " Where , then ?sx " .sx " In the Penwarden's garden .sx " .sx " In their garden ?sx " .sx " Not exactly in the garden .sx In the gazebo in the garden .sx It has long cushioned seats all around the inside , apparently .sx And it can't be seen at all from the house .sx " .sx This time I frowned .sx " They made love when he was supposed to be gardening ?sx " .sx " No , idiot .sx Late in the evening , when no one would be about to see them .sx She says it's easy to get into their garden from the road , through a gap in the hedge not far from where the gazebo is .sx " .sx " Well , well , well .sx Could be that Blondie is not so very wrong about our Stover .sx " .sx " It doesn't necessarily follow .sx As he was 'getting his ration' anyway , as my father often puts it to my mother's horror , he might well have ignored any sexual overtures made by any of that family or the Hoopers .sx " .sx I held up a finger .sx " Motive number five .sx He was killed for not succumbing to advances .sx " .sx " Don't laugh , " Arabella cautioned .sx " Stranger things have happened .sx " She put on her 'still waters run deep' voice once more .sx " There's none so deadly .sx .. " .sx " Yeah , yeah , yeah , " I intoned .sx " You sound like a Beatle .sx " .sx " Didn't mean to .sx " .sx " Well , you did .sx " .sx " Back to Sharon ?sx " .sx " Oh yes .sx Well , after her lovemaking confession , she then rather tearfully described how jealous she used to get when other girls seemed to fancy him .sx Once , in a café , she admitted , she even threw a cup of Coke all over another girl who tried to flirt with him .sx " .sx I looked at her .sx " We wouldn't have motive number six there , would we ?sx The great green god .sx " .sx " Jealousy ?sx " Arabella shook her head .sx " Sharon may throw Coke around , but it takes a damn sight more than a short fuse to make a murderer , sorry , murderess .sx And even if Sharon were that sort , I reckon it would be much more productive to kill the other girl rather than the lover you want for yourself .sx " .sx " Anyway , any more intimacies ?sx " .sx " No , not really .sx I guess you're more interested in what she said about Sadler and London .sx " .sx I perked up .sx " So she did say something ?sx " .sx But Arabella then knocked me off my perch by saying , " Well , I suppose she did .sx " .sx " Oh , great .sx " .sx " No , hang on , Peter .sx See what you can make of this .sx Sharon said that Mrs Sadler was annoyed with her after your first visit for having told you about her husband going to London at all .sx And she'd asked Sharon how she knew about it anyway .sx " .sx " London , you mean ?sx " .sx " Yes .sx Sharon just told her the truth .sx That the previous day she had overheard them both mentioning London .sx And she'd put two and two together when Sadler went away .sx " .sx " That all ?sx " .sx " Most of it .sx In answer to a question of mine about what transport Sadler had taken that day , she said she thought he must have gone in the van , as it wasn't parked round the back .sx " .sx " And vans can carry lots of things other than newspapers .sx " .sx " Exactly .sx It would fit with our original thought of Sadler disposing of any stolen property well away from here , say , with fences in London .sx But as I've said , the computer doesn't bear out any grand-scale burglary theory over his patch .sx " .sx " It doesn't rule it out completely , either .sx " .sx " No .sx I suppose it doesn't .sx " .sx " That it ?sx " .sx " Only one thing more .sx Sharon said something a bit odd .sx That while Mrs Sadler often asked her to mind her child and sometimes even feed it , she was never allowed to go in the child's bedroom .sx Once , when she had gone upstairs to try to find a fresh nappy when Mrs Sadler had popped out for a while , she had found the door locked and the key missing .sx " .sx I thought for a moment .sx " How big is this child's room ?sx Did she say ?sx " .sx Arabella grinned .sx " Two minds , et cetera .sx ..I asked that question immediately in case the room might be big enough to store stolen loot away in .sx But to my disappointment , she said that as she'd never been allowed in , she couldn't describe it .sx But the layout of the house means that it can't be any great size , because its walls are a continuation of the kitchen below .sx And that is quite cramped .sx " .sx I looked at Arabella .sx " But why should anyone keep their child's room locked ?sx " .sx " Lord knows .sx Maybe they keep all their bedrooms locked when they're out .sx Sharon doesn't know whether they do or not .sx It's a pity the kid - Kylie , would you believe ?sx - isn't old enough to disclose all .sx But apparently , her vocabulary is still confined to various forms of 'ga-ga' and 'goo-goo' .sx " .sx " Do you know if Sharon had discussed any of this with Elvis ?sx " .sx " I asked that .sx She said they had obviously talked about the Sadlers quite a bit , as they both worked for them .sx And yes , she had mentioned once about finding the child's door locked .sx " .sx " And Elvis's reaction ?sx " .sx " As far as I can gather , more of less indifference .sx " .sx " Hmmm .sx I'm coming to the conclusion , though , that there might be quite a lot poor Sharon doesn't know about her Elvis .sx " .sx Arabella sighed .sx " Let's pray that when the truth does come out about all this she doesn't get hurt too badly .sx Underneath all that make-up , she's still only a sixteen-year-old , and a nice one at that .sx " .sx " Let us pray .sx .. " I mumbled into my seven o'clock shadow , then went into the kitchen to pour us both an inch or two of gloom-dispeller .sx I had a restless night .sx One , it was muggy and humid .sx Every minute I was expecting the room to be strobed into brilliance by the lightning the TV weathermen had prophesied for the area .sx ( Some prophets .sx Not a flash .sx Not a rumble .sx I'd have been better off stroking seaweed .sx ) .sx But the weather wasn't really a tenth of it .sx My sleeplessness was at least nine-tenths Elvis Stover .sx I just couldn't free my mind of the images of those who might , or just as equally might not , be involved in the whole ghastly affair .sx Sadler and his frightened wife and what they might keep , besides their Kylie , in that locked room .sx And what London might have to do with anything .sx It was pretty obvious the only way I'd ever be able of find out was via Sadler's weakest link , his wife .sx I made her my priority for the next morning .sx But I had to find some way of getting to her without her husband knowing .sx Then there were all the females who Blondie had hinted might have been tempted by a pair of slim hips and an almost stubble-less smile .sx The little strategem sic !sx I had devised and delegated to her to carry out , even if successful , might stille get me nowhere very much , except into someone's bad books , that is .sx And that 'someone' might well not be singular .sx For if the plan backfired , the bad books might proliferate and at least one end up in the pocket of the likes of Inspector Digby Whetstone .sx Were that to happen , I rather doubted that Sexton Blake could come out into the open and disinter me from that self-dug hole .sx And talking of Blake , his cryptic note about nest eggs and cuckoos was hardly a sandman .sx I puzzled over and analysed the wording , like some fanatic doing The Times crossword , just to make sure my initial interpretation was correct .sx By around four thirty a.m. I had come to the conclusion that it probably was , but then stewed over how the hell Sexton thought I could find where Stover had stashed his savings ( provided there were any , of course , and that Stover had not blown them on some extravagance or other we hadn't yet caught up with - like other ladies , or the down payment on a motorbike or car , or whatever ) , if he , Whetstone and the whole of the Dorset force had not been able to trace them .sx By Sexton's cryptic 'clue' , I assumed they must have tried all the more likely places , like Stover's home , banks , building societies and so on .sx So I guessed that all I was left with , thanks very much , were unlikely places , which at the most conservative of estimates , just had to add up to a few billion alternatives .sx It was around five a.m. that Arabella woke up to my tossing and turning .sx She rolled over and asked , " You all right ?sx " .sx " Grand , " I eyebrowed .sx " You know something .sx To think I've wasted thirty-nine years .sx .. " .sx " The last , recurring , " she nudged .sx I ignored her .sx You have to at my age .sx " .sx ..thirty-nine years doing day work , when I could have been on night shift .sx " .sx She snuggled up to me .sx " Couldn't sleep , eh ?sx " .sx " Brilliant girl .sx Go to the top of your class .sx " .sx " I am at the top of my class , " she grinned .sx Our modesty is one of the things that united us .sx " Well , if you're that bright , why aren't you still asleep at this hour ?sx I bet Margaret Drabble and Marghanita Laski are .sx " .sx " Marghanita Laski is dead .sx " .sx " Well , there you are .sx " .sx She didn't laugh .sx " Besides , I would be if you didn't keep moving the mattress springs about .sx " .sx " Sorry .sx " .sx She propped herself on one elbow .sx The early morning sun dappled the down between her breasts .sx " Stover ?sx " .sx " Yep .sx " .sx " I dreamt about him .sx " .sx " Oh yes ?sx " I yawned .sx " But you never met him .sx " .sx " It must be the number of times I've gone over the videotapes of our news coverage of his death .sx You know , with all the family photos and so on .sx I almost feel I know him .sx " .sx " Would it be indelicate to ask what your dream was about ?sx " I smiled .sx " Filthy devil , " she retorted .sx " I do have dreams occasionally , you know , that aren't hard-core .sx " .sx I looked at my fingernails .sx " Oh , really .sx .. " .sx She slapped my hand , then went on .sx " Anyway , I dreamt Elvis was on some beach or other .sx I didn't recognise where .sx And he had a spade and he was digging and digging and digging away , until he'd made a gigantic hole in the sand .sx I mean , it was huge .sx You could hardly see the bottom .sx " .sx " Then what ?sx " .sx " Then nothing , really .sx Because one minute he was still digging and then when I looked again , he'd gone .sx Disappeared .sx I looked everywhere , but there was no sing of him .sx In the end , I came to the daft conclusion that he must somehow have gone down his hole and been swallowed up .sx I sat for what seemed ages on the edge in case he popped up and out again .sx But he never did .sx " .sx