'Someone clearly deflected him from that purpose.'

'How?'

'That's a matter for conjecture at this stage. Perhaps you could begin by telling me what impression Mr Kellow made on you.'

'To be quite frank,' she said, 'he made very little impression at first. He was out of his depth, Inspector. When he stepped into a first class carriage, he was floundering. We managed to bring him out of his shell eventually and he had a simple integrity that was rather touching. Nigel and I both had the feeling that he was being exploited by his employer, who under-paid and over-worked him, but Mr Kellow nevertheless spoke highly of him. And when he showed us that coffee pot,' she continued, eyebrows arching in unison, 'we were astonished. It was nothing short of magnificent.'

'Mr Buckmaster says that you have a penchant for silver.'

'I crave it, Inspector,' she confessed, using sensual fingers to caress her silver necklace. 'I love the sight, the feel, the gleam of it. I've been an avid collector for years. Fortunately, most of the pieces have come from admirers in whom I took the trouble to confide my life-long yearning for silver.' Getting up, she crossed the room to open a portmanteau, taking out a velvet-covered jewellery box. 'These are some of the gifts that Desdemona garnered for me.'

Opening the lid of the box, she showed him an array of rings, brooches and earrings, all superbly fashioned in silver. The most striking object was a small statue with arms outstretched. Colbeck was quick to identify it.

'That's you as Desdemona,' he said. 'I remember that gesture vividly as you pleaded with Othello.'

'Nigel presented it to me at the end of that season,' she said, taking the statue out to admire it. 'You can imagine how much the contents of this box cost, Inspector, and I travel with larger objects as well. It's the other reason I went to ground in here yesterday,' she told him, replacing the statue and closing the lid. 'If someone was prepared to kill for a silver coffee pot, I felt that my own collection might be in danger – not to mention my life.'