‘He is unpopular in the village?’
‘We are a welcoming people, sir, and we try not to be hostile to any stranger. You will find that if you remain with us for a few days yourselves. But Marshall Hayes is a dark shadow on our landscape.’
‘What business might Fairmont have had with this man Hayes?’
‘I cannot say.’
‘You never saw them together, for instance?’
‘Not that I can recall.’
Holmes paused for a moment, as though he expected the vicar to say something more. If he had any such expectation, it was to go unfulfilled. ‘I think it is time for some solitude and careful thought, Watson, if you would care to accompany me in a short walk around this charming hamlet.’
We said a brief word of farewell to Miss Parsons and her aunt, leaving our client with the promise that we would return wi
