RAFFERTY RETURNED TO the office the next morning to find that, during their absence in London, more reports had accumulated. There were so many of them that Rafferty, who was beginning to feel swamped by a paper tide, forgot all about passing on his Ma's warning.
As he had expected, no witnesses to the murder had come forward, and, although several people had reported seeing a red hatchback heading along the main road near the meadow, Rafferty didn't feel he could place any reliance on their statements. The reported times varied widely, and it was just as likely to have been another lone woman rather than Barbara Longman. She had driven one of the most popular colours of a very common car.
Owing to her good works in the town and her prominent links with several local organisations, it wa
