A Great Deliverance

On the train to Yorkshire, Lynley recalls Havers’s failed tenure in CID, and the public “diatribe” (68) that accompanied her removal. He notes her reserve and awkwardness and observes that Havers neither drinks nor smokes while she reads the Keldale file.

There are not fingerprints on the axe, and Havers notes that the dog lies beneath Teys’s body, suggesting that it died first and that the body wasn’t moved. The time of death was between 10 pm and midnight, Teys had chicken and peas for dinner, and barbiturates were found in his blood. Lynley remarks that sedatives are unexpected for a farmer, who shouldn’t need help falling asleep.

Nies meets them at York Station and warns them not to overstep their bounds. Lynley agrees and introduces Havers, after which they drive to the village. On their way, Lynley tells Havers that five years earlier, his brother-in-law, Edward Davenport, was murdered and that Nies arrested Lynley, although he was released after a few days. Havers finds the story unsettling. When they arrive at Keldale Lodge, their landlord, Stepha Odell, says the village is glad to have outside officers on the case.

Meanwhile, during breakfast at Keldale Hall, an American couple tells Deborah and St.