They both spent more than half their lives among the crowded furniture, sagging shelves and overflowing filing cabinets. The frosted windows were rarely cleaned, the floor was hardly ever swept and the two desks were never tidied.Judith Jessop told people that she and her employer saw to the cleaning of the office and that an office cleaner would muddle everything up and set back important investigations. Her maiden name was Judith Watson and she was, in fact, Donald’s cousin. At twenty-four she was a few years his junior and recently married to Tom Jessop. The cousins were vaguely similar to look at – she had the same friendly open face and warm smile – but whereas Donald was what she called ‘a plodder’, she was full of nervous energy and inclined to be hasty.‘The stuff’s arrived from the police station,’ she called when he bowled into the office four days later, ten minutes after her own arrival. ‘One of the lads brought it round first thing.’ She tossed the slim package on to his desk and helped him off with his jacket.
