Dermot Craddock sat in an armchair in Miss Marple’s sitting room, his arms outstretched, holding a skein of wool, while Miss Marple wound it into a neat ball. “I still don’t understand how you found out so much in such a short time, when the local police had been so unsuccessful,” he said. “And what contribution my presence here is making.”

Lucy Eyelesbarrow, who was busy sewing a toy elephant, laughed.

“You are here to help me wind wool. It’s so much easier than hooking it over the dining room chair, and Gladys has plenty of other chores to do,” Miss Marple replied.

“Doesn’t Mrs Bantry help you?”

“We have much more important things to do. Besides which, I generally see Dolly in the daytime, wool winding is a job for the evenings.”

“And why are you winding wool anyway?”

“That is part of the answer to your original question. Should I start from the beginning?”

“Please do!”

Miss Marple treated him to a look which would have cowered him when he was a small boy, and still had a similar effect. She said, “It all began when Griselda Clement, you know the vicar’s wife…” Lucy nodded. “She told me there were some children in the parish who didn’t have sufficient clothing and wondered if I had any ideas for how we could help. I could obviously knit a jumper or two. You know how much I like to have some knitting with me.”

Dermot nodded. “Yes, you always say it’s the perfect disguise.”

“Well, it is. But obviously, with the colder months approaching, I couldn’t help many of the children. Then I thought that there were several other older ladies who would probably be happy to contribute. But that would mean a lot of work for Griselda, having to visit each of the volunteers, and she has plenty to do already, even though many of them would no doubt appreciate a visit. It occurred to me that perhaps we could all meet up once a week, to sit and knit, or crochet, and have a chat. It’s proved very popular.”

“And by chatting, which some might call gossiping,” Lucy said, “you’ve heard lots of little things which you’ve put together.”

“Precisely!”

“But where do you get the wool from?”

“I do admit, a lot of the jumpers have stripes, which means we can use up the end of balls of wool. And also, a number of the other villagers, who don’t have time to knit for others, but are still keen to help, will donate an odd ball or two if they’ve bought more than they needed.”

“Don’t patterns usually tell you how much to buy?” Dermot asked.

“Oh yes, but sometimes you might want to adjust the pattern, perhaps increase the body length a little, and it’s important to ensure you keep to the same dye lot. Of course, you can ask the shop to put some of it aside, but if that means an extra trip into town, it’s not always worth it.”

Dermot continued to look unconvinced, so Lucy said, “It’s the same as when you were papering our dining room, with that funny little alcove which used up more wallpaper than you’d estimated. You were very lucky the hardware shop still had one roll left.”

Dermot pulled a face at his wife, and Miss Marple laughed.

“In fact,” Miss Marple said, “you could say it was all due to an act of charity. Wanting to help some of the families out, led to setting up a social group, which, in turn, meant I could find out what you wanted to know. I hope that answers your question.”

Dermot smiled. “Thank you, Aunt Jane. You’ve answered it perfectly!”