Chief Inspector Morse is drinking a pint of beer. he is thinking about an attractive woman who lives not far away. The woman he is thinking of is hanging, dead, from the ceiling of her kitchen. On the floor lies a chair, almost two meters away from the woman´s feet. Chief Inspector Morse finishes his pint, and orders another. Perhaps he will visit Anne, after all. But he is in no particular hurry. Meanwhile, Anne is still hanging inher kitchen, waiting for the police to come and cut her down. She is in no hurry, either.