I have not seen the following idea discussed before.
If Sheila was going crazy with the gun but had not actually shot anyone then what was Nevill thinking ?
I doubt very much indeed that he wanted Sheila arrested for all sorts of reasons.
If Nevill had phoned the police then Sheila would most likely have been arrested.
So maybe Nevill was simply thinking that it was time for Sheila to be sectioned ...
Logically this is probably what Nevill was actually thinking ...
Nevill may have realised that if Sheila knew he was going to have her sectioned then she might resist and react badly.
This could explain his call to Jeremy and not the police.
Nevill maybe wanted Jeremy to contact the hospital and/or help Sheila be sectioned.
Does anyone know who you call if some one needs sectioning ? How is it arranged ?
I guess sometimes the police or G.P's arrange it - but who does a family phone when it needs doing ?
Are families of discharged patients given a number to call 24/7 if they have concerns about the ex patient ?
I hope every one can at least agree that it might have crossed Nevills mind that Sheila would need sectioning in the mental hospital when she first picked the gun up and started acting crazy ?
Was this why he called Jeremy ?
To fully comprehend the nature of the crimes one has to understand the relationship between Nevill and Jeremy: less father and son than employer and employee. Jeremy arrived at work from Bourtree Cottage, a situation about which he felt bitter because of its crampedness and inability to impress guests, and which he had to furbish out of his own pocket. He would then be given orders for the day like any other worker and expect to muck in. He rebelled at this initially in mild and innocuous ways, wearing skin tight trousers and make-up, though becoming emboldened as time progressed with the Osea Road break-in.
Why not kill the goose which laid the golden egg? His inheritance was at its zenith, with past hospital charges for June and Sheila, and possible private school fees for the boys. June was also arranging an annual allowance for Sheila, and Jeremy felt he was losing control.
Nevill brought up Jeremy as he himself had been reared: packed off to school at an early age, no favouritism expressed, never any emotion face to face, though there were tears to close friend John Seward. June realized early in the marriage her duty was to produce an heir, though both parents must have despaired at how Jeremy had evolved, his late conversion to any interest in farming due to the ulterior motive of inheritance, as farm secretary Barbara Wilson had guessed.
It's within the context of this environment that one assesses the likelihood of a call to Jeremy emanating from Nevill. Why not call Len Foakes first, or indeed Colin? What could his son possibly achieve that Nevill himself could not?
The reason for the alleged telephone call is to give Jeremy as excuse to approach the Farm, and loiter he did, though in the presence of Police, who were to form his alibi. With all occupants inside deceased and therefore unable to corroborate any story it was Jeremy who gained the upper hand, and almost did legally abscond, but for his amateurish mistakes and a story which under scrutiny began to fall apart.
