Inspector Nicholls and Sergeant Canning welcomed the bacon and eggs that awaited them as warmly as they in turn were greeted by the residents of Garnant police station.

While housing the village station on the ground floor with an office, a reception area and a cell, the building was also the home of Sergeant Richards, his wife Mary, PC Thomas, his wife Annie and their respective families.

It came as little surprise to the men from Scotland Yard when they found themselves the centre of attention for prying young eyes which peered around door jambs before being shooed away by their mothers who scurried from kitchen to dining room with second helpings and cups of hot, sweet tea.

With their breakfast plates cleared and despite the fatigue of their overnight journey, the two detectives were keen to be brought up to date on all developments since Nicholls had spoken with the chief constable via the telephone the previous afternoon.

The four officers, two uniformed and two in their London suits, sat around the kitchen table sipping tea from the finest china cups the ladies of the station had available as PS Richards and PC Thomas gave what information they could and answered whatever questions the men from Scotland Yard put to them.

Nicholls was impressed. He had come to Garnant doubtful of the efficiency of these local Welsh Bobbies and fearful that their inadequacies might well impede the investigation rather that progress it.

Instead, he had found two men who despite the limitations of the equipment and training available to them appeared conscientious and professional. Sergeant Richards in particular left Nicholls confident that no obvious clue had been missed nor ruined by clumsy fingers or over enthusiasm.

Richards produced the boning knife and broom hand retrieved from the brook for inspection. Two nail heads protruded from the end of the broom handle and it seemed safe to assume that these had previously secured it to the broomhead.

Satisfied that the evidence as it was had been kept secure and untouched in the station strongbox, Nicholls asked what over leads might have come to the fore.

The only fresh line of enquiry to have emerged since his conversation with the Chief Constable had arrived late on Monday afternoon when a gentleman from Ammanford had presented himself at the station.

He was interviewed by Sergeant Richards who ascertained that the man had attended the same concert as Phoebe Jones on Saturday night.

The gentleman had then set out on his homeward journey in his motorcar but had stopped a short distance from the Star Stores to pick up a lone hitchhiker who was walking along the valley road in the direction of Ammanford. The time had been approximately 2am.

The motorist had happily given the man a lift for the night had been cold with a damp mist settling along the valley.

The two had chatted amiably enough during the short journey before the passenger was dropped as requested - at Tirydail Square in Ammanford a short time later.

The walker had claimed that he too had attended the concert, though the driver had no recollection of seeing him at the event.

Nor did the driver recognise the man as a resident of Ammanford though he had aroused no suspicion as the motorist was at that stage completely unaware of the events which had occurred earlier in the evening at the Star.

The two men had shared little more than idle chatter and had not exchanged names or any other information which might further identify the pedestrian, their conversation centring solely on the weather, driving conditions and the motorists car.

The fact that this man had remained in Garnant for some three hours after the dance had come to an end at 11pm was a cause of some suspicion for Sergeant Richards and Nicholls agreed it was imperative that he be traced as soon as possible.

To follow the investigation into the murder of Thomas Thomas at the Garnant branch of Star Stores in Carmarthenshire on February 12, 1921, visit murderatthestar.wordpress.com or follow @murderatthestar on Twitter.