‘Me? No, why should I?’ he instantly blustered. He was dressed today in black woollen trousers that fitted him tightly and a plain white sweater, which made the most of his black hair and muscular, if small, stature. He really was good-looking, Trudy acknowledged grudgingly, but his tendency to play the spoilt brat was, in contrast, totally off-putting.

‘Besides, I can’t imagine that you’ve got that right, you know,’ he said now, succeeding only in sounding more condescending than persuasive. He folded his arms protectively across his chest. ‘I can’t think offhand of any guests we had here that night who might have been a candidate for a lift. Most of them either walked here, or lived on the other side of town. I can’t think of anyone who lived that far north.’ He studied his fingernails with feigned boredom.

Trudy knew he was protesting too much. But why should this pampered prince care about Terry Parker’s driving arrangements?

‘Our witness seems sure that they saw someone with light or bright hair sitting beside Mr Parker when he drove away,’ she said firmly, stretching the truth just a bit. Luckily, Jasper wasn’t to know that their witness had been vague and unsure, at best.

At this, Jasper merely shrugged and refused to be drawn. ‘Really?’ he said, in his best bored voice and then yawned. There was something slightly overdone in his insouciance that made her wonder if he was trying too hard. Was he desperate not to give something away? ‘Sorry, late night,’ he added, with a brief smile.

‘I’m so sorry to keep you waiting, er …?’ Millie, arriving in lounging pyjamas and a wrap-around housecoat, looked even more flustered when it became apparent that she couldn’t recall either of their names.

‘WPC Loveday, Mrs Vander, and this is Dr Ryder,’ Trudy said obligingly, as they both rose politely to their feet. ‘We just have one or two more questions about Mr Parker and your party.’

‘Really! Surely you don’t need to keep pestering Mumsy with this stuff.’ It was Juliet who spoke as she entered and came to stand at her mother’s side.

‘We’ve learned one or two more things since speaking to you last that need clearing up,’ Trudy said firmly, not about to be bested by someone who called their parent ‘Mumsy’.

‘Why don’t you go and make me some tea and toast, darling,’ Millie said, sensing perhaps that a potentially embarrassing scene needed to be nipped in the bud. ‘You too, Jasper. Go and help your sister with breakfast,’ she ordered.

Both Trudy and Clement were surprised by the hint of steel behind the pleasant tones, and they shot each other a quick, questioning glance.