But the dead man’s business partner merely nodded fatalistically, then forced himself to his feet and showed them to the front door.

On the threshold he apologised for not having got around to clearing the path yet, and watched them go all the way to the gate and turn out of sight before closing the door against the bitter chill.

*

Once they were back in the Rover, Clement quickly turned on the engine and they sat, waiting for the heater to kick in.

‘Did you get the feeling that he was sorry that his friend and business partner was dead?’ Trudy asked, little puffs of her warm breath appearing and disappearing in the freezing interior of the car as she talked. She herself hadn’t been quite sure that he had. Oh, she was convinced that he’d been genuinely shocked by the news, but there had been something about his manner that didn’t quite ring true, given the circumstances; something that didn’t quite make sense.

Clement grunted and put his finger on it at once. ‘I got the feeling he was more worried about it, than saddened.’

Trudy nodded and sighed. Sometimes – not often, but sometimes – her mentor’s seemingly infallible perspicacity made her feel distinctly dim. Now that he’d said it, she knew that he was right. That was exactly what she’d meant. Geoffrey Thorpe had become a worried man during their visit. But not, she felt confident, a grief-stricken one.

Which was interesting, but probably not relevant.

After all, she reminded herself firmly, it was almost certain that the inquest, when it was eventually held, would find that Terrence Parker had died as a result of a motor traffic accident.

Chapter 10

Trudy, mindful that she couldn’t expect Dr Ryder to spend all of his time helping her with her work, thanked him for what he’d done so far, and said that she had to get back to the office to start on the paperwork. So he duly dropped her off at the station, but she couldn’t help but feel relieved when he said that he’d see her tomorrow – unless DI Jennings had found a more senior officer to take over from her.

Although she had been fairly sure that her mentor would want to see things through as much as she did, she had been worried that the presence of his son at home might be enough to curb his usual curiosity.

So with a beaming smile she agreed to telephone him the next day to update him on how things were progressing and arrange when and where to meet.

The communal office was all but deserted, but that didn’t surprise her. With weather and illness decimating the number of officers, everyone who had made it in would have been sent straight out again to deal with calls. Which boded well for her being left in charge of the Parker case, she thought happily.