‘Yes, but in a professional capacity only. We were not friends, I must make that perfectly clear,’ the accountant said. He had a precise way of speaking, which matched his general demeanour and probably boded well for his professional skills. Nobody, after all, liked a sloppy accountant.

‘I see. Then I take it you called us in because you dealt with the books for his business?’ Trudy sought clarification, her pen poised over her notebook.

‘For Regal Cars, yes,’ Philip Prescott corrected her. ‘He was a partner of the company.’

‘Yes, we’ve already spoken to Mr Geoffrey Thorpe,’ Trudy admitted cautiously. ‘I got the feeling that they were the only two people concerned with the car dealership? That is, that they didn’t answer to anyone else?’

‘That is correct. It is a private enterprise, not a public company,’ the accountant confirmed. He stirred in his chair, his fingers butting his chin for a moment or two, before he sighed.

Trudy recognised all the signs of a naturally very cautious man, who was also a law-abiding and responsible citizen, trying to work out what he felt it was his duty to say, whilst not compromising his professional ethics.

Trying to help him out – and push the interview along – she spoke tentatively. ‘I found Mr Thorpe a very pleasant man. Very straightforward, I think,’ she offered.

‘Yes, so do I,’ Philip Prescott said at once.

‘Did you deal mostly with Mr Thorpe or Mr Parker?’ she tried next.

‘Oh, Mr Parker I suppose, slightly more than Mr Thorpe.’ The accountant paused to examine these words, clearly found them inadequate, and added, ‘That is to say, it was more often than not Mr Parker who delivered the accounts here, rather than his partner.’

‘I see. I take it they both worked on the books?’

‘Yes, they did. I haven’t found any pattern to their methods – I think they both made entries as and when they had the time, in between selling automobiles, I suppose.’ He shook his head over this outlandish practice.

‘I see.’ Trudy tried to look scandalised too. ‘And how often did they bring the books here for you to work on?’ she asked next.

‘Oh, every quarter.’

‘And you say it was more often Mr Parker who did this?’ Trudy reiterated, unsure why she was being so pedantic about this – unless the accountant’s manner was catching! Perhaps it was because she was beginning to get the distinct impression that this man was going to be tricky to interview. He obviously didn’t like making bold statements of fact, so she was going to have to be careful not to miss any inferences. Or worse still, misread any of them.