Wanstead High Street was full of kids from the local high school eating chips, pies and other unhealthy fare. They were, for the main part, well behaved, with the odd joker jostling a pensioner or shaking up a Coke bottle and spraying his mates with it. Tilly walked away from the centre of town and under the railway bridge, taking a left turn. Ahead of her she saw police. Her footsteps slowed and she looked left and right but kept walking, not wanting to attract suspicion. She got her sunglasses out of her bag and put them on. A patrol car sat outside George’s address, and police tape cordoned off the property. Two uniforms stood outside the front gate, looking straight ahead with the intermittent side glance. Occasionally one or other of them spoke into their radios.

It was perfectly normal for members of the public to rubberneck under such circumstances, and Tilly paused as she approached.

‘Ma’am,’ one of the officers said.

‘Good morning. I know the man who lives here. Is everything all right?’

One of the officers reached into his pocket for a notepad.

‘I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to say, ma’am, but if you’d like to give us your details, we can get back to you. Did you know him well?’

‘Not really, just to say hello to, but it looks a bit worrying, if you know what I mean. Is George all right?’

The officer spoke into his radio, off to the side, nodding and pressing buttons. The radio crackled but Tilly didn’t catch what was said. He turned back to her.

‘The occupant is deceased, ma’am. An investigation is under way. When was the last time you saw him?’

Tilly touched her hand to her mouth in genuine shock. Adrenalin flooded her system and she remembered George telling her how serious he thought his story was. Surely it couldn’t be a coincidence?

‘Oh, about two weeks ago,’ she said. ‘Before he went on holiday.’

‘Right, ma’am, and did he mention that he was meeting anyone on holiday?’

‘No, he said he was fishing as always, and couldn’t wait to get away. He didn’t mention anyone to me.’

‘Very good, ma’am. Can I take a name and contact number? The detective in charge of the case might like to contact you. It’s part of a routine line of questioning.’