‘Mr Richards.’ The garage owner fumbled with some paperwork. ‘She is all done, good as new.’ He waved at the blue Fiesta, as one of the mechanics started the car and began reversing it off the pit. ‘How do you wish to make payment?’

The younger man finally removed his gaze from Hawkins. ‘Card.’

Vladimir produced a terminal and handed it over, while Hawkins watched the Fiesta pull up by the exit. The taller mechanic she’d seen outside came to the doorway before pitching the keys to his boss.

Moments later the customer was on his way and Vladimir returned, once again sporting his dour expression. ‘Is that all?’

‘Not quite.’ Hawkins waited for him to close the door, then produced enlarged copies of the mugshots from Colin Wilson’s security ID and William Tennent’s driving licence. ‘Do you recognize either of these men?’

Panic flashed in Kask’s eyes as he stepped forwards to study the pictures briefly before looking up. ‘No.’

There was no obvious deceit in his expression, and at last he asked, ‘What is this about?’

Hawkins put the photos away, now wondering if she’d misjudged the man. ‘Joel Kowalski was found dead this morning.’

Kask stared at her briefly before his gaze fell away, and he stared into space for a moment before turning back and repeating the word as if hoping he had misunderstood. ‘Dead?’

‘Yes, at a flat in Brixton. Do you have any idea why he might have been there?’

‘Brixton.’ The garage owner paused again, then shook his head. ‘No.’

‘When did he last sleep at the house on Danbrook Road?’

‘I don’t know. You must ask his housemates. Mikael and … Aleks.’

‘Are they here?’

‘Not today. Both day off.’

He looked genuinely shocked.

Hawkins relented. ‘OK. I’ll need to speak with all your employees, especially those two. Was Joel close to any of them?’

‘I don’t know.’ Kask was getting steadily whiter; perhaps he was more emotionally invested in his staff than he liked to advertise.

Deciding to go easy on him, Hawkins spent a few minutes questioning the three lads on-site, gleaning nothing of importance, and returned to her car. She drove towards Danbrook Road, hoping that Kask would deliver on his promise to contact all the other staff and have them return home immediately, because if any had useful information about the days and weeks prior to Kowalski’s death, she could do without making several round trips to collect it.

Plus, if the suspicion she still couldn’t shake about the garage having bypassed an employment directive or two was correct, she wanted to minimize the opportunity for cover stories to be agreed.

Because the more interest people had in lying to protect themselves, the less concerned they became about offering help to those who needed it.

6

He identified the young woman as soon as she turned the corner – blonde, slightly overweight.

Nervous.