‘You attended public meetings together where David Armstrong was speaking?’

‘Oh yes, well, that was Jonathan’s doing. He rounded us up, me and a couple of retired teachers who came along because they had nothing better to do, and it seemed like fun. I mean, it was all a bit of a laugh to begin with, but Jonathan started getting carried away, and that put me right off. Then I got the job here and so I’m not often available these days anyway.’ He nodded towards the shop beyond the door.

Geraldine gave no sign that she was particularly interested when she put her next question.

‘What exactly do you mean when you say Jonathan got carried away?’

‘He’s a nutter,’ Rod replied. ‘I had no idea how crazy he was when we first met. At first it seemed like – well, it’s fair enough to challenge the council. We do still have freedom of speech and all that. Anyway, we all agreed that the council should be able to justify their policies, so we went around asking awkward questions at meetings. Then Jonathan started heckling the guy.’

‘The guy?’

‘Yes, David Armstrong. He’s the leader of the council, and Jonathan seemed to blame Armstrong for everything that had gone wrong in his life. Anyway, Jonathan seemed to know whenever Armstrong was going to speak in public, and to begin with we went along to ask questions, challenging the councillor to defend his actions, that sort of thing, but then Jonathan began shouting out, trying to stop Armstrong from speaking at all, and the latest was –’ he broke off, grinning sheepishly. ‘Well, I’d rather not say any more.’

‘You’re talking about the egg throwing incident?’

‘Yes. I wasn’t sure if you knew about that. It wasn’t me,’ he added quickly. ‘I mean, I was there, but I never threw any eggs at the car. It was a stupid thing to do anyway.’

‘So what other plans did your friend Jonathan have lined up for David Armstrong? I’d advise you against withholding information from the police.’

Rod’s grin faded at the severity of Geraldine’s tone, and he gave her a sly glance that made her wonder whether he was being completely truthful.

‘I haven’t withheld information…’ he stammered.

‘What other plans did Jonathan have lined up for David Armstrong?’ Geraldine repeated. ‘How far was he prepared to go?’

Rod shook his head. His pale face peered anxiously at her from within its frame of ginger hair.