O’Brien responded, ‘Well, it’s very simple. Is it beyond coincidence that on all twenty-seven occasions that Mrs Gready has been abroad, engaged in her judging, that a classic car, packed with Class-A drugs, has entered a British port, or a large cash deposit has been moved through the LH Classics account? I don’t think so. I would say that to consider this a series of coincidences is pretty far-fetched.’

‘You’re suggesting Gready deliberately chose the dates for when his wife would be out of the country?’ Roberts asked.

‘Yes.’

Meg felt deep, growing anxiety.

The former detective looked thoughtful. ‘That does make a lot of sense. These quantities of drugs and cash movements are enormous by any standard. If Gready was involved – indeed, the mastermind – then in the immediate hours and days following the arrivals of the shipments he would have been busy, probably around the clock, inundated with calls on burners. He might have had a problem explaining to his wife quite what the hell he was up to. Much better if she was conveniently out of the country.’

There was a palpable silence in the room.

Meg was thinking hard and fast. ‘It could simply be coincidence,’ she replied. But the moment she had spoken, she realized just how lame that sounded.

So, it seemed, from the change of atmosphere in the room, did everyone else.

‘Twenty-seven coincidences,’ Roberts said. ‘With respect, Meg, do you really think that is plausible?’

There was a long silence, during which Meg was struggling to come up with a response. Suddenly, from feeling in control, she was staring up at a seemingly impenetrable wall. ‘On the face of it, no,’ she was forced to admit. ‘But there may be another blindingly obvious explanation.’

‘Which is?’ said Harold Trout.

She felt her face reddening. Part with embarrassment and part in anger at the look of smug triumph on his face.

Pressing his perceived advantage, Trout said, in a condescending voice which angered her even further, ‘You have demonstrated that you are clearly a highly intelligent lady, Meg. Do you really expect any of us to accept that on each of the twenty-seven times that Mr Gready’s wife has been abroad, judging these competitions, it is entirely coincidental that major drug deals, allegedly by her husband, took place? Does that extraordinarily high number in any way fit the issue of innocence? I’m afraid it doesn’t for me.’

‘Nor me,’ said Mark Adams.

‘Doesn’t do it for me either,’ said Toby.

‘I’m afraid that much though I want to believe Mr Gready is indeed a nice man, this does change the landscape for me,’ Hari Singh said.