‘Yes,’ said Adrian, a little deflated by the failure of his anecdote. It had been a sure-fire laugh-generator on many other occasions. But clearly not on occasions when his audience was Carole Seddon.

‘Anyway,’ he said, recognizing the moment had come to move the conversation on, ‘you’ve been so helpful to me since we met, recommending local services and so on … I wondered if I could pick your brains again …?’

‘Of course. You’re welcome to anything you can find there.’

‘Well, it’s a matter of garages. I drive a BMW 3 Series Convertible …’ He looked at her and grinned. ‘That probably doesn’t mean anything to you, does it?’

‘I have heard of BMW,’ she ventured cautiously.

‘And I was looking for someone round here where I could get it serviced. I mean, obviously I can find the listing for BMW agents, but my car has a … slightly unusual service history … and I’ve found you generally get a better job done – and often a cheaper one – at some local garage. Is there anywhere in Fethering?’

So, of course, Carole gave him the details of Shefford’s.

Returning to High Tor, she felt quite pleased with herself. She felt she’d made a new friend. While recognizing that it wasn’t difficult to strike up a friendship with someone as outgoing as Adrian Greenford, it was still a source of satisfaction.

The fact that he was a man played no part in that satisfaction. Carole Seddon had long before written herself off as a romantic prospect. Indeed, sometimes she found it incongruous to think that she had stayed married to David for so long. Since, following divorce and retirement, she had moved permanently to Fethering, there had been – except for one brief, unlikely involvement with Ted Crisp, landlord of the Crown and Anchor – no special men in her life. And she found that a pleasingly uncomplicated state of affairs.

Unworthy though the thought was, Carole also drew satisfaction from the fact that Adrian was a friend she’d made without the involvement of Jude. With Carole, jealousy of her more laid-back neighbour was never far below the surface.

FIVE

As she walked across the gravel driveway to Troubadours, Jude wasn’t convinced she was doing the right thing. She never felt quite at ease in the Shorelands Estate. She wasn’t sure whether it qualified as a ‘gated community’ or not. There were gates at the main entrance, but she had never seen them closed. That in itself seemed to say something about the place. Yes, we do have the exclusivity of a gated community, but we’re quite laid-back about it. Except, in Jude’s experience of the residents, they weren’t very laid-back at all.