‘I get it.’ Tom took a long swallow of Guinness. ‘All right, the way I saw things, from my position as a humble and deeply unwilling apprentice, was that there was obviously tension between Bill and Billy about the way they wanted the business to develop. Billy had big plans and his old man kept dragging his feet about getting them implemented. I reckon Billy had reconciled himself to waiting till his dad retired before he could turn Shefford’s into what he wanted it to be.’

‘And did you ever hear Bill talking about retirement?’ asked Carole. ‘Did he say when it was likely to happen?’

‘He didn’t specify a date.’

‘And when was it you were working there?’

‘Last autumn. October, November, I suppose.’

‘Really? Because apparently he used never to talk about retirement.’

‘Well, he definitely did when I was there. Kept on about it, in fact.’

‘And when he did retire,’ asked Jude, ‘was he planning to stay round the Fethering area?’

‘Now that’s interesting.’ Tom took a swig of Guinness. ‘I got the impression staying local had been his intention. You know, being around Billy’s family, the grandchildren. But I think his plans may have been changing.’

‘Oh?’

‘He did more than once talk about the idea of retiring to Thailand.’

‘With Malee?’

‘Obviously.’

Carole followed the logic. ‘Which might have meant that he would sell up the premises in Fethering and take the proceeds out to Thailand …’

‘Maybe. He didn’t say that, but I guess it’s possible.’

‘Did you see much of Malee?’ asked Jude. ‘You know, while you were working there?’

‘She came in quite a bit, actually. Very interested in everything that was going on. She appeared to be intrigued by the mechanics of cars, just in the way that I wasn’t.’

‘So, she would have had the skills …?’ Carole hazarded.

‘Oh yes, she could have loosened the fixings of a gearbox, no problem.’

‘When she came into the garage, after Bill Shefford’s death, Shannon, Billy’s wife, was there. She didn’t even acknowledge Malee.’

‘That’s no surprise. Shannon took against her even more than Billy did. She was very, like, protective of him.’

‘Yes, I got that impression,’ said Jude, her mind freewheeling to questions about how far the protective instinct would extend, when her husband – and his inheritance – were under threat. Like her mother, Shannon Shefford was a very strong personality, who might be capable of anything when the security of her family was at stake.

‘Incidentally,’ asked Carole, suddenly changing the subject, ‘what happened to your car? The Triumph Tr6. I mean, presumably it’s been examined … you know, for forensic evidence?’

‘Why would it be examined if the police haven’t been involved?’

‘What?’ Carole looked curious. ‘So where is it now? Still at Shefford’s?’

‘No, it’s parked up the road here.’

‘You drove to Brighton in it?’