Alldridge nodded, then peered at the chessboard for some moments before looking up. ‘So, the last time you saw your wife was in the Tesco car park?’

‘Yes, as I said, she was going to run in and grab a bag of cat litter. She insisted on going to the Holmbush store because she said it’s the only place where the one she wants is always in stock.’

There was a brief silence, broken by Holly Little. ‘How would you describe your relationship with your wife, Niall?’

He shrugged. ‘It is – you know – OK. We have our ups and downs – don’t any couple?’

‘What kind of downs?’ Alldridge asked.

Again, Niall shrugged. ‘Normal stuff. Stupid arguments – you know – bickering over nothing.’

‘Such as?’ Alldridge pushed.

‘Well.’ Niall pinched his chin. ‘Yesterday it was about the cat litter.’

‘Cat litter?’ Little prompted.

‘Yes. We’d been out for the day – lunch and a walk around the grounds of Parham House, near Pulborough – it’s the sort of place we’d like to live one day.’

‘Beautiful place – that’s a big ambition,’ Alldridge said.

Niall’s eyes narrowed. ‘Yep, well I’m planning to launch an internet venture that’s going to be big, too.’

‘You’d been out for the day, what then happened?’ Little prompted, ignoring his hubris.

‘I was in a hurry to get back to catch the end of the Belgian Grand Prix and Eden wanted to pick up some cat litter on the way home.’ He raised his hands. ‘We had a bit of a to-do about it.’ Blushing, he said, ‘It probably sounds stupid.’

‘Most rows are over small things,’ Holly Little said with a forced smile. ‘Did you row often?’

‘Often enough. But not really rows. As I said, just silly stuff.’

‘Enough for your wife to leave you, do you think?’ She came back at him a lot more sharply now.

‘No way.’ He sucked the blood away from his finger again.

‘You said she took her handbag with her when she left the car,’ Alldridge said. ‘What did she keep in it?’

‘Honestly? I’ve no idea. The usual stuff, I suppose – wallet, credit cards, phone, some make-up – oh and some mints – she had a thing about not wanting bad breath.’

Masking something on her breath, like you? Holly Little was tempted to reply. Instead, she said, ‘Do you think she left because of something you said?’

He reacted like he’d been stung by a wasp. ‘What – what are you implying?’

‘I’m not implying anything, sir.’

‘Presumably you and your wife do online banking?’ Alldridge asked, jumping in to calm him down.

‘Yes.’

‘Have you checked your bank and her debit and credit cards to see if she’s spent anything since you saw her? For instance, did she buy any cat litter?’ he asked.

‘Good point,’ Niall said. ‘She only ever uses her debit card – she doesn’t like running up interest. Give me a moment, I’ll check our online banking.’ He lifted up his phone, tapped the screen and waited. ‘No transactions on her regular card,’ he announced. ‘I’ll just check the other card.’ He tapped the screen again, then after a short while shook his head. ‘Nope. She’s not bought anything or withdrawn any cash since I saw her, not from the accounts I can see.’