Returning to his desk, he went straight back to reread the first report about the body in the burned-out car. The 2002 Honda Civic was registered to a man in Reading, who claimed to have sold it for cash at a layby a week previously. The purchasers were described as a heavily tattooed and ponytailed man, and a large woman with frizzy hair. They looked to be in a hurry. The car was driven around the block to confirm it was a runner, money was exchanged, and the buyers drove away. Gillard knew of the location used. The layby was a well-known site for casual car trade. Many of the cars sold there had been stolen, but if the price was low enough, buyers often didn’t care. The chance of anyone being caught was low. Although 100,000 uninsured vehicles were seized across the country by police every year, it was just the tip of the iceberg.

So Ozzy Blanchard was dead. Gillard would never have the chance to interrogate him and get to the bottom of what exactly was going on at Aqua Western. The big question now was what had happened to Crystal Willow. If she was still alive, it was more vital than ever that she was found. Then the next mystery: Ozzy couldn’t have killed himself and somehow set fire to his own car. Somebody else had. And it couldn’t be the Ticketts.

Because they were all in custody.

The photographs of Ozzy Blanchard’s badly burned corpse were as horrifying as expected. Gillard had been forwarded the shots by Thames Valley Police, along with the DNA confirmation of identity. They had already broken the news to his wife Angela, and briefed the employer. The cause of death was not burns or smoke inhalation but the single gunshot wound to the head. An execution. This fact was being withheld from all except those closely involved in the inquiry.

Gillard sat back with his hands cupped behind his head. If none of the Tickett family had killed Ozzy, who did? The information he had received showed that Ozzy had been with Crystal Willow when they bought the car. Where on earth could she be now? The circumstances of the killing were curious too. A quiet rural farm lane, but so close to Chieveley Services. There were far more remote locations that the killer could have chosen. It made it seem like this was an arranged meeting.

Except for one thing.