‘Rita told me she couldn’t make out what they were saying,’ Peter added. ‘But they stopped talking when she turned around, which is rather suspicious.’

‘Did you see where they came from?’

Rita shook her head. ‘No, but they were walking away from the estate towards Blake Hall Road.’

Peter sat up. ‘They could have come out of the flats at the far end of the estate if they’d been visiting someone, I suppose, but remember the garages are at the back of those end flats.’

Jane knew perfectly where the garages were and wished he’d shut up and let his wife speak, but managed to hide her irritation.

‘She didn’t get a good look at them, did you, luv?’ Peter prompted.

‘Not really – it was only a quick glimpse as Spud started yapping and chasing a squirrel, so I had to go after him and didn’t see them again.’

‘I need as much detail as you can recall about them, please, starting with their height?’ Jane asked, eager to get the details down in her pocket notebook. ‘Sometimes it helps to close your eyes, take your time and think about the moment you saw them.’

As Rita closed her eyes Jane could see her husband was about to say something. She politely put a finger to her lips and he reluctantly sat back in his chair.

Rita opened her eyes. ‘The man nearest me was just a bit taller than my husband and the other one was about this much taller.’ She held up two fingers, about eight inches apart.

Peter couldn’t help himself. ‘I’m five foot eight, which would make the taller man Rita saw six foot two or so.’

Jane smiled tightly as she wrote the men’s heights in her pocket notebook.

‘How old do you think they were?’

‘The shorter man was maybe in his mid-forties and the taller one quite a bit younger.’

Peter sat up and leant towards his wife. ‘How much younger, luv?’

‘Eight, ten years, maybe.’

‘What about their clothing?’ Jane asked quickly, to stop Peter calculating their likely ages.

‘The tall man had on a dark blue waist-length jacket and the smaller one was wearing a long black raincoat. I’m sorry, but I can’t remember much about their trousers or shoes other than they were a dark colour as well.’

‘Don’t worry, Mrs Brown, you’re doing really well. This is all very helpful for the investigation.’

‘You forgot to tell her about the newsboy!’

Peter stood up and limped off into the hallway.

‘Was someone delivering papers at the time?’ Jane asked, wondering if there was another potential witness she could speak to.

Rita laughed. ‘No, it’s what the smaller man was wearing. Peter’s got one just like it.’