That hit some kind of sweet spot in the detective, he saw. She perked up. Second time?

‘She went down the first time about a week earlier. I remember it was the day before the 9/11 ten-year anniversary. When I got back from work, she still had the car, though. She told me the people there had refused to take it because of the hit-and-run that had happened.’

‘Ah. That’s been mentioned before, see. Tell me.’

A week before Anna’s first visit to Watson-Bruce Salvage, two hikers had been killed in Ealing on a remote stretch of road. Young students, mown down by a driver who didn’t stop. No cameras, no clues, but three days in the police, after some laboratory magic on paint flecks found on the victims, announced that they were seeking a lido blue Fiat Punto from 2003–2006. Same as Anna’s. Anna hadn’t known about the Punto enquiry, but mechanics at the scrapyard had and they’d told her she needed to keep the car until it was cleared by police. Five days later, police knocked on her door. After her car was checked and cleared of involvement, she returned to Watson-Bruce Salvage and legally scrapped it. Nick had accompanied her in his car in order to drive her back.

Miller nodded. ‘I’ve had my share of car enquiries. A pain to trace and eliminate. Thankfully I don’t have to do such footwork now, a hundred times asking, where were you on so-and-so night. Anyhows, where was Anna on the night of that hit-and-run?’

A question, he said, she had already answered for police in London. Her boss, Marc Eastman, had been driving to a function, some forty miles from the scene of the accident, and he’d called her to pick him up. Although by the time she got there he’d already decided to go by taxi.

‘Why Anna?’

She sometimes drove him in her car so he could remain inconspicuous. ‘So what’s the connection here, Detective? You think when Anna scrapped the car she might have mentioned how rich her dad was? The scrapyard has to be connected, that’s what you’re getting at. Maybe this Dominic overheard her talk about her dad, then grew up and decided he wanted some of that money. So he got her details from the files. Then he set this whole thing up. Maybe it’s a scam the scrapyard has going. Find out who’s rich and go rob them or—’

He stopped, already knowing it was a big reach.

Miller shrugged. ‘Connected, yes. Your theory… possible. But I should mention that my sergeant told me that Anna reacted to the name Watson-Bruce with shock. He believes she knew the name.’

He couldn’t miss the hidden accusation. ‘So? I remembered the name. I also reacted with shock, as you just saw. The name is memorable because of the story about the hit-and-run. What are you saying it means?’