‘Just a little thing, but when she said it, she was shaking her head. It’s one of those gestures that tend to show a person doesn’t actually believe what they’re saying. Maybe he wasn’t quite the nice guy she’s making him out to be?’

‘Worth a look,’ said Styles. ‘Actually, speaking of things that are worth a look, do me a favour and pull over just around the corner.’

‘Why, what’s up?’

‘I’m curious to see if she actually comes out of the house any time soon. She said she was running late to meet her hubby, but we’ve been out a full two or three minutes and she’s not exactly flying out of the house to meet him.’

Porter nodded his head in approval as he started the engine and pulled away.

‘Looks like some of my detective know-how might be rubbing off on you after all.’

‘Don’t flatter yourself,’ said Styles. ‘I picked that one up from an episode of Scooby-Doo.’

Porter shook his head but said nothing and conceded that one. He pulled the car around the corner and switched off the ignition. Five minutes passed and there was still no sign of the gate to the Locke house reopening.

‘Guess she’s had a change of heart about meeting the hubby after all,’ said Styles. ‘Fancy a bite to eat on the way back?’

‘Yep, but I’m choosing this time,’ said Porter. ‘That grotty little cafe you picked last time served me a gastro-bomb with a time delay fuse. I had half a mind to call Environmental Health.’

He had one last glance in the rear-view mirror before pulling away. The conversation with Mary Locke had left him with an uneasy feeling. Most people’s reaction to hearing that there’d been an incident involving a loved one, and he used the term loosely here after the family history he’d learnt, was to ask if they were OK. The fact that he wouldn’t have been able to answer that either way was immaterial. Asking that question would be an unavoidable reflex for the majority of people. The reason that the minority, like Mary Locke, didn’t ask after their welfare tended to be because they already knew the answer, and that rarely worked out well for all concerned.

CHAPTER FIVE

Styles called Gavin Barclay while Porter drove. Locke picked up on the first ring, as if he’d been expecting the call. Had Mary Locke called ahead to let him know they’d be in touch? Styles quickly gave him the same line Porter had spoken into Mary Locke’s intercom, and he said he could meet them for a coffee near his office, and gave a brief description of his appearance so they’d know him.