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“I’m telling you that so you know why I might be up at odd hours is all,” he went on. “And the other thing you should know is that my mate Dougie is one of the ones that had his car stolen, so I know that there’s been a problem.”

McKeefe again, Tilly thought. His name was coming up a lot. “Okay.”

“Anyway, I don’t know if it’s anything, but it’s happened a few times now and that’s got me thinking that it might be something.”

“What’s happened exactly?” Tilly asked, starting to get impatient.

“Cars driving down past the back window at odd times of night. The house doesn’t back onto a main road or anything. It’s Moore Street if you want to check. There’s usually not much traffic there at all. But for the last few weeks, I’ve been seeing and hearing cars down there. Usually late, around one or two.”

Tilly nodded. “Alright, okay, that’s… helpful information. Thank you.” Her mind was already buzzing. There might be cameras down there, she might be able to see the registration plates of cars. On the other hand, it could be nothing. Maybethere were roadworks somewhere and people were avoiding them, for example.

“Just wanted to say,” Len said. “Cracking tea, thanks.”

“You’re very welcome,” Tilly said, but she was already getting up. “I’m going to have to get that information checked out. Feel free to stay until you’ve finished your tea.” And then she was gone.

Five minutes later, she knew that there were no cameras around Moore Street. But she also knew something else. Moore Street ran parallel to the main street through town. Which meant it ran right along the back side of the Farmer’s garage.

IT WASN’T THAT she didn’t consider Sophie. It was that this was her job, and they had an agreement and Tilly had honestly thought that they could both handle it.

But when she and Max walked through the door of the garage, the smell of oil and petrol hitting her nose, she could see by the look on Sophie’s face that this wasn’t going to be as simple as all that.

“Paul,” Max said with a nod.

“What do you want?” Paul Farmer said. His son, Gio, was standing right behind him, a large wrench in his hand.

Max sighed. “Don’t make this difficult,” he said. “We’ve had some information about cars being spotted around these parts.”

“It’s a garage. What do you expect?” Paul sneered.

“Late at night, when there shouldn’t be cars,” Max went on calmly. “Now, it’s only a bit of information. I could apply for a warrant. But I thought you might let me have a little look around, keep things quiet and off the record for now.”

Gio stepped forward. “So you can plant something?”

“He wouldn’t do that,” said Tilly.

Max waved a hand at her to quieten her. “You’re welcome to be with me every step of the way,” he said. “I just want to have a look at what’s out in the open. Just make sure everything’s alright.” He paused. “Or I could get that warrant.”

Paul Farmer shook his head at his son. “Let him look,” he said. “We’ve got nothing to hide.”

Sophie stepped out from behind her desk. Tilly’s heart skipped a beat, and it was all she could do not to smile at her.

“They’ve done nothing,” said Sophie, determinedly looking at Max and not at Tilly.

Tilly took a breath. Maybe she shouldn’t have come, but this was her case.

“I hear you,” Max said. “But I’d like a look around, anyway.”

“I live with them both,” said Sophie. “I’d know if they were out at night chopping up cars, and they’re not. You’ve got my word. They’re not doing anything.”

“Stay out of it,” Paul said to Sophie. “Let the bastards have a look around.” He nodded to Gio. “You go with them, make sure they don’t leave anything behind.”

Max and Tilly began looking around the garage, followed closely by Gio. Max had already told her the rules here. They weren’t to touch anything, they could only look at what was in plain sight, so no opening any drawers or cupboards. As they wandered around the place, looking for any signs that any of the stolen cars might have been here, Tilly could feel Sophie’s eyes on her.

It felt like a long time, but it was only around ten minutes or so, before Max stopped, turned back to Paul Farmer, and thanked him.

“Told you you’d find nothing,” Paul said. “Go on then, get out of here. And next time, bring a bloody warrant.”

“Hopefully, that won’t be necessary,” Max said, leading Tilly out of the garage and back to the street.