“Can I leave?” I said.

“What?”

“Am I allowed to go out of town?

There was a brief silence at the other end of the line. “Where are you right now?”

“Definitely still in town.”

He sighed.

“But if I were to be, say, thirty miles away, northbound on the A44, would that be illegal? Or, in this hypothetical scenario, can I keep driving?”

“By all means, keep driving.”

“Okay, phew.”

“Check your mirrors.”

“Always do.”

“You’ll know it’s me behind you when you see the flashing lights.”

“That’s a no? I’m not allowed?”

He heaved another put-upon sigh and grudgingly said, “You’re not a suspect or a witness. I still strongly advise against it.”

“I’m not hearing no.”

“Ray. Don’t run away from this.”

“Who’s running? I’m driving. I’m in my car. I thought I’d stay with my parents until you, uh, release the scene. I can’t keep staying at the Premier Lodge.”

“Where do your parents live?”

“Steeple Norton. It’s a village about sixty miles north of Chipping Fairford. I’m almost there.”

“I’m going to need the address. You are still part of an active investigation. Don’t go on holiday abroad or anything, all right?”

“Hah. I wish.”

“Ray.”

“I’m going to stay with my parents until you give me the all-clear. That’s it. I have clients, I have work, I have deadlines. I’m going to take over Giselle’s shed—she calls it a studio—and work my arse off. That’s my plan.”

“Can I convince you it’s a bad plan?” Liam said.

“No. It’s too difficult to be there right now.”

“Leaving town makes you look very suspicious.”

“You literally just told me I’m not a suspect,” I said indignantly.

“I meant to everyone else. You know that, don’t you? Ray?”

“Can I remind you of this morning in the coffee shop? You and Adam are probably the only people in Chipping Fairford who don’t think I did it, or am involved somehow.”

“Come back to town, I’ll find you somewhere to stay, and Jasper won’t have the opportunity to get all overexcited and write any stupid articles about you fleeing the country. Because trust me, heisthat stupid, and if he finds out you’ve gone, I can almost guarantee that is what will be on the front page.”