Llewellyn was gone for more than an hour. When he returned, Rafferty pushed aside the paperwork with a frustrated sigh and asked, 'How did you get on?'
'Smith knew several weeks beforehand that Mrs Penny would be going out that night.'
'Time enough for him to confide the information to his loving family, then,' Rafferty concluded. 'Go on.'
'Apart from the local shopkeepers, Mrs Penny was certain she told no one else. She told me there was no one else for her to tell.'
'Mmm. Gives us a lead to Jes Bullock, if nothing else. What about the neighbours? Did any of them notice a strange car on Mrs Penny's hard-standing?'
'Unfortunately, that alleyway leads not only to the back gardens of the houses, but also to a row of rented Council garages. One of the men who rents a garage there works a
