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didn’t turn up for work the next day I just thought he was still feeling bad so I didn’t call Tina until the day after. No, wait a minute …’
    He scratched at his beard again.
    ‘She called here first, asking if Alan had come in to work. I said he hadn’t and that I wondered if he was still sick, but she hung up. I rang a couple more times because as I said before, we’re busy and we needed him here, but he never rang back and she said she hadn’t seen him.’
    ‘On that Monday, was he acting strangely?’
    ‘What do you mean? All he said to me was he had a headache and he looked a bit off-colour.’
    ‘How about other times previous to that Monday?’
    ‘I don’t understand.’
    ‘Well, had he acted out of character?’
    ‘No. He was a quiet one, though. He wasn’t a drinker and he never socialised with either me or the other mechanics, but he was a hard worker and a nice bloke.’
    ‘Did you meet Tina on any other occasions?’
    ‘Not really. I’d seen her, obviously; she’d collected Alan a couple of times when his car wasn’t roadworthy. She’d just pull up, toot her horn, and he’d drive off with her.’ He shrugged. ‘To be honest, I think she thought of herself as being above the restof us. They never even came to the bit of a do we had over last Christmas, but that wasn’t my business.’
    ‘Did he have a locker?’
    ‘Yeah, it’s at the back of the garage. Used to keep some of his clothes here and change when he turned up for work.’
    ‘Can we see it?’
    ‘Course. I’ve not emptied it, just in case.’
    ‘Just in case of what?’
    They followed Joe out from his office across the garage.
    ‘Him coming back to work. I miss him, and I tell you something—he’s been working on that Merc of his for months. He is planning to sell it and should get a good price, maybe not a lot right now, but if he holds on to it it’ll get a nice wedge as it’s in great nick and he was just waiting for a soft top to be delivered.’
    Joe took out a large ring of keys as they approached a row of thin lockers. The two mechanics working on the Volvo looked over then returned to work. Inside the locker was a pair of greasy stained overalls, a pair of oil-streaked trainers, and a couple of jumpers. On the top shelf were manuals and auto-repair magazines. Paul checked the pockets of the overalls and flicked through the magazines. They found nothing personal; in one pocket was a packet of aspirin and a folded handkerchief.
    ‘Do you know if everything was all right between Alan and Tina?’
    Joe hunched his shoulders and gave a wide gesture.
    ‘I wouldn’t know. He was a very private guy. Like I said, I only met her a couple of times. I think they were going to get married, but he never really even discussed that with me.’
    Joe led them out of the garage and towards the workshop storing the cars waiting for repair. Covered in a green tarpaulin was Alan Rawlins’s Mercedes and it was, as he had said, in verygood condition. Joe went into a long explanation of what Alan had done, from respraying to fitting new engine parts. Even the leather seats had been re-upholstered.
    ‘It’s odd that he wouldn’t want to take this, wherever he is. He must have spent weeks on it—in his own time, mind—but I know he was waiting for that soft top to be delivered. Maybe …’
    ‘Maybe?’ Anna prompted.
    ‘I don’t know. It’s just not like him to take off without letting me know. He’s worked here for five years, and he’s been a bloody good employee, always on time. In fact, he’s hardly ever taken a day off unless for his holidays.’
    ‘Do you know where he went on these holidays?’
    Joe nodded. ‘Well, I know he went on a sailing trip in Turkey once and a number of times he went surfing in Cornwall.’ Joe gestured at the workshop. ‘His board is back there. He said he didn’t have much space in his flat and could he store it there. It was an expensive one, because I think he was pretty good at