The Body on the Shore by The Body on the Shore (retail) (epub)

Author:The Body on the Shore (retail) (epub) [Shore, The Body on the]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781788632225
Publisher: Canelo Digital Publishing Ltd
Published: 2018-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

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Gillard dropped Tsu at Godalming railway station, just over five minutes from the village where the Lund children went to school. Driving out of the station car park, something occurred to him. On the edge of the town they had passed a Fiat dealership, still seemingly open late on a Sunday afternoon. He now turned around to go back to the place. The moment he set foot inside the showroom, a smartly dressed young man approached him with the usual sales patter. Before he’d got too far, Gillard identified himself and then showed him a photo of the au pair’s car. ‘Do you have any Fiat 500s in this livery?’

‘Yes, just the one.’ He led Gillard over to the car, near the front of the window of the dealership. ‘It’s pretty sporty for such an economical model, with three years warranty of course.’

‘Yes, thank you, but actually I don’t want to buy it. I’m on an investigation.’

The young man pushed his hand through his dark hair. ‘Sorry, force of habit. Is this about those two abducted children? Seen that on the television. Terrible business.’

‘Indeed it is. So if I wanted to take it for a test drive, would I need to book it in advance?’

The salesman now look confused ‘So you are interested?’

‘No, I mean if a customer wanted to take a test drive. A punter.’

‘Not necessarily. It depends.’

‘And you would go with the potential customer?’

‘Normally, unless we know them.’

‘Do you keep a record of the test drives?’

‘Well, we’re supposed to.’ He gave a conspiratorial look. ‘But in practice not always.’ The salesman led Gillard into the office and opened a ring binder. ‘They’re in here.’

‘Was this particular car taken on a test drive on Tuesday last week?’

The salesman smiled. ‘Oh yes, I’ve no need to look that one up. It was, but it was returned within 25 minutes. I had thought about that when I saw the appeal on TV.’

‘You’re sure it was back that quickly?’

‘Yes.’

Gillard shrugged and thanked the man. Still, it had been worth a try. He returned to his car and sat inside, and was just about to start the engine when he changed his mind. The salesman smiled to see him return. ‘Decided to buy after all, sir?’

Gillard smiled indulgently. ‘Do you remember who took it for a spin?’

‘Yes, a charming Italian woman. She had been shopping for a Fiat for some time. Said her father used to make them. It was her third test drive in a week.’

‘No one else?’

He checked the ledger. ‘Nope, that was it for that day.’

‘Did you or one of your colleagues go with her?’

‘No. As I say she had been a couple of times before. We trusted her not to drive off with it. We took an imprint of her credit card.’

‘No children in the car when she got back?’

‘No. Just her.’

‘I’d still like a record of her details, if you have them,’ Gillard said.

The salesman flicked through a filing cabinet. ‘We don’t keep the credit card imprint, but I do recall a passport.

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