building at the edge of the plaza just short of the toll booths. It was commuting time and traffic was heavy in both directions. He told her to sit tight while he found Madog.
She watched him approach a young woman in toll collector's uniform who came out of the building to light a cigarette. She looked uncertain as McAvoy gave his spiel and glanced suspiciously over at Jenny, before pointing to one of the booths in the middle of the plaza. McAvoy thanked her and cadged a light before hopping out between the queues of traffic, giving the finger to the driver of a Range Rover who took exception to being held up for half a second.
She didn't have a clear view, but she could see enough to realize that Madog was reluctant to stop work. She saw McAvoy rap on the glass and gesticulate, then finally step out into the toll lane and block it off with two plastic bollards. The angry chorus of car horns he provoked brought a supervisor hurrying out of the building. Jenny jumped out of the car and intercepted him.
'Excuse me, sir. Jenny Cooper, Severn Vale District Coroner. My colleague and I need to talk to one of your staff, Mr Frank Madog.'
'What?' He pointed to her car. 'Who said you could park there? It's an access lane.' The supervisor was in his early thirties, pasty, overweight and spoiling for a fight.
She thrust a hand in to her coat pocket and dug out a business card. 'I'm on an official investigation. Mr Madog is obliged to cooperate by law. I'd be grateful if you could arrange for him to come over.'
McAvoy's voice carried over the din, colourfully cursing the driver of the lorry that was nudging aggressively up to his bollards.
Ignoring the card, the supervisor said, 'Who's that bloody lunatic?'
Jenny said, 'I don't know. Why don't you take his registration?'
Judging by the tattoos on the backs of his hands, Frank Madog had a thing for Elvis. He'd swept his thin ginger hair into a semblance of a quiff and there was a hint of finger drapes about his overlong dandruff-scattered blazer, too roomy for his bony shoulders. That wasn't a patch of wall in the module of portable cabins which served as a temporary canteen for the bridge staff that wasn't decorated with a no smoking sign. Deprived of a cigarette, Madog's nicotine- stained fingers fiddled with the frames of his greasy glasses.
'You're not kidding it was a long time ago,' Madog said, 'more 'n eight years.'
'You remember my associate, Billy Dean, coming to talk to you in '03? Big bull of a guy. Bald, red face. Ugly looking.'
'I think so.' He sounded far from certain.
'Come on, Mr Madog, how often does collecting the tolls get you interviewed by a private investigator?'
Madog rubbed his forehead, showing yellow teeth as he grimaced. 'Like I said, I think I remember the man.'
Jenny threw McAvoy a look, urging him to go easy. This was an official visit by the coroner, after all.
He struck a reasonable tone: it was clearly a strain. 'I spoke with Mr Dean at the time, he gave me your details. He said you saw a black Toyota MPV coming through on the night of 28 June 2002. Two stocky-looking white men in the front, two Asian boys in the back. You told him it was an unusual sight - that's why you remembered.'
Madog looked at Jenny with a vague expression, as if this information only rang the faintest of bells. 'He's got a better memory than I have.'
'Actually he's dead,' McAvoy said, 'otherwise we'd have brought him along. His face would've jogged your memory all right.'
Jenny said, 'I would like you to do your best, Mr Madog. I will be calling you as a witness to my inquest.'
Madog's Adam's apple rose and fell in his crepe throat. 'Look, I might have told your friend I saw a car, but I've had a lot of nights out since then if you know what I mean.' He tapped his temple. 'The old memory slips a cog now and again.'
Jenny sighed. 'Are you saying you don't remember the four men in the black Toyota? It's very important you tell the truth, Mr Madog.'
Madog looked from Jenny to McAvoy, and back again, his mouth beginning to work but failing to produce a sound.
Admiring Madog's tattoos, McAvoy said, 'It's his gospel stuff I like best. 'Peace in the Valley' - you know that one?'
Madog gave a cautious nod.
McAvoy said, 'Do you remember how it goes? I've forgotten.'
Madog and Jenny traded a look.
'Come on, Frank,' McAvoy said, 'You know that one. Let me see now . . . 'Well the morning's so bright and the lamb is the light, and the night is as black, as black as the sea.'' He began to sing, the words coming back to him in an unbroken stream. ' 'And the beasts of the wild will be led by a child, and I'll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes indeed . . .'' He smiled. 'A beautiful message of hope. We're all going to change, Frank, and if he managed to avoid the hot place, even my friend Mr Dean'll have cheeks sweet enough to kiss by now.'
Jenny felt her face redden with embarrassment, but McAvoy was in full flow and not in any mood to stop.
'You see, the King was a deeply religious man, Frank, which is why I believe he did get to heaven despite all the drugs and girls and what have you. And I'm sure you'll agree that any true fan would hate to sully his precious memory by telling a lie, especially about such a grave and important matter.' He leaned forward across the table and placed his hand on top of Madog's. 'Can you imagine meeting him on the other side and trying to tell him why you didn't tell the whole truth? There's a mother down the road crying for her lost boy, Frank.'
Madog slowly eased his hand out from under McAvoy's.
'So what have you got to tell us?' McAvoy said.
'Who were they?' Madog said. 'What's this all about?'
Jenny said, 'As far as we know, they were just two young university students. They went missing, the police couldn't trace them and it's my job to find out if they're alive or dead. And if they are dead, how they died.'
'Oh. Right.' Madog rubbed his temples.
McAvoy gave him a moment, glanced at Jenny, then said, 'Someone else has spoken to you about this, haven't they? You're among friends now, Frank, we'll start with that, shall we?'
Madog looked up at Jenny. 'What happens with this information?'
'It helps me to find the truth. And if there's criminality involved, it may be used to assist a prosecution.'
'You are the coroner?'
'You've seen Mrs Cooper's picture in the Post, Frank. Check out her website - she hasn't even had herself airbrushed.'
Madog nodded. 'OK. Only your friend told me he was a detective. That's the only reason I spoke to him. He threatened to charge me if I didn't.'
McAvoy said, 'I apologize posthumously on his behalf. He was good to his wife and kids.'
Jenny opened the legal pad she had waiting in front of her, 'All right, Mr Madog - when you're ready.'
'It was like I told your man way back when - I saw a black Toyota, two white fellas in the front, about eleven o'clock at night. One of them, the driver, was kind of thickset with a shaved head. The passenger had a ponytail.'
'What age were they?' Jenny said.
'Thirties . . . And the two lads in the back were both Asians. Bearded, but young looking - teenagers almost.'
'What made you notice them?'
'I suppose they seemed scared. One of them looked at me with these big brown eyes almost like he was trying to say something.'
'Did anyone in the car speak to you?'
'Nothing. Not a word. That's another thing - you usually get a thank you. I make a point of being cheerful to the customers . . .' He paused to recall. 'No, this fella had a face like thunder. A real tough nut.' He swallowed, anxious. 'But it was the other one who came after me.'
