"About your height," McGee said, looking Tamara up and down. "Brown hair. Long brown hair, straight. Probably in her thirties. Made up. You know, attractive. She was wearing white jeans and a blue jumper. I've always liked a woman in white trousers." Tamara found that particular revelation a little peculiar to be sharing. "I thought the jumper was an odd choice. She must have been warm in it because it was wool or cashmere. Really odd choice for June."
"Been chilly in the mornings recently and the storm hasn't helped."
"Right enough. You should see the damage the wind has done to my plants! Flattened a lot of them."
"Was she carrying anything?" Cassie asked. McGee looked at her. "When she left. Was she carrying anything?"
"What, like a bag or something?"
Cassie shrugged. "Whatever."
"No, I don't think so." His eyes narrowed. "Not that I can remember."
"A red Golf, you say?"
McGee nodded.
"What about Mr Gage in general?" Tamara asked. "What was he like to have around? Did he get many visitors?"
"Can't say as I know, which probably means he didn't. Unless they came after I'd clocked off and gone home. I never heard anyone discussing any loud parties or anything. I reckon he was a quiet bloke. Did his own thing. I never heard anyone say a bad word about him. You should probably speak to the manager. He's here a lot more than me, knows everyone, comings and goings."
"Okay. Is he here now?"
McGee shook his head. "Taken a couple of days off. Switchover with the guests, so it goes quiet until they leave and the next ones arrive."
"Is it okay if I leave you a card and you can have him call me when he's back?"
"Of course, happy to."
"You don't live here then?" Tamara said, indicating towards the windmill.
"No. I live a way up the hill. But I'm here every day."
"And going back to this woman," Tamara said. "Do you happen to remember the number plate on her car, or anything else that might be useful?"
"Can't help you with the plate, I'm afraid. Never been one for numbers."
"What about her? Anything else stand out in your memory?"
"As I said, been here a few times. Come to think about it, she often had a kid with her."
Cassie and Tamara exchanged glances. Tamara encouraged him to continue.
"Yeah, a few times I saw her with a little girl. She was like a spit of her, so I guess it was her daughter. Yeah, must have been her daughter, thinking about it. Not seen the kid for a while, though."
"Right, thanks for that, Mr McGee. We'll need to speak to you again in order to get all of this down more formally, but I think we can leave it there for now."
"Okay. Well, you know where to find me. Pleased I could help. Nasty business."
"It is that Mr McGee. Thanks for coming forward."
The man turned and left, heading back into the complex and disappearing from view. Cassie sucked air through her teeth, drawing Tamara's attention.
"Go on then," she said. "Say what you're thinking."
"Timescale certainly fits. Regular visitor, flustered."
"And the rest."
Tamara fixed Cassie with a stare. Cassie looked away as she spoke.
"A red Volkswagen Golf?"
Tamara nodded solemnly. "Yep. A red Golf."
Chapter Nine
Tamara was well aware Cassie was thinking the same as her but chose not to voice it. Pretty soon they would need to address the matter but for now, without anything akin to a smoking gun, they would proceed with caution. She wasn't ready to pull on that particular thread just yet.
"I haven't spoken to the neighbours who found him yet," Cassie said. "Maybe we should have a word before we decide next steps?"
Cassie was being diplomatic, skirting the newly discovered elephant in the room. It was a good idea but what these people had to say might only make matters more uncomfortable. Tamara hoped not. They cut through the yard and onto the path leading to another route across the marsh towards the beach. Tamara noticed a massive cast-iron seal on what she guessed was a tidal gate, part of the system to avoid the village flooding. It didn't look like it had moved in years though, so how effective it might be if needed she wasn't sure.
The gate into the garden of the next-door property was ajar, and Cassie led the way. This was another stone-built house, in the same style as Adrian Gage's, although much larger. It was rectangular, probably a former storage barn, and sat to one side of the plot with its exterior making up the perimeter wall of Gage's courtyard. There were no windows overlooking the area though, so no chance of the occupants having witnessed anything inside the house.
They found a couple sitting at a table on a patio in the shaded part of the garden. The man rose as they approached, forcing a smile. He didn't bother to ask, he'd already guessed they were with the police. Tamara took out her warrant card anyway and introduced them. They were offered seats and accepted, sitting down opposite the couple.
"This isn't what I was expecting to be doing today, I must say."
Tamara smiled sympathetically. "It must have been quite a shock, finding your neighbour like you did. I am right in thinking it was you and not your wife who found Mr Gage?"
"Yes, it was me. Marjorie," he indicated his wife beside him, "commented on the noise the cat was making. Very unusual. It kept going on and in the end I said I'd have a look."
His wife elaborated.
"Adrian is very good with looking after his cat," she said. "I think the creature loves being home so much it hardly goes out. I always said that was strange, but Adrian described it as a house cat. We used to look after it when he was away."
Tamara thought on that point. "My understanding is that he hadn't lived here very long. Less than a year?"
Marjorie nodded. "Yes, that's true. But he is away so often with his work. And we
