Closely follow the scandal of the Three Blind Mice? (8)
I believe the answer is:
tailgate
'closely follow' is the definition.
(to tailgate is to follow a vehicle too closely)
'the scandal of the three blind mice?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found in the answer.
'scandal' could be 'gate' (as in Watergate and other formations) and 'gate' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'ail' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
(Other definitions for tailgate that I've seen before include "track close to bumper" , "flap" , "To drive too close" , "Follow close behind" , "Closely follow" .)