CHAPTER FOURTEEN

It was nearly midday by the time Keya and Ryan arrived at Cirencester Police Station. Keya’s egg mayonnaise sandwich had been as disappointing as it looked, but the chocolate bar she’d eaten afterwards had almost made up for it.

She still felt alert, but that might have been from the caffeine in her latte. What she really wanted was a cup of normal tea, so she was relieved when Stan followed her into the team room and placed a mug on her desk.

“Thanks, that’s exactly what I need. It’s been a long morning already. Is the inspector interviewing Theo, the dead girl’s boyfriend?”

“No. A lawyer arrived soon after Constable Sparrow brought him in, and they’ve been in discussions ever since. And so have the inspector and Chief Inspector Greg.”

Keya sat down at her desk and turned on her computer. She found the case file Inspector Evans had opened and started writing up her notes from the morning. She found it a therapeutic exercise which, with the aid of her cup of tea, helped her process all that she’d seen and heard.

While there had been a lot of people up at the standing stones, they’d all said the same thing. Daisy had appeared happy, even joyful, and had laughed and danced next to the fire while someone played the flute, but as it started to grow dark, she’d complained that she felt tired, and Theo had helped her sit down beside one of the stones.

Someone thought they saw her smoking, but whether it was a cigarette or drugs, they weren’t sure, and several people witnessed her drinking from a can.

As Aunt Beanie had said, it had been hard to tell what was happening once it grew dark, as the main light came from the fire and the glow sticks some of the revellers had been carrying.

Nobody had remembered seeing Daisy until it had started to get light. As the sun rose, a few people had spotted Theo trying to wake her. It was only when he’d started to panic, and become louder and more agitated, that people had taken notice. But by then, Daisy was probably already dead.

“Sergeant, you’re back,” said Inspector Evans, standing in the doorway of the team room. “I’d like you to interview Theo Watson with me, but I warn you, he’s lawyered up.”

“Do you think he has something to hide?” Keya asked in a thoughtful tone.

“I’ve no idea. But that’s what we need to find out.”

When Keya entered the stark interview room, she thought Theo still looked to be in shock, but the grey walls didn’t help. Unlike when she had seen him earlier at the standing stones, he was sitting up so Keya could now see his whole face. He was handsome, in a roguish sort of way, with a heart-shaped face, chubby cheeks and his fair hair was short on the sides but longer on top.

His white collared shirt was crumpled after spending the night outdoors.

Inspector Evans programmed the recording equipment and then said, “Present are myself, Inspector Dai Evans.”

“Sergeant Keya Varma.”

When Theo didn’t speak, his lawyer, a hawkish looking man with round wire-rimmed glasses balanced on his prominent nose, said, “Rupert Sanderson and my client, Theodore Watson.”

“Thank you, Mr Sanderson,” uttered Inspector Evans. “And for the record, your client is not under arrest. We are trying to establish how Daisy Bentham died and what events led up to her death. We understand your client was with her at the Rollright Standing Stones all last night.”

“Yes. I was,” Theo answered in a resigned tone. He focused his gaze on Keya, and she realised he had small but intense eyes. “How did she die?” he pleaded.

“We’re not sure,” Keya replied in a kindly tone. “And we won’t know until after the post-mortem.”

“Which is being conducted as we speak,” Inspector Evans confirmed. “I checked with our crime scene technician before this interview and, so far, there is no obvious cause of death.”

“So are you saying she died of natural causes, Inspector?” asked the lawyer.

“No, I’m not. I’m saying that no clear cause of death has been found yet.”

Keya looked at Theo and said, “I’m so sorry. I met Daisy last week, and I was thinking of using her bread at my cafe. It’s delicious.”

“I hope you still will,” Theo replied, and he gave her a sad, fleeting smile. “Daisy would want that, although I’ve no idea who’ll run the bakery now she’s…” he faltered and gulped in air, before finishing simply with, “gone.”

“Was it her idea to open the bakery?” Keya asked.

“It was an idea we both developed. Daisy started baking bread to showcase our flour at events, and it proved so popular we thought we should do more. The bakery was more about marketing the mill than about being profitable itself, but Daisy had done so well and, with the commercial clients she was attracting, I was sure it would soon be in the black.”

“And you and Daisy lived together?”

“Yes, in the mill manager’s house beside the stream, along the lane from the mill. I like to be close to work, especially at the height of the season when we operate round the clock. Daisy loved the garden, and she’d started redecorating the house. Nothing expensive, but the previous manger had lived there for over fifty years and the interior was rather dated. My uncle extended the kitchen before I moved in, but the rest of it was up to me. To us.” Theo sniffed again.

Inspector Evans sat back in his blue chair. He seemed content for Keya to continue.

She went on, “I spoke to some of the people in the village today and they all said Daisy was well liked.”

“Of course she was. She was such a wonderful person who always had time for everyone. She liked to walk to the bakery so she could stop to talk to the people she met. And she loved being outside, in the fresh air.”

“So you don’t know of any reason someone would want to hurt her?”

“No, of course not. Why would they do that? Are you saying someone killed her?” Theo’s voice rose in volume.

“No, Mr Watson,” Inspector Evans pacified him. “We’re not making any assumptions. But your girlfriend’s death is suspicious, and we need to establish the facts, while they are fresh in everyone’s memory.”

The lawyer cleared his throat. “My client is clearly upset. If you’ve finished questioning him …”

“Let’s move on to yesterday evening,” interrupted the Inspector. “What time did you and Daisy arrive at the standing stones?”

Theo looked levelly at the inspector and replied, “We left the house at half past seven and walked through the village and up the hill. I offered to drive but Daisy said it was such a lovely evening, we should walk. And we weren’t the only ones. We met Aurora and Viv on the path.”

The inspector sat back again so Keya could continue the questioning.

She asked, “So you arrived at the standing stones around eight?”

“I guess so.”

“And was it busy?”

“Fairly. People weren’t just at the stone circles. They were walking along the edge of the field to the Whispering Knights tomb, which is another group of stones, while others were in the woods or sitting around eating and drinking.” Theo stopped and looked directly at her. “I should probably tell you that it wasn’t my idea to go to the solstice event. In fact, I would have been much happier staying at home and having an early night. We’re currently preparing the mill for harvest season and there’s a lot of work to do.”

“So it was Daisy’s idea?”

“Yes, and she was so excited that I agreed to go with her. I was actually quite relieved when she finished dancing around the fire and told me she felt tired. I suggested we find a spot to sit down, so we did, inside the stone circle. We happily sat together watching the fire as darkness fell and then she closed her eyes and rested her head on my shoulder. I covered us both with blankets and I must have dozed off as well.”

Theo’s gaze dropped, and Keya thought he was considering the night’s events.

“I kept waking during the night and when I did, there were always people talking softly and some were even wandering about near the fire. The atmosphere was pleasant and peaceful, but also with an undertone of anticipation. Although the sun didn’t rise until nearly five, it was getting light from around four and people were moving about and preparing for it. That’s when I tried to wake Daisy. But I couldn’t.”

Theo gulped before continuing in a dry voice, “I removed our blankets and shook her, but her eyes remained closed. I think I started to panic. I know an elderly lady with a bright yellow headscarf came to help. She told me Daisy was dead. But I didn’t believe her. She tried to drag me away, but I stayed with Daisy, waiting for her to wake up.”