They waited several minutes, and Keya was considering trying the door handle or peering through a grimy window, when the door opened and a dishevelled, unshaven, plump man looked out. He was still wearing a pair of checked cotton pyjama bottoms and a stained white sleeveless vest, even though it was now mid-morning.
“I was wondering when you lot would turn up.”
“Mr Skinner?” Keya asked.
“Skinner,” spat the man. “That was the bounder my wife ran off with. It’s Bentham. Dennis Bentham, and you better come in. Walls have ears, but doorsteps also have prying eyes.”
Ryan ducked as he entered the cottage, and they found themselves in a cramped living room. It was a state. Empty beer cans, together with used plates, glasses and mugs, littered the coffee and side tables, and shoes and articles of crumpled clothing covered the floor.
The air hung heavy with the smell of burnt fat.
“Sit down, if you can find a space. Things have gone to pot since Doreen ran away and Daisy left us. And Zoe’s not much use. When she’s not at school, she’s being fed rubbish by Aurora and her friend, Viv. They were the ones who told us about Daisy, and they took Zoe with them. You’ll probably find her at their shop.”
Keya and Ryan had both remained standing. Keya asked, “So you know about your daughter’s death?”
“I know she’s dead. Aurora couldn’t quite hide her excitement at breaking the news to me, but she couldn’t tell me how Daisy died. Was it an accident?”
“I’m afraid we don’t know the precise circumstances at the moment, sir,” Keya replied formally.
“Please, call me Dennis. I believe in plain speaking and not standing on ceremony. So you’ll have to …”
Dennis stopped, and his face turned ashen. He collapsed onto the sofa, sitting on top of a black jacket.
Keya thought he’d been about to say ‘cut her up’ and could understand why Dennis hadn’t been able to continue. So she said, “Her body will be examined by a pathologist to ascertain the cause of death.”
“Daisy, my poor little girl,” whimpered a forlorn Dennis.
Keya suspected they wouldn’t get anything else of use out of Dennis Bentham for the moment, so she said, “I’ll ask the family liaison officer to visit, but is there anyone you’d like to come over and be with you?”
Dennis slowly shook his head.
Politely, and because they was the obligatory words for such an occasion, Keya uttered, “Sorry for your loss,” before she and Ryan left the cottage.
Outside, Keya breathed in lungfuls of fresh air.
“How can he live like that?” Ryan asked.
“He probably doesn’t notice. And if he’s always been used to someone else clearing up after him …” Keya’s voice trailed off. She shrugged her shoulders and suggested, “Let’s find Zoe.”
Leaving Keya’s car parked on Barley Row, they walked down the narrow lane. At the bottom, where it joined the road on which the pub and Daisy’s bakery were located, Keya noticed a wooden sign with ‘Footpath to the Standing Stones’ painted on it. It was pointing up Barley Row.
Keya and Ryan entered Aurora’s purple-fronted shop and found they weren’t the only visitors.
“Officers,” called Aurora imperiously over the chatter. “What news?”
All conversation ceased immediately.
“Um,” Keya hesitated. Then taking hold of herself, she ignored the onlookers and said to Aurora, “We’d like to speak to Zoe.”
“Daisy’s sister is in the back. Viv is reading her palm,” Aurora announced to the entire shop.
Ryan rolled his eyes.
Keya and Ryan pushed aside the hanging beads as they followed Aurora into a small space at the back of the shop. There was a soft, delicate smell of lavender.
The only light came from a candle on a central circular table. Viv was holding the hand of a girl whose back was to Ryan and Keya. She had long, brown hair, which was neatly trimmed and stopped just below her shoulders.
Viv ignored them as she said in a sincere voice. “The pain will dissipate and then you will find love.”
The girl must have sensed their presence, as she pulled her hand away and turned to look at the new arrivals. Even in the poor light, Keya could see her eyes were red and puffy and it was clear she’d been crying.
“Zoe Bentham?” Keya asked in a gentle voice.
“Yes,” sniffed the girl. Keya realised she could only be sixteen or seventeen and was probably supposed to be at school today. What if she was missing her exams? A levels were held in June.
“I’m Sergeant Varma, and this is my colleague, Constable Jenkins. We’d like to speak to you about your sister. In private,” Keya added, looking from Viv to Aurora.
“She’s only seventeen,” Aurora protested. “One of us should stay with her.”
“I’ll be OK,” Zoe insisted. “There isn’t anything you can do. I killed my sister!”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Aurora gasped, and Viv reached out and touched Zoe’s arm. “Why did you say that? You weren’t even up at the standing stones.”
Keya decided she’d had enough of the dimly lit room and, spotting a thick blackout blind on the side wall, she crossed to it and pulled the cord. Sunlight filled the room.
