“I walked down to the farm shop to use the facilities,” said Gilly. “And I returned around twenty to five and found Aunt Beanie trying to calm Theo down.”

Aunt Beanie took up the narrative. “As I was returning from my half-hearted attempt at yoga, I passed in front of the stone where Daisy was sitting. Theo was leaning over and shaking her and kept saying, ‘wake up’. Of course she didn’t. Even in the dim light, I could tell by her pallor that she was dead. But Theo couldn’t, and he was starting to panic. I stepped in and checked for a pulse, praying there was one, but of course there wasn’t. I tried to drag Theo away, but he insisted on staying with Daisy. That’s when I asked Gilly to call you.”

Some of the colour had returned to Gilly’s cheeks, and she said in a business-like tone, “There was no phone signal at the stones, so I went back to the farm shop and called you from there. I bought two coffees, which I carried back to Beanie, and then we waited for you.”

“And Theo?” Keya asked.

“I think he was in shock,” Aunt Beanie replied. “He wouldn’t leave Daisy’s body until a man in a trilby hat arrived and said he’d stay with her. We did manage to get half a cup of tea into him, but nothing more. He just sat in the camping chair moaning, his head in his hands.”

“And the other people?” Keya asked.

Gilly, whose cheeks now had a rosy tint to them, replied, “There were new arrivals for sunrise, but it didn’t take long for people to realise there was a dead body. Oh, and I’d forgotten about the boy.”

“What boy?” asked Keya.

“A youth with a shaved head. He went to talk to Daisy but when he realised she was dead, he started shouting into the crowd. That was when the atmosphere changed. I’m not sure what happened next,” admitted Gilly, “as I left to call you.”

Keya remembered Ash, the shaven-headed lad who’d come into the bakery.

“Was he wearing black?” Keya asked.

“Actually he was, which was strange amongst all the brightly coloured outfits, but at least he had a light coloured T-shirt under the black jacket,” Gilly remembered. “Pale green I think.”

“What happened when people realised there was a dead body?” Keya thought she already knew the answer.

“They left,” Aunt Beanie said. “Said the solstice was cursed. Most of the people who’d waited all night stayed, but not all of them. Some packed up, but others, like the woman with the shop in the village, were visibly excited.”

“But people thought it was a hoax,” Gilly said. “I heard them discussing what they thought was a publicity stunt for the standing stones. For that woman’s shop.” Gilly shook her head and said in a small voice, “But it wasn’t a hoax, was it?”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

At the end of the interview, Keya asked Gilly, “Can I take your phone and download the photos you took this morning?”

Gilly retrieved her phone from a large leather handbag and pressed some keys before sliding it across the table to Keya.

Keya swiped through the photos until she came across one of Gilly’s children, Thomas and Olivia. Stopping, she clicked on all the photos after the children and sent them to herself. She’d pass them on to Sujin.

“Thanks,” she said, handing the phone back.

The interview complete, Keya escorted Aunt Beanie and Gilly out of the police station.

“You will keep us updated, won’t you?” pleaded Gilly, as she stood on the concrete entrance steps.

Rays of sunshine warmed Keya’s face.

“I’ll tell you what I can,” Keya agreed.

“And how was the play last night?” Aunt Beanie asked. “I haven’t seen Dotty to ask her if you had a chance to look round the gardens?”

“During the interval we followed a trail through the woods and gardens, and saw acrobats, a fire-eater, and a mermaid.”

Aunt Beanie’s eyes widened and then she realised, “Of course, in the stone plunge pool.”

“I did enjoy the play, although I found it a bit silly, which wasn’t what I was expecting from Shakespeare,” Keya admitted.

“That’s a shame,” Aunt Beanie sympathised.

“But it was still a fun night, and we had a lovely picnic. And now I better get back to work.”

“Of course. We shouldn’t keep you chatting when you’re investigating the death of a young woman. But pop in sometime when you visit Dotty.”

Aunt Beanie and Gilly walked away as Keya turned and re-entered the police station. She found the team room full and as she pushed past Stan to reach her desk, Inspector Evans said, “And now Sergeant Varma has joined us, we can begin.”

“Sorry, sir,” Keya muttered as she sat down behind her desk. Sujin was seated at his old desk, next to Ryan, and Stan was leaning against it.

Sitting at the desk next to Keya was one of the young officers she recognised from the crime scene.

Inspector Evans, who continued to wear his brown suit jacket in spite of the hot, sticky atmosphere of the team room, was standing in the doorway to his office.

Keya rolled up the sleeves of her white shirt and remembered she needed to wash her short-sleeved ones.

“First, I’d like to introduce Constable Warren Sparrow, who’s been seconded to our team for the duration of this investigation.”

Constable Sparrow looked barely older than Gilly’s son, Thomas. He was thin, with a narrow face and a mop of dark curls. And he looked absolutely petrified.

Everyone murmured their version of “Hello,” and “Welcome”.

“Back to the case,” instructed Inspector Evans. “Sergeant Varma, what have you discovered during your interviews?”

“The accounts all add up, sir. The victim was happy yesterday evening and enjoying herself up at the standing stones until, just before dark, she complained of being tired, and her boyfriend, Theo Watson, helped her to sit down by a stone. The following morning, he tried to wake her, but he couldn’t because she was dead.”

Inspector Evans raised his eyebrows and said, “Very succinctly put.” He turned to Sujin and asked, “What can you tell us about the post-mortem?”

“Daisy Bentham died between midnight and two am, when her heart stopped beating. The reason for this has not yet been established, but there was no sign of trauma or bleeding, internal or external. The only anomaly is a large amount of fluid in her lungs, but that could have happened after her heart stopped, particularly as she was in a sitting position. Blood has been sent to the lab and I’ve also asked for a sample to test. Perhaps the answer will lie there.”

“Witnesses saw her drinking from a can and smoking something they didn’t think was a cigarette,” Keya added.

“I have an empty cider can and the butt of a roll-up, which I’ll test,” Sujin responded.

The inspector cleared his throat before asking, “Could this just be a simple heart attack? It does happen to young, seemingly healthy people.”

“A sudden cardiac arrest can occur, but the post-mortem would have highlighted the reason for it,” Sujin responded. “Either blocked arteries or the heart muscle being too thick or too hard. There was nothing like that in this case, so something else caused her heart to stop.”

Inspector Evans scratched the bald part of his head. “But we have no idea what? Or how? Or if anyone else was involved? Sergeant, have you discovered anyone who’d want to harm our victim?”

“She was well liked,” Keya replied. “She did fall out with her father over her boyfriend, Theo Watson, and he kicked her out of his house. But she moved into the mill manager’s house with Theo, and they seemed happy. And she’d recently opened a bakery in the village.”