A few minutes later, the shaven headed figure of Ashley entered the office. He was dressed in black jeans and a light-blue Stone Circle Flour T-shirt.
“You want …” He broke off when he saw Keya sitting on a grey reception chair. “I suppose you want to talk to me about Daisy? I didn’t kill her, if that’s what you think. I would never harm Daisy. I loved her.”
“Come and sit down, Mr Ricketts.”
“Call me Ash. Everyone else does.”
“OK, Ash. As you’ve deduced, I’m here to talk to you about Daisy. I take it the two of you have been friends for a long time.”
“For ever. We’re the same age so we were in the same year at school, and we used to catch the school bus together to Chipping Norton. We’ve always been friends.”
“But you wanted something more than friendship?” Keya suggested.
“Of course. We were going to get married and have children and live in a little cottage. That’s what we’d talked about since we were young.”
“But then Theo arrived, and all that changed?”
“Yeah. And how could I compete with the new mill manager? One of Sir Anthony’s relations.”
“How did you feel when Daisy’s father threw her out and she moved into Mill House?”
“I felt sorry for Daisy. Mr Bentham always made her do all the jobs around the house, and he even had her working on his business. That’s why she wouldn’t come away with me to work in London.”
“You had a job in London?”
“Yeah. For an insurance company. I’m good with computers. But Daisy wouldn’t leave her father and her sister. So we both stayed.”
Keya clarified, “So you stayed here and gave up your future career for Daisy?”
“Yeah. We said we’d always be together.”
Keya wondered at the simplicity of Ash’s love for Daisy. “So you must have felt let down and hurt when Daisy moved into Mill House.”
“I did, but I understood. She had nowhere else to go. And she could hardly move in with my mam, brother, and me. We’re cramped enough as it is.”
“But you thought it was only temporary?”
Ash pursed his lips together. “Yeah. But then Theo told me to stop calling round to visit Daisy. He said she didn’t want to see me, which I knew was a lie. Daisy wouldn’t do that.”
Keya wasn’t so sure. She could believe Theo wanting to put a stop to Ash’s visits, but he might have done so at Daisy’s request if she didn’t want to hurt Ash’s feelings. Whichever was correct, Ash was clearly on the wrong side of the love triangle.
“Did you ever threaten Daisy?”
“Don’t be daft,” Ash responded easily. “Why would I do that?”
“And Theo?”
Ash inclined his head.
“Have you ever threatened Theo Watson?”
“I might have done,” Ash muttered. “But I didn’t mean to.”
Keya didn’t believe him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Keya didn’t find out anything else of use from Ash, who insisted he loved Daisy and would never harm her. However, it was clear that he wasn’t beyond violence where Theo Watson was concerned.
The interview was terminated when the young man came out of the side office and said, “Ashley. Your truck is full. You need to start your delivery round.”
Ash jumped up and was out of the door before Keya had a chance to thank him for his time. She did thank the young man for her tea before leaving the reception area.
Back to the station, she thought, after a rather unsatisfactory interview.
Her phone buzzed, and she checked her messages.
Ryan had sent one.
Please can you collect Theo Watson’s phone?
She could certainly try. Returning to her car, she drove to Mill House.
There was no answer when she rapped the black wheatsheaf knocker against the front door. But finding the door unlocked, she opened it slowly, calling, “Theo? It’s Sergeant Varma. Are you OK?”
There was no response, so she cautiously entered the property, praying she wouldn’t find another dead body.
