Beside Keya, Aurora and Viv consoled Zoe.
Keya had been alert during the discussion, but now she felt a heaviness starting to creep through her. A tiredness from the exertion, and also a dull feeling that Daisy’s death was pointless.
She looked up as Theo approached her.
“I’m so sorry that you’ve been caught up in our village issues, and that you were poisoned at my house. I feel dreadful. You were only trying to help me.”
“I’ll be fine,” Keya reassured him. She refrained from adding that at least she was still alive.
Inspector Sue was leaning over and consoling a sobbing Doreen, while Inspector Evans stood facing Dr Reid as they both discussed Sir Anthony in loud voices.
Dennis Skinner sat on his own, seemingly oblivious to all that was happening around him.
“Do I still need to stand by the kitchen door?” asked Warren as he joined Theo and Keya.
“Can you keep an eye on Ashley Ricketts? He looks ready to do a runner,” Keya said.
They all stared at Ashley, whose gaze darted around the room. Then his phone pinged, and he looked down at it and started tapping it with his thumbs.
It was another ten minutes before a tear-stained Dora and a glum-looking Ryan returned, accompanied by a concerned-looking Mrs Reid.
“I’ve shut the shop,” Mrs Reid told her husband, “while we get to the bottom of this business. Is it true that we sold the bottle of hot sauce which poisoned Daisy Bentham?”
All the police officers looked towards Ryan.
“Constable?” Inspector Evans questioned.
“The bottle wasn’t there,” Ryan replied.
“Dora put it on the top shelf, Silas. Next to the packs of postcards.”
Dr Reid swallowed before replying. “That’s right. I took that bottle and also a pack of postcards to replenish the stock in the back room after a busy few days of visiting tourists.”
Inspector Evans cleared his throat. “Please, can you all take your seats again?”
A hush fell, as everyone did as instructed. Mrs Reid sat down next to her husband and looked round the group with a distressed expression on her face.
“Ashley, what did you do with the bottle of hot sauce that Dr Reid sold you?” Inspector Evans asked.
“I left it with Daisy at the bakery. The morning when you were visiting.” Ashley looked at Keya.
“I do remember you coming into the shop as Daisy was making my sandwich,” Keya confirmed.
“So that’s how a bottle of contaminated but inconspicuous hot sauce made its way from Mrs Skinner’s kitchen to the dining table at Mill House, and poisoned two people. One of them fatally,” Inspector Evans concluded.
Keya heard gasps, gulps, and a collective intake of breath.
Dennis Bentham looked up and asked slowly, “So who’s responsible for my daughter’s death?”
“While I feel like charging you all with gross negligence manslaughter for causing the death of a beautiful young woman,” growled Inspector Evans, “I expect the coroner will return a verdict of accidental death.”
Again, Keya was aware of an intake of breath, and a collective sigh.
Inspector Evans fixed his gaze on Doreen Skinner as he said, “I recommend you think seriously about continuing to make your hot sauce in a domestic environment, especially when other people are around.”
His attention turned to Dora, who glanced up at him with a stricken expression.
“It was your malicious thoughts of harming Daisy, and your action in stealing the spoilt bottle of hot sauce, which were the catalyst for this tragedy.”
“But …” squeaked Dora.
“I’m not interested in excuses. You need to think how you can best atone for what you did,” said the inspector gravely.
Dora bowed her head.
“And Ashley.” The inspector spoke to the young man. “You need to be truthful in the future, however hard it is, otherwise the consequences may be far more serious than you can imagine.”
He turned to the group as a whole and said, “And you should all apologise for the pain and suffering you’ve caused Sergeant Varma. She may pretend everything is all right, but if her left arm remains paralysed, she may lose her job and her business.”
Keya felt all eyes turn to her as the impact of the inspector’s words hit home.
He was right. She could lose everything.
Beside her, Sujin placed his arm around her protectively.
Despite it all, she smiled. Not everything.
