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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Peter Sugden’s solicitor arrived two hours later. After a brief consultation with his client in the holding cell, he, Sugden, Killian and Taylor gathered in interview room two. Killian turned on the recording device.

“Interview with Peter Sugden,” he said, “Present, DI Killian, DC Taylor and Justin Stanford.”

“Detective Inspector,” Stanford broke in, “before we begin, I have to inform you I have instructed my client not to say anything.”

“I thought you might.”

“My client claims he knows nothing about what he is being accused of, and to be honest, I find these allegations absurd. Mr Sugden has never been in trouble with the law before and I suggest you rethink the consequences of this outrageous charge.”

“I’d say that’s all the more reason for your client to talk to us, so we can eliminate him from our enquiries.”

“Detective, I’m sure you’re aware of the law. There’s a little part of it about being innocent until proven guilty.”

The smug smile on Stanford’s face was making Taylor’s blood boil. She took a deep breath.

“Mr Stanford,” Killian said, “whether your client is innocent or guilty is neither here nor there at the moment. We have enough evidence to charge him and whether he decides to speak to us or not, we have the power to hold him for forty-eight hours.”

“Is that right?” Sugden suddenly found his tongue. “Can they lock me up for two days?”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Stanford told him.

“I haven’t done anything. I want to go home.”

“Mr Sugden,” Stanford said, “I know what I’m doing. You have the right not to say anything, and I advise you strongly to make full use of that right.” He took out his phone and looked at the screen.

“I didn’t kill Milly Lancaster,” Sugden said. “I liked Milly. Why would I want to kill her?”

“That’s not what you said the last time we spoke,” Taylor reminded him. “I think the exact words you used were ‘stuck-up cow.’”

“That doesn’t mean I wanted to kill her.”

“OK,” Killian said, “now we’re all on the same page, how do you explain the screwdriver we found in your wheelie bin?”

“I don’t know. It’s not mine. Anybody could have put it in there.”

“Why would anybody do that?” Taylor said.

“I don’t know. I can’t believe this is happening,” Sugden protested.

“Are you saying somebody crept into your back garden and dumped the screwdriver in the wheelie bin?”

“Constable,” Stanford shook his head, “please stop putting words in my client’s mouth.”

“I’m not putting words in his mouth. It was a simple question.”

“OK.” Killian took charge. “A while ago you made certain advances towards Mrs Lancaster. She turned you down. You also claimed that you were in the Old Boar last Friday night. We have a witness, a man who knows you very well, in fact, and he’s positive you weren’t in the pub that night.”

“Who’s that, then?”

“And now we find a screwdriver in your bin. A screwdriver that can be linked to the locks on Milly Lancaster’s car door. How do you explain all of this, Mr Sugden? There are far too many coincidences here.”

“I don’t know.” Sugden looked like he was going to burst into tears. “I didn’t kill her. I didn’t kill Milly.”

“I suggest we take a short break,” Stanford broke in. “I need to speak with my client in private.”

“I’m not finished yet,” Killian replied. “Why did you lie about being in the pub last Friday?”

“I was scared. I panicked.”

“That’s enough,” Stanford said.

“Go on,” Taylor said.

“When you lot came around, I got scared. I didn’t think anybody would remember me not being in the pub. I didn’t expect all this to happen.”

“What else have you lied about?” Taylor said.

“That’s enough,” Stanford repeated. “A short break is in order and if you persist in badgering my client, there’ll be hell to pay.”

Taylor looked to Killian for support. He sighed and gave a slight shake of his head. “I think we’re done here anyway,” he announced. “Interview with Peter Sugden concluded.”

“I’m sorry,” Taylor said to Killian after Sugden and his solicitor had left the room.

“Don’t be. That went better than I expected.”

“I wasn’t too aggressive?”

“Why do you think I chose you over Duncan? No, you did well back there. We’ve got Sugden crapping in his pants, if you’ll excuse my language. They tend to slip up more when they’ve been shaken a bit.”

“Do you think he did it?”

“I think we need to do a bit of digging around in Peter Sugden’s life. Let’s see what kind of skeletons we find.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Harriet Taylor knocked on the door and waited. DI Killian had been called away on a family emergency. His wife had been rushed to hospital, he told her before dashing out to the car park.

Alice Green opened the door. “Hello, my dear,” she said, smiling, “come in. I’ve just made a fresh pot of tea.” Taylor followed her inside.

“Hello,” the jackdaw squawked, “hello.”

“How many words does he know?” Taylor asked.

“Too many. I have to be careful what I say in front of him. Would you like some tea? And a piece of bread and honey? I’m still a little concerned about it, but really I’m sure it’s fine.” Alice poured two cups of tea from an old teapot and opened a jar. “You need more flesh on your bones. Is this about Milly? Have you found something?”

“We still haven’t found her body, but we have arrested somebody in connection with Milly’s disappearance. That’s why I’m here. We’re speaking to everybody who knows Peter Sugden.”

“You’ve arrested Sugden?” Alice took a sip of tea and grinned.

“I can’t go into the details, but a number of things point in his direction. Too many for us to ignore, I’m afraid. I know you don’t particularly like the man, but what else can you tell us about him?”

“He’s slightly odd,” Alice said. “I mean, there’s something definitely not quite right about him, if you know what I mean.”

“I’m afraid I don’t.”

“It’s as if he carries this presence around with him, like a negative aura. It’s hard to define. Most people don’t feel it, but I’ve seen dogs growl at him for no reason. Children cross the street when they see him coming.”

“I see.” Taylor nibbled a piece of bread and honey. It tasted fine to her.

“You say you have some evidence? Some things that point in his direction?”

“Like I said, I’m not at liberty to discuss that. Evidence is all very well but what we can’t seem to fathom out is why anybody would want to kill Milly in the first place. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“I can’t understand it either. Milly never did any harm to anyone and she tolerated Sugden’s hassling more than most would. If it had been me he was following around like a lost puppy, he’d have ended up regretting it, I can tell you that much.”

Taylor looked out of the window onto the garden. The bees were flying back and forth to their hives.

“Can I ask you something?” Alice said.

“Of course.” She hoped it wasn’t about the honey again.

“Don’t you get lonely? A young girl like you, all on your own.”

“Not at all. I like my own company. Anyway, you’re a fine one to talk. You live on your own.”