‘State of mind?’ Blake laughed. ‘I’ll tell you what her state of mind was. She was drunk, like everyone else.’ He patted Josh on the shoulder. ‘If that’s all, Detective, I’m going to get Josh to the university,’ said Blake. ‘Like I said, I don’t want to get stuck in traffic on the way.’
Kay clenched her jaw. ‘Thank you. I appreciate your time. We’ll be back tomorrow.’
The American nodded, then steered Josh towards the front door to the waiting car.
Kay and Carys stood on the front steps as it pulled away.
‘Would you like a coffee before you go?’
Kay turned to see Courtney in the hallway, her eyes hopeful. She glanced at Carys, then back. ‘Yes, that’d be nice, thanks – as long as it’s not putting you out of your way?’
‘Not at all. Come on through to the kitchen.’
They followed her along the hallway and through wide double doors into a space that Kay felt sure was twice the size of her garage.
Airy and light, the room showed the worktops glittering under the gleam from strategically-placed spotlights in the ceiling.
Courtney noticed her gaze. ‘Marble,’ she grinned. ‘Blake had it shipped from Italy especially for me.’ She ran her hand over the surface nearest to her. ‘It’s gorgeous, isn’t?’
‘Lovely,’ said Carys, and raised an eyebrow at Kay once the other woman’s back was turned.
A fresh aroma of vanilla and cinnamon filled the whole room and Kay hoped her stomach wouldn’t rumble loudly like it always did when she hadn’t eaten for longer than four hours.
‘Smells great in here,’ she said.
‘Oh, we usually have a housekeeper that does all the cooking for me,’ said Courtney, ‘but, y’know, baking helps to calm me, so I just asked her to get me the ingredients and leave me to it.’
She busied herself with making coffee, and then handed them the resulting brew in bone china mugs.
‘Josh must be devastated,’ said Kay.
‘Or relieved.’ The woman clamped her hand over her mouth, and blushed.
‘Relieved?’
‘Well,’ said Courtney, and flapped her hand. ‘They’re both so young, really, aren’t they? I mean, were, I suppose.’ She fell silent for a moment, and then shook her head if to compose herself. ‘I’d rather Josh see the world before he settles down. He’s got plenty of time before he has to worry about getting married and taking over Blake’s business.’
‘Whose idea was the purity pledge ceremony?’ asked Carys.
Courtney’s eyebrows puckered, her smooth forehead refusing to crease. ‘Matthew’s, I think.’ She paused. ‘Or was it Sophie?’ She shrugged. ‘Doesn’t matter. I know they both started talking about it after Blake mentioned it during one of our private church gatherings one evening.’
She turned, slipped heat-proof mitts over her hands, and opened the oven door, extracting two trays before turning them around and shoving them back inside.
‘The private worship gatherings – how did that start?’ said Kay, and tried to ignore the aroma of the cookies emerging from the oven.
Courtney closed the door and tweaked the timer before removing the mitts and returning to her bar stool. ‘Blake suggested it a couple of years ago, and Duncan agreed.’ She pursed her lips. ‘It’s okay mingling with others from the village, I suppose, but there are some things that we just like to keep from people that wouldn’t, well, they wouldn’t understand, y’know?’ She caught Kay’s stare, and forced a small smile. ‘Nothing out of the ordinary, I can assure you, but perhaps things they needn’t worry themselves with.’ Her nose lifted in the air a little. ‘We’re quite a way removed from their little problems and issues,’ she added, gesturing around the expansive kitchen.
Kay forced down the retort that rose to her lips. ‘So, are these private gatherings held on a regular basis?’
‘Oh, yes – every Tuesday night.’
‘Where?’
‘At the church. Duncan’s ever so accommodating,’ Courtney gushed. ‘He’s got such an open mind when it comes to how one should be allowed to celebrate one’s faith.’
Carys cleared her throat.
Kay glanced across the worktop at her, but the young detective had her head bowed over her notebook and refused to meet her eye. She was glad; she didn’t think she could keep a straight face if Carys chose to look up at that point.
She turned her attention back to Courtney. ‘So, back to the purity pledge. That’s an American thing, isn’t it?’
The woman narrowed her eyes and twisted the wedding band on her finger. ‘I guess.’
‘It’s just that I’ve never heard of it before. Can you tell me a bit about it?’
Courtney’s eyes lit up. ‘Oh, right, yeah. Well, it originated out of the Baptist movement in Connecticut years ago – that’s where Blake’s family are from – but it’s really taking off in other states, too. It’s very popular amongst teenage girls who want to honour God and remain chaste until their wedding night.’
‘And they sign a contract?’
‘Yeah,’ said Courtney. ‘The girls look so gorgeous – you should’ve seen the dress Sophie was—’
Kay waited, content to let the woman squirm.
‘I mean, I guess, you did,’ said Courtney, her face crimson. She placed her fingertips against her cheeks for a moment. ‘Anyway,’ she said eventually, ‘the girls dress in white, and they and their fathers take a pledge – the girls to remain chaste, and the fathers undertake to protect their daughter’s chastity.’
‘The fathers swear to protect their daughters?’
‘Yes.’
Kay met Carys’s gaze this time as the young detective’s head snapped up, eyes wide.
‘Interesting,’ she said.
Ten
‘Right, pay attention.’
The hubbub of noise dwindled at Sharp’s voice, and the team turned their attention to the front of the room as the DI paced the carpet in front of the whiteboard.
‘We’re twenty-four hours into this case, and we need to get cracking. Let’s start with Gavin – what has Lucas reported so far?’
‘His preliminary findings indicate a blunt trauma wound to the face – Lucas says the blow was hard enough to break her top teeth and splintered her face, which pierced
