‘What you mean?’
‘You said yourself that you had ordered Peter Evans to stop hanging around the house, and that you didn’t want him to see Sophie. Was that because of the purity pledge?’
He frowned. ‘I didn’t want him hanging around with my daughter. Diane will tell you – he’s just a labourer. Sophie could have done so much better than that, I mean – she was. She was engaged to Josh Hamilton, after all.’
‘Bearing in mind the nature of Sophie’s pledge, was she accompanied by yourself or your wife when meeting Josh?’
‘Of course not,’ he spluttered. ‘This is the twenty-first century. The purity pledge isn’t some sort of Victorian way of controlling teenage girls. It was Sophie’s decision to take it. Josh respected that – he’s always been the perfect gentleman towards my daughter.’
‘Can you recall why Sophie decided she wanted to take the pledge?’
‘I think she’d been talking to Duncan about the church group he’d worked with in Connecticut. She spent quite a bit of time with him after school on some days. She seemed interested in the pledge, so he gave her some brochures about it. A few weeks later, we were having dinner and Diane asked her if she was thinking of taking the pledge. She seemed surprised at the question, and then Diane mentioned that she had heard from Blake that Josh was really quite taken with Sophie. By then, they had been seeing each other for six months.’ He smiled at the memory. ‘You could see her blossom at that news – I think she hoped that Josh was serious, you know what teenage girls are like. No confidence. She announced then that she’d like to take the pledge and that if Josh was serious, she didn’t want anyone else.’
‘When did Josh propose to her?’
‘About a week later, at a garden party at the Hamiltons. Sophie was beside herself with excitement all week after hearing what Diane had to say. The three of us swore ourselves to secrecy that we didn’t know he was going to propose because we didn’t want to spoil the occasion for him. In the end, it was perfect,’ he said, his eyes wistful. ‘He’s a nice lad.’
‘I’m surprised at her getting engaged at sixteen,’ said Kay. ‘You didn’t have a problem with that?’
‘No, not at all. After all, they weren’t going to marry until Sophie was eighteen. I think in a world as cynical as ours has become, it’s rather nice to think that some youngsters are quite old-fashioned.’
Kay noticed movement out the corner of her eye and saw Diane making her way up the garden towards the house. ‘Thank you for your time, Mr Whittaker. We’ll be in touch when we have an update for you.’
She led Carys from the room, almost bumping into the housekeeper in the hallway.
The woman jerked backwards, recovering quickly before gesturing to the front door.
‘I’ll see you out, Detective.’
Kay smiled to herself as she followed the woman to the front door. Evidently, the housekeeper was desperate for gossip and Kay made a mental note to speak to her in private at some point.
It would be interesting to learn what else the woman had overheard.
Fourteen
Kay was about to suggest to Carys that they try the back door to the Hamiltons’ house, when the front door was wrenched open.
Blake Hamilton glared out at them. ‘Detectives?’
Kay forced her sweetest smile onto her face. ‘Good morning, Mr Hamilton. We’d like to speak with Josh, please.’
The man sighed. ‘This is bordering on harassment, DS Hunter.’
‘I’m investigating the murder of your son’s fiancée, Mr Hamilton.’ Kay’s smile disappeared.
He raised his hand. ‘Sorry. Of course. Come this way.’
He led the way through to the living room leaving Carys to close the front door, and gestured to a pair of armchairs.
Josh and his mother sat on a sofa next to one another, the young man’s face miserable.
Kay waited until Carys was ready, notebook and pen in hand, before she began.
‘I hope everything went as well as it could with the university yesterday?’
‘It’s fine.’ He shrugged. ‘I’ll go back in the New Year.’
‘It’s better this way,’ said Blake. ‘The dean advised yesterday that he’d already received two phone calls from national newspapers.’ He held out his hands as if to say what can you do? ‘Unfortunately, when you’re top of your business game, your family has to cope with being under the microscope as well. It wouldn’t have been fair on Josh to have to deal with that sort of scrutiny.’
Kay’s eyes moved from the father to the son, who withered under her gaze.
‘Have you any idea why Peter Evans would want to harm Sophie, Josh?’ She glared at Blake as she phrased the question, keen to stop him answering on his son’s behalf.
He shook his head. ‘I didn’t know him. I didn’t know Sophie knew him.’ He glanced at his hands, then raised a finger to his lips and chewed at a nail.
‘Josh, hands,’ said Courtney.
The young man dropped his hand into his lap and sighed. ‘I’m sorry. I really can’t help you.’ He wiped at his eyes. ‘I can’t believe she’s dead.’
He burst into tears, and Courtney rose from her chair. ‘Detectives, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like you to stop questioning Josh now.’
Kay bit back the retort that formed on her lips, and instead nodded. ‘I’ll come back tomorrow, Josh. I’d like to find out more about Sophie. It’ll be of enormous help, okay?’
He nodded, and then traipsed after his mother out of the room.
Kay waited until she heard Courtney’s voice from some distance away, comforting her son, and then turned her attention back to Blake.
‘How did Josh meet Sophie?’
‘Her parents were invited to join a select group of worshippers with myself and Courtney through our local church.’
‘Did you know Lady Griffith and her husband before that?’
‘Only in passing. Did you know Diane’s family have been linked to royalty in England since the sixteenth century?’
‘I didn’t, no. How did you find
