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He nods.
‘Did you see her?’
He nods. ‘Her hair was different. But it was her. I knew it was her.’
‘Where did she go in Evesham?’
‘Some B&B place.’
‘Do you remember the name?’
He shakes his head. ‘It wasn’t very nice.’
‘But the phone said that’s where she was?’
He nods again.
‘You didn’t knock at the door?’ says Stillwell. ‘Ask to talk to her?’
‘I didn’t want to talk to her. I went and got some pizza. And then I saw the phone was moving so I went back to the van and followed her.’
No one in the room seems to be breathing.
‘She was in a car? A cab?’
He shakes his head. ‘No, it was a bus. It went through all these little villages. It took ages. Then I saw her get off. There was a church and lots of trees.’
‘Hescombe?’
He shrugs. ‘I don’t know.’
‘What time was this, Gary?’
Another shrug. ‘About five. I’d had to phone Mum and tell her I was having trouble with the van. So she wouldn’t worry where I was.’
Phil reaches to put an arm round Jean.
‘So Daisy gets off the bus, where did she go then?’
‘A house. I had to get out of the van to see because it had a big hedge at the front.’
‘And then what happened?’
‘She went to the door. That woman, Robin, she let her in.’
‘Did she look like she was expecting her?’
He nods. ‘She was smiling.’
Ev sits forward in her chair. ‘Gary, this is really important. If you followed her – if you went into that house, then you need to tell me –’
‘I didn’t – I went back to the van and came home.’
There’s a tape playing in Ev’s head, a tape she doesn’t want to see: Gary knocking at that door – Tierney letting him in – beside herself to get him and Daisy in the same room – and it all going wrong – reallyreallywrong, really fast – because Robin Tierney died within a few feet of that front door –
‘If you did go into that house and if something happened – if someone got hurt in some way – even if only by accident, even if you never meant that to happen – we’re going to have to take you back to the police station and interview you properly, with everything on tape.’
‘Stopbullyinghim,’ wails Jean, ‘he’s told you what happened and he doesn’t lie –’