Page 47 of The Chapel of Bones

Wesley glanced at Rachel. From time to time, whenever a goat bleated outside, her gaze wandered to the window.

‘Tim had such high hopes for our little community,’ June said wistfully. ‘But we were only human, and personalities clashed, so after a while things started to turn a bit sour. In the end, he died.’ Her expression clouded. ‘It was the first time I’d come face to face with death. I think I was in shock for a while.’

‘I can understand that,’ said Wesley sympathetically. ‘I believe his body was found by a young woman called Fiorenza.’

‘Was that her real name, or did she make it up?’ Rachel asked. She was a practical woman with little time for anything pretentious.

June gave a sad little laugh. ‘We all tried to make ourselves more exotic in those days. She once told me that her name was Pauline Florence, but she hated it. She liked people to assume she was Italian, but she was originally from Pontefract.’

Wesley took out his notebook. First things first. ‘Can you give us the names of everyone who lived there?’

‘Well, there was Fiorenza . . . and Tim, of course.’

‘That leaves two more.’

‘That would be Aphrodite and Apollo.’

‘Not their real names, I take it.’

‘Those are the only names I knew them by. They were a devoted couple, who kept themselves to themselves most of the time. I’ve no idea where they are now. The police came round and spoke to everyone when Tim died. Surely there’s a record of their real names.’

‘According to the reports I’ve seen, the residents weren’t very co-operative. They gave what turned out to be false names and nobody attended the inquest apart from Fiorenza – and when she gave evidence, she insisted that was her full name.’

June had the grace to blush. ‘Oh dear. I remember now. We all regarded the police or anyone in authority as the enemy –the man. Never give in to the man, Tim used to say. He died of an overdose, but there was nothing suspicious about it, so as far as we were concerned, it was nothing to do with us. We floundered around there for a few weeks after his death, then eventually everyone decided to leave. I think the whole thing would have fallen apart soon anyway, even if Tim hadn’t died.’ She paused. ‘To tell you the truth, he was getting more and more controlling and people were starting to resent it. I see now that we were rather naïve, and even, dare I say it, arrogant. And of course the only reason Tim could afford the house was because his family were rich. But back then, we took ourselves seriously. Far too seriously.’

‘So you returned to normal life?’ said Rachel.

‘That’s right. I went to live with a friend in Neston and worked in various jobs until I found my calling and trained as a yoga teacher.’ June paused. ‘Look, I’ve told you about everyone who was at Casa Mirabilis, and I assure you that if anyone was trying to bury dead bodies in the cellar, we would have noticed.’

‘You assume the remains were found in the cellar?’

She looked puzzled. ‘That’s where murderers usually bury bodies, isn’t it?’

‘Do you remember any building work being carried out while you were there?’

‘Yes. There was only one bathroom and there were five of us, so it sometimes got a bit awkward if we wanted to go to the loo.’ She gave a little giggle. ‘Tim employed a builder to put in a cloakroom under the stairs. Things were a lot easier after that.’

‘I can imagine,’ said Rachel. ‘Did you have much to do with the builder?’

‘I used to chat to him a bit, but I’m sure he thought we were all weirdos. His name was Pete. Funny the things you remember. Actually, I met him in Neston recently. Nice old boy. Amazing that he recognised me from all those years ago.’

‘We’ve spoken to him,’ said Wesley. ‘Did he do any other work in the house?’

June shook her head.

‘Did anyone else do any building or repair work while you were there?’

‘Not that I’m aware of.’

‘What about in the dining room – the room next to the kitchen?’

She shook her head again.

‘You didn’t notice any wonky plastering in there – on the wall opposite the fireplace?’

‘You’ve got to remember, our minds weren’t on interior decor in those days. And as far as I recall, that room was cluttered with all kinds of stuff. Tim used it for storage; somewhere to put the last occupant’s furniture and things we didn’t need. It wasn’t a room we ever went into.’

‘So let me get this clear, you lived there from the time Tim bought the place until his death, and you saw no work carried out in that room?’ Wesley wanted to get his facts straight.