‘So, did she live here with you?’

‘We didn’t get that far. She stayed over quite often and I tried to persuade her to move in but she wouldn’t.’

‘Were you aware that her father was having financial problems with the farm?’

‘It’s been an open secret in the village for a while, but when I was with Charlotte it never came up.’

‘And what about the relationship between Charlotte’s parents? Was it a healthy one?’

‘Most of the time, I think it was. Charlotte didn’t talk about it much except when she moaned that her mum was nagging her.’

‘And would you know if Mr and Mrs Bateman had any enemies?’

‘I wouldn’t. Like I told you, I didn’t see much of them.’

‘Okay. Now, did you ever have reason to go into the cellar when you were at the farm?’

Nash wrinkled his brow. ‘No. Charlotte told me it was out of bounds to most people.’

‘Is that because the previous owners were found dead down there?’

He nodded. ‘Charlotte wasn’t made aware of that until she was in her teens and it creeped her out. She said her parents even put up some kind of memorial in there.’

‘And did you know that there was an internal door that led from the cellar into the house? And that it was blocked with a wall?’

‘I did, but only because Charlotte told me. The wall was installed when she was a toddler.’

‘And do you happen to know who carried out the work?’

‘I’ve no idea.’

‘Mr Nash, would you mind providing us with fingerprints and DNA samples?’ James’s question provoked an immediate and strong reaction.

‘Why do you want those?’ he demanded. ‘Does it mean I’m a suspect? You said you wanted me to tell you about Charlotte. Not that you think I might have killed her.’

‘The intention is to eliminate you from our enquiries, Mr Nash,’ James said.

‘So, you’re not arresting me?’

‘No, we’re not.’

‘Well I know that if you don’t have any grounds to arrest me you can’t force me to give you fingerprints and DNA samples. I’ve never been in trouble so I don’t want them on your files, and I resent the fact that you think I would have murdered the woman I loved.’

‘Look, there’s no need for this hostility, Mr Nash,’ James said, but the man was already striding across the room to the door. He grabbed the handle and pulled it open.

‘I want you to go now please,’ he said, his voice thick with emotion. ‘I’ve answered your questions and now I want to be alone.’

The detectives stood and James took out one of his cards and placed it on the sideboard.