“That it’s a load of bollocks. That every culture, every ethnic group, has its bad elements, its rotten apples, its psychos and sexual predators. I know mine does. I suspect that yours is no different.”

Sunny scowled. “Nobody assaulted her. She was up for it, right enough.”

“How do you know that? You said you weren’t there.”

“Zahid told me.”

“You’ve talked with your cousins since the incident?”

“Sure. They’re family. We talk on the telephone often.”

“Of course she was ‘up for it,’” Annie cut in. “She had enough ketamine in her to fell a horse.”

“If she did, I don’t know where she got that. It’s nothing to do with me.”

“Maybe your cousins supplied it?” Banks suggested.

“I don’t know.”

“What did Zahid tell you happened?”

“She got a bit frisky, like. My cousins are only human. It was like pass the parcel, that’s all. They didn’t kill anyone. They just fucked her. Then all they did was throw her out of the van. It was just a bit of fun.”

“So your cousins admitted to throwing Mimsy out of the van?”

“Yeah. But it was just for a laugh. She was just a silly little white slut. It was a bit of fun.”

“Fun?” Annie said. “Fun? Throwing a young girl out of a moving van naked and stoned in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere. That’s your idea of fun?”

“They slowed down. They told me they slowed down. She wasn’t hurt when she left the van. And it was a warm night.”

“How did you feel about that?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t there. It was nothing to do with me.”

“But she was one of your girls. Your girlfriend, in fact. Weren’t you angry to hear that she had been treated so disrespectfully?” Annie asked.

“I’m not possessive. It’s not—”

“I know,” Banks cut in. “It’s a cultural thing. But are you sure you weren’t just a little bit jealous? Are you sure you didn’t head out after them, and when you saw Mimsy walking back up that lane, you got out and gave her a good thrashing?”

“No! You can’t say that!”

“Just asking, Sunny. What did you do after the van left Wytherton?”

“Nothing. I went to bed. I watched TV.”

“Which is it?”

“I watched TV in bed.”

“Alone? Well, I suppose you would be, with your girlfriend gone to have sex with three of your cousins, wouldn’t you? Unless you had Jade or Kirsty or Mel to keep you company. Did you, Sunny?”

“No. I was alone.”

“That’s not much of an alibi.”

“I didn’t know I’d need one. How could I know they’d throw her out of the van and she’d be on the road?”

“Why did they throw her out of the van? Did they tell you?”