Jones and Barnaby approached the door of the Queens Arms and went inside. It was quiet for this time of day.
A lady in her mid 30's with brown hair tied up in a ponytail. She was wearing a black top which showed off her bust. Jones was trying hard to not stare at her chest.
"Hello gentlemen what would you like to drink?" she smiled
"Good morning I'm Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby and this is my colleague Acting DC Jones" Tom smiled courtesy
"How may i help you gentlemen?" she asked wondering what they were doing in the pub so early
"Do you know Penny Riley?" asked Tom
"I am she" Penny replied
"Can we talk in private please, we have some bad news" Tom said
"Sure, come though to the back" Penny gestured them through
They entered what must have been a sitting room.
The three of them sat down.
"So what is the problem Mr Barnaby?" Penny said worried
"Is Daniel Scott your boyfriend?" Tom asked
"Yes he is, why?" she stated. She was biting her nails
"I am very sorry to have to tell you that Daniel was murdered a few days ago in his flat, his body was then driven to Chaney's field and left in his car" Tom said grimly
Penny burst into tears. Jones then got up and put his arm around her. Penny then shrugged him off and said sharply "I'm ok!"
"Do you need anyone here? Do you have a friend or family member in the village Penny?" asked Tom softly
"I'm OK" penny said, she then wiped the tears out of her face and let out a brief smile "What do you need to know?" she then asked
"When did you last see Daniel?" Ben asked
"It was exactly a week ago. We had had an argument and he dumped me" She replied
"What was the argument about?" Ben then asked jotting down notes in his black book
"I found out about that slut Lucy Smith. I had left his flat and was sat on a bench in the village and about an hour later he came downstairs and out the door and she walked over to him and kissed him. I then went over to him and slapped the bitch and told her to fuck off which she did. Dan didn't want a scene so he grabbed me and quickly dragged me back into the flat. And he told me everything that had happened between them, and he said he didn't regret what he did, infact he loved her not me and told me that we were over. So i then left and went home crying" Penny explained
"And that was definitely the last you saw of him?" Tom asked full of sympathy for her. He knew Dan was a womanizer but he didn't realise he could cheat on his girlfriend especially after he had admitted how he truly felt about his previous girlfriend Liz Francis who had been murdered and burnt. It had been several weeks after Liz died and the murderer Agnes had been locked up, Dan had broken down in Tom's arms. And told him he loved Liz and she was the best and most beautifulest woman he had ever known and how much he wanted to settle down with her once the case was over. Dan believed she felt the same way for him.
"Yes it was" Penny said
"Thank you for your time. We can see ourselves out" Tom smiled
Tom and Ben left the pub in silence
Tom believed now Daniel was at peace and reunited with his true love Liz the beautiful school teacher.
