Jane leaned forward. ‘I don’t know if you read my report on my conversation with Arnold Hadley, the lawyer for Jason Thorpe who sold the property to the developer?’
Carter closed his eyes. ‘Yes, I did glance through it, but I doubt that anything he told you can help us find out what occurred thirty years ago.’ He shuffled some papers on his desk.
‘When I spoke to Mr Hadley, I did request that Jason Thorpe contact me as he is a relative of the previous owner of the property,’ Jane said.
‘Until I’ve had a conversation with him, I’d like you to simply oversee the situation and perhaps pay one more visit to the shelter before we give the demolition company clearance to knock it down.’
Jane was still unsure of what Carter’s intentions were.
‘Do you want me to investigate the murder of the baby? And try to find some background information about the family who were last in residence at the property? Perhaps they can shed some light on what happened?’
Carter gave a dismissive shrug of his shoulders. ‘Let’s say we just make the appropriate moves. Right now I have a number of more important cases which require my attention. This dead baby case will probably take up a lot of time and go nowhere, trying to trace possible suspects from thirty years ago. That said, Detective Inspector Tennison, I think with your experience you have some expertise in this area. I’ll assign you DC Taylor and if you need extra hands then I’m sure Sergeant Hunt will make the time for you. As you probably know, he’s scheduled for retirement shortly.’
Jane had mixed feelings. She wanted to investigate the mummified baby, but it felt as if Carter was deliberately sidelining her to a dead-end case so she wouldn’t get in his way.
‘Sir, can I just clarify that you want me to take over this investigation and make it my priority, so—’
He interrupted her. ‘Yes, exactly.’ He thumbed through various documents on his desk before he pulled out a fax from Emra Saddell. He held it up between finger and thumb. ‘Miss Saddell has requested that her colleague, Detective Sergeant Paul Lawrence from the forensic department, take over her work on the dead baby. She has been requested to join a team investigating the brutal murder of a banker. As you can read, she’s apologetic but she feels that Paul Lawrence’s experience on the last case you both worked on will be beneficial to this one. He is, as you are more than aware, very experienced and will decide what should be examined at the lab in Lambeth.’
Carter didn’t hand Jane the fax but tossed it down on his desk. Part of her was pleased that she would be working with Paul Lawrence again, but at the same time she couldn’t help feeling that the case was not being taken seriously. She pushed back her chair.
‘Thank you very much, sir. I’d like to take DC Taylor with me this morning to have one more look at the shelter. If I’m satisfied, I’ll then report back for you to give clearance for it to be demolished.’
‘Good... fine.’ He dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
Jane arrived at the building site forty-five minutes later, accompanied by the young DC Tim Taylor. She found Mr Bishop, the foreman, whose relief at the news the demolition could soon go ahead was palpable. ‘These delays have been costing me a fortune, I can tell you. The developer has even been threatening to withdraw from the deal if they can’t proceed with plans for building the apartments soon.’
Duckboards had been placed over the area that looked like a bomb crater, and more duckboards led to the shelter, which had yellow-and-black police tape securing the perimeter. Bishop gestured towards the partly cleared garden.
‘The tunnel led straight into the basement. Someone must have taken a lot of time and effort during the war because it was very professionally built. Must have cost quite a bit. They somehow managed to get around council planning regulations too. Also — and, again, not shown on my plans — there was a basement in the shelter itself.’
By the time Bishop had finished talking, they had reached the perimeter of the shelter. Jane could clearly see where the digger had struck the corner as it was partly exposed.
‘Mr Bishop, is the shelter safe to go in now?’
‘Yes, detective. We had to make sure of that. But I wouldn’t go too close to the area which was hit by the digger. And you’ll need these.’ He handed Jane and DC Taylor a couple of hard hats. ‘Do you want me to come with you?’
‘No thanks, we’ll be fine,’ Jane said.
Jane and DC Taylor stood in front of the heavy door. This time she was able to ease it back far enough for them to slip through the gap. Taylor had brought a high-powered torch and he was using it to walk carefully through the main living area, shining the strong beam in front of him.
‘As you can see, it was stocked with tinned food and blankets,’ Jane told him, ‘but the bodies were found at the lower level.’
‘There’s a terrible stink in here,’ Taylor muttered.
Jane ignored him and asked him to shine the torch on the stairs so they could see where they were going as they made their way down.
Jane examined the area where the baby had been found. ‘Would whoever placed the baby between those two cement blocks have just left it in full view? Or was it somehow hidden behind the other cement blocks which had fallen?’ she wondered aloud.
She stepped back and then looked at a sign warning not to enter the tunnel. ‘I think I’ve seen enough,’ she said.
‘Are you telling me, ma’am, that some bloke built this tunnel from the house during the war?’
She sighed. ‘Yes.’
‘I just don’t understand how no one came down here and found the young woman, or those tied-up cement blocks.’
‘No one came down here, Tim, because no one was allowed to use the garden or access the basement.’
‘In that case, whoever made those rules must have known what was down here.’
She took the torch from him. ‘You’re probably right, Tim. Samantha’s father made sure no one entered the garden, and no one else accessed the basement — that was his job, But I doubt very much he knew what else was hidden down here.’
She shone the torch over to the iron bedstead. The mattress had been removed and taken to the lab. She could still see the marks on the floor where the chain which had held Samantha had been attached.
‘That’s where she was chained up,’ she said. ‘The last people living in the house thought a stray cat had been trapped in the garden because they could hear it meowing. That poor girl must have screamed for days and nights on end... what an appalling death.’
DC Taylor remained silent as he followed Jane out, handing his hard hat to the waiting Bishop.
‘Do I have clearance to demolish the shelter now?’ he asked eagerly.
‘I need to report back,’ Jane said. ‘Then DCI Carter should be in touch later this afternoon.’
Bishop led them out across the duckboards. ‘I’ve heard Jason Thorpe’s flown over and he’s been in talks with the developer, so hopefully everything can get back on track now.’
Jane thought it odd that Thorpe would be involved with the developer if he had already sold the property. ‘Do you know why Mr Thorpe contacted the developer?’
Bishop shook his head
‘Did you see Mr Thorpe?’ she asked.
‘No, I’ve never met him. I was only told here was here this morning. He usually stays at a posh hotel, Claridge’s, I believe. He’s a very wealthy young man, apparently, a wine importer. He must have got a fair bundle for selling this monstrosity, too, what with it being five storeys and having this much land attached.’
Jane thanked Bishop for his time, eager to get back to the station to see if Jason Thorpe had contacted DCI Carter.