The Red Dahlia

'I know; I know that now.'

'If he did come back, you know he would have them in his power to do anything he wanted.'

Before she could answer, Langton called for Anna. She hesitated, then thanked Mrs Hedges. Together they went down the narrow staircase and into the hall. Langton was standing with Lewis.

'This is a waste of time. If the sisters know anything, they are not about to tell us. If they want to get a solicitor, we can either wait or call it quits.'

They called it quits; the three returned to their patrol car. Anna had wanted to stay, but Langton's patience had worn thin. He leaned against the bonnet of the car.

'Listen, if they do know where he is, they are refusing to say. We've already run up massive costs for this waste of time, and I'm gonna have to go back and answer to the Commander: she just hit the proverbial.'

Anna folded her arms.

'What? We tried, didn't we, Lewis?'

'Yeah, that Justine is something else.'

'I'm not satisfied!'

Langton laughed.

Anna glared back at him. 'I'm not. Just come with me, the pair of you, please, it'll take a few minutes.'

Disgruntled, they returned to the house. Justine was standing in the hallway. 'You thinking of moving in, or what?'

Anna looked at her, and wasn't giving anything away. 'You can stay with us if you want, I just want to…'

'Do what the hell you like. I'm going to have my breakfast!' Justine slammed into the kitchen.

Anna looked around the hall. 'Right, we have forensic officers around the hall, we have others examining the dining room, and outside we have God knows how many officers.'

'Get on with it!' Langton snapped.

Anna walked into the drawing room. 'I am Wickenham. I get the opportunity to knock out the officer, so where do I go from here? Up the chimney? No, there's no access, so I'm desperate to get to the door where you are standing.'

'Jesus Christ, we've done all this, Anna!'

She pushed past them into the hall. 'To the right is the kitchen full of officers, to the left the front door, with even more police outside. The cellar's crawling with forensics, so, the only route he could have taken is the stairs. If he makes it to the stairs, he could maybe get to Mrs Hedges's room; it'd take no more than a couple of seconds.'

'But she was in there, and she swears…'

'Whatever she swore could be a lie. What if he did make it there and she was able to hide him?'

Langton sighed. 'Her room was searched minutes later, she was alone. This has all been checked out, Travis.'

'I know, but it's the only route he could have taken.'

'He wasn't in her bedroom: it was searched within seconds.'

'So that leaves this area.'

Anna walked to the narrow servants' stairwell. They all stood looking at the narrow staircase.

'This is also the oldest part of the original house.'

Langton looked at Lewis.

'Have these stair rods been moved?'

'I don't fucking know'

'The carpet looks as if it has been.'

Anna went down on her hands and knees, she crawled up four stairs and then hurled aside a mound of sheets and towels. She sat back on her heels and pulled at the stair rod; it came away in her hand. Bending closer, she could see an opening no more than an inch in width.

'I need some kind of jemmy to pull this open. Can you see the gap?'

'Yeah I can see it, but it's a sixteenth-century bloody staircase! Of course there's gonna be gaps!'

'This isn't just a gap. Get the entire carpet pulled back.'

Lewis and Langton peeled back the old stair carpet. Anna worked her fingers inside the gap, and the stair board opened a fraction.

'Jesus Christ, what is it?'

Anna reeled back as the stench hit her. Langton stepped in to help. The wooden slat slid sideways. She could see downward into a space no bigger than a coffin. 'It's possibly another priest hole that's been covered by the stair carpet.' Anna took out a handkerchief and covered her face.

Langton peered into the dark recess but could see nothing. He slipped his hand into the opening and recoiled. 'Get a torch: there's something wedged down there.'

Anna and Langton sat side by side on the lower stair as Lewis ran out to the car and returned with a torch.

Langton shone it into the recess. The beam of light lit up the face of Charles Wickenham, his mouth drawn back in a silent scream. His body was wedged inside the small space; his hands, still cuffed, had clawed at the stair to try and open it. The space was so small that his body pressed against the sides. Rigor mortis had made his body stiff, his fingers like claws.

Langton sat back in shock. Anna looked at the stack of sheet and towels. 'These covered the air vent.'

In the kitchen, Justine moved away from the door. 'They've found him,' she whispered.

Neither Mrs Hedges nor Emily could say a word. Justine gave a soft laugh. 'Saved us burying him. We didn't know he was there, did we?' She looked pointedly at Mrs Hedges. 'No we didn't! So just carry on as if we don't know what is happening, nobody can prove anything. We just look out for each other.'

'What if they find out what I did?'

'They won't, believe me; you didn't know about it, full stop!'

Mrs Hedges started to cry. 'But I did, I did; I knew.'

Justine gripped her tightly. 'No you did not; you just put the things there because the laundry room couldn't be used, right?'

Mrs Hedges wiped her eyes, and Justine gripped her tightly. 'We're here and nobody can do anything about it, just do as I told you, and you, Em. Emily!'

Emily was pouring milk onto her cornflakes, but the bowl was already full and the milk spilled over, dripping onto the table and onto the floor.

'Emily! Look what you are doing!'

Justine snatched the bottle away from her sister and placed it back in the fridge. 'Get a cloth and clear the mess up! Do it now!'

Emily just sat with her head bowed. 'You said he was gone.'

Justine was finding it hard to contend with the weeping Mrs Hedges and now the anxious Emily She took a deep breath and put her arms around her sister. 'Shush and look at me, Em. He is never coming back, I give you my word. I cross my heart.'

The wailing of an ambulance siren made even Justine physically jump.

Emily sprang up and ran to the door. 'They're coming for me!'

'No, no! Just stay here with Mrs Hedges. For God's sake, Mrs H, pull yourself together and look after Em. Let me go and see what's going on.'

Justine went out of the kitchen and into the hall.

Langton intercepted her. 'Please stay in the kitchen, Miss Wickenham.'

'What's going on?'

'You'll know soon enough; just go back into the kitchen.'

He signalled for Anna to take Justine back into the kitchen. Mrs Hedges was scrambling some eggs, allowing Emily to help her. They both turned as Justine gestured to Anna.

'She's going to sit here with us. Do you want some scrambled eggs? We like them runny with a lot of butter.'

'No thank you, maybe a coffee.'

'I'll get it, black or white?'

'White, no sugar.'

Anna sat at the big table; milk still dripped over one end. Justine busied herself wiping down the table. 'What's going on out there?'

'We're just checking something out.'

'Was that an ambulance we just heard?'

Anna didn't answer; voices were audible in the hallway. Justine banged down a cup of coffee and went to the door. Anna asked that she remain in the kitchen.

'Why?'

'Because I am asking you to.'

'I've got to go and see to the horses; they need feeding and exercise.'

'They can wait. I'll let you know when you can go to them.'

'You don't understand, they don't wait. They get their nosebags on, they have a morning walk, then they go back into the stables; after we've mucked out, we take them out for some exercise.'