Dark Rooms

Chapter Six

Jane had had a sleepless night, but unusually for her, it wasn’t because of the case she was working on or the behaviour of her boss. She’d been kept awake by all the decisions she had to make about her house. She got up early, made copious notes about her thoughts and then before she left for the station she called Eddie, leaving a message on his answer machine to ask if he could meet her at seven that evening to discuss things.

When she got to the station, the team were beginning to remove details about Samantha Forgham from the incident board, while DCI Carter was in his office preparing a final report and a briefing to close the case.

The only items now left up on the board were the photographs of the exterior and interior of the shelter, and the images of the mummified baby. The pathologist had forwarded his findings yesterday evening and Carter was looking over the results as he wrote his report.

Jane had breakfast in the canteen before joining Carter in his office.

‘Samantha Forgham’s case is now officially closed,’ he told her, leaning back in his chair with a satisfied smile. ‘A fast turnaround and a good outcome, but now...’ he reached over to pick up a file, ‘with regard to this other case, last night we got the report from Mr Johnson, the pathologist. In his estimation the child’s body is at least thirty years old. He also found traces of the wool blanket that had been wrapped around the baby in the nasal cavity and lungs.’

He looked at Jane and raised the palms of his hands in an open gesture. ‘I have to say that, even with this new information, I’m loath to use my full team. I very much doubt, given the huge time lapse, that we’ll ever be able to bring a suspect to the table.’

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.

While Taylor drove, Jane flipped through her notebook back to her conversation with Mr Hadley. She was keen to clarify what he had actually said about the ownership of the property. It had originally been owned by Helena Lanark, but Jason Thorpe had power of attorney and could therefore sell it on her behalf. Jane underlined Helena Lanark’s name in the hope she could arrange an interview with her.

As they arrived at the front of the station, Tim dropped her off and went to park her car. As Jane climbed the steps, she heard her name being called and turned to see Sharon Forgham behind her, clearly in a very anxious state.

‘I want to speak to you,’ she snapped, ‘I just want to tell you that I’m not going to accept my daughter’s remains. I don’t care what the law says.’ She paused to get her breath. ‘After you came to see me, I’ve had my flat searched. I didn’t think there could be anything worse than having your husband murdered — but now you’re telling me he’s responsible for Samantha’s death. You have no idea the pain you’ve caused me. If it wasn’t bad enough to lose Brian, to now find out what he did to Samantha... you’ve left me nothing to live for.’

Jane wanted to find words of comfort, but Brian Forgham’s widow was so angry and upset, Jane felt it was more respectful to say nothing. Sharon Forgham gave her one last furious look, then turned on her heel. Jane watched her walk away, then went into the station and headed to her office.

Barbara knocked lightly on her door and walked straight in as Jane was hanging up her coat.

‘Barbara, would you mind knocking and waiting for me to tell you to come in?’ Jane said tetchily.

‘Oh, sorry. It’s just that I’ve got a message for you from DCI Carter. He had to go to Shoreditch and there is a Mr...’ she screwed up her face trying to remember, ‘a Mr Thorpe coming into the station this morning. DCI Carter told me to tell you to speak to him and then report back.’

‘Thank you, Barbara,’ Jane said without looking at her.

She flounced out as DC Taylor walked in without knocking. Jane sighed in exasperation.

‘Your car keys, ma’am. I couldn’t find anywhere to park in the street near the station, so as I was told DCI Carter’s out, I put it in his allocated space.’

‘I don’t think that’s a very good idea,’ Jane said.

‘I asked Barbara when he would be back, and she said he’d gone to Shoreditch and would be some time.’

She sat down at her desk. ‘Tell me, Tim, Barbara seems to have a rather over-confident manner, wouldn’t you say? Or perhaps I’m not quite used to a station secretary being privy to her DCI’s diary.’

He shrugged his shoulders. ‘She is a bit over-familiar, but then gossip has it that she sees a lot of the DCI privately.’

Jane nodded to herself. ‘Thank you, Tim, that’ll be all. I might ask you to come back into my office in a while. Apparently, Jason Thorpe is coming to the station. Can you bring him up to me when he arrives?’

‘Yes, ma’am.’ DC Taylor scurried out, looking a bit shamefaced. Jane thought he was probably chastising himself for repeating station gossip.

Her desk phone rang, it was DS Paul Lawrence. She was, as always, pleased to hear from him and as she knew that he had been assigned to examine the body of the baby she was eager to hear his results. They had worked extensively together in the past, and she admired his skill and dedication.

‘Just thought I’d give you a quick heads-up, Jane. I’m going over to the mortuary as the mummified baby has been taken back there. To be honest, I don’t think the lab quite knew what to do with it after old boy Johnson had finished doing his post-mortem.’

‘I haven’t actually read the post-mortem report,’ Jane said, ‘but it was a bit of a shock to find out the baby had been buried alive.’

‘Yes, I’m afraid if he found fibres in the airways and stomach that would prove that the infant was still breathing when it was buried,’ Paul said.

‘I’m really glad you’re on this case, Paul. Much as I like Emra Saddell, I don’t think there is anyone better than you, or anyone I can trust more to give me accurate information. I know it’s going to be challenging, given how long ago the baby was buried in that shelter — Johnson’s estimation was that it happened about thirty years ago. I’ll keep you updated with anything I uncover, and I look forward to seeing you soon.’

As she replaced the receiver, there was a loud knock on the door. Jane closed her eyes as she knew it would be Barbara. ‘Yes!’ Jane said, loudly.

‘The duty sergeant has called to say there is a Mr... I forgot... um, oh yes, a Mr Thorpe at reception. DC Taylor’s gone to get him.’

‘Thank you, Barbara. Would you be so kind as to bring us two teas from the canteen?’

Barbara pursed her lips. ‘Yes, of course. Milk and sugar?’

‘That would be perfect, thank you,’ Jane said with a brittle smile.