Chapter 4

On Friday morning, they sat at their four desks and talked about what they knew. Lee and Sally had been through the registers and had one name that looked interesting. It was for J. Bowen and was two days before the phone went dead.

“It must have been a phone booking, these girls sometimes make the room booking themselves, and she must have paid by card, in advance. That would mean that it was a regular, or someone that she had dealt with, before. It makes sense that our guy would have tried the victim before taking her away. I looked in the paperwork that you brought back from her place and there was a statement from Mastercard. I contacted them and they verified that she had made that payment on the day before.”

Andy nodded.

“Good work. What about her phone records?”

“BT were kind enough to send us the last three months, and the call to the hotel is in there. We checked the incoming calls and there was one, the day before, from a burner phone with no name on record. When we checked with the hotel for any camera vision, they told us that all records were overwritten after a week.”

“That’s not good. We had a good look around the limestone caves in the region north and south of Sheffield. The problem is that the majority are show caves, with public access, and either manned during open hours or shut away behind private farmhouses. There’s only one which bugs me, and that’s in Creswell Crags. It’s been locked for ten years, or more, for safety reasons. We can’t get any support to get it opened unless we get clearance from the Inspectorate of Mines, in Sheffield. I think that we should contact the CID there, who worked on their cases, to help us. I’ll go and talk to Sue.”

Andy went over to Sue’s desk and asked her if she could spare some time.

“Certainly, Andy. How are you getting on with the case?”

“We have confirmed that the last victim, Janice Bowen, had made a booking at the hotel opposite the Manchester Piccadilly station. She had a call from a burner before that, so we have guessed that she had dealt with the customer before. FSI have confirmed that her stomach contents and the water in her lungs were the same as the other victims.”

“That’s solid work. Why do you want to talk?”

“Maria and I went off looking at limestone caves, this week. We have the idea that he keeps them somewhere, and that it must be near limestone because of the water they were drowned in. Everywhere we looked aren’t likely, except for one. That one’s called the Boat House, and it’s in the Creswell Crags park. It’s locked and has been locked for more than ten years. The museum manager has told me that they do not have a key, and that I needed permission from the Inspectorate of Mines, in Sheffield, before they would allow me to see if we could open it. What makes it interesting is that it’s along a track that is big enough for a vehicle, and isolated enough for there to be no other traffic. The one thing that made me want to look inside was the fact that the padlock keyhole isn’t corroded, and that the floor of the cave, that you can see through the bars, is clean, after ten years without maintenance.”

“That’s compelling, I have to say. Anything else?”

“Yes. There's a small door, also locked, with a danger sign on it. The manager told us that he had been told that they think that there may be another cavern underneath. What I want, other than permission, is to see the report that got the place closed. It might, just might, have the signature of our mass murderer on the bottom.”

“All right. You talk to the CID in Sheffield to see about that report. Actually, no! Maria can do that. If you do get permission to go in, you, young man, wouldn’t be allowed to, because you’re not a qualified caver, nor do you have a diving certificate if there’s the water that you expect. I’m going to call DCI Anderson; Alex, who was the leader of the diving team that you worked with before. He’ll know how to get you up to speed in double quick time.”

“The diver was a DCI, he never said. I would have been more professional when we were working together, had I known.”

“Never fear, he was very happy with the way you handled yourself, respectful and helpful, and he has spoken to me, when we were working on the court cases, about what a good investigator you are. Don’t get a big head with that, because I’ll expect the two of you will be working closely on this one, if it turns out the way you think. I’ll let you know, later, if he’ll teach you some tricks.”

Later, that day, before the usual group meeting, Sue came over to their corner.

“Right, what have you lot got for next week?”

“Lee and I have an appointment with the detective in Sheffield on Monday morning, and he’s going to join us to see that safety report. He sounded excited that we may have moved forward on his case.”

“OK, Maria, that’s good. What about you, Sally?”

“I’m going to the council at Ironbridge, to see the electoral rolls for the area, to get all the names of people along Ferry Road. We think it could be a long shot that our man is a local.”

“Right. Andy, you have to get yourself to the Police Training college, where your swimming abilities are going to be tested, nine in the morning on Monday.”

After the regular Friday meeting, they all knocked off. On the way home, Maria took out her phone and called Andy’s Auntie.

“Auntie, it’s Maria. Andy and I have to be in different places next week and I need to pick up my car.”

She listened for a little while.

“Hold on, I’ll just ask Andy.”

“Andy, love. Your Auntie needs to go to the care home, in the morning, to see if she likes it. She wants to know if we can take her there. If we can, she says that we can stay in the house for a while, to help her out, and to start sorting the things she will need. If we go home, we can pack a couple of bags and go there, this evening.”

Andy nodded.

“Right, Auntie. Andy agrees. How about we take you out for a meal, tonight. We need to go to my place and pick up our things. Being at yours, next week, will be good, because Andy has to be at the Police College again, for a few days.”

They went home and packed a couple of cases, adding a few garment bags to hang in the back of the car. They arrived at the Aunt’s house a little after seven, and quickly took the things inside, to a spare room with a double bed. Then they all went out for a meal at the carvery, not far from the house. After the meal, they went back and made up the bed, then sat with Auntie, with a cup of cocoa, and talked.

Early, on Saturday morning, they drove a very short distance to the Retirement Home, where they were shown round. There was a vacancy, immediately, should it be needed, and Auntie looked at Andy.

“Look, I know this is sudden, but with the two of you already in the house, I could move in tomorrow, if you can come up with the deposit. I’m not pressuring you, but you’ve seen how hard it is for me to get around. What do you say?”

Andy thought for a moment, then asked the manager what the deposit was, and when she would need it. The figure was well inside what he knew he had in the bank, and the timing was anytime next week, by electronic transfer. They signed the paperwork, and his Auntie gave him a hug.

“You really are the best nephew a woman could have. You were so neat and tidy when you lived with me, I could hardly believe it. I know that you’ll look after the house, and you’ll be close enough to see me now and again.”

That settled, they went back to the house where Maria put together a lunch for them. In the early afternoon they went the short distance to the Tesco service station to fill the Audi, and then to the Tesco Extra to buy some needed supplies. They had arranged to pick up Dave and Jenny from their hotel at four, so quickly got dressed for their dinner. Leaving Auntie with her usual microwave tea to get for herself, they drove into the city and stopped in front of the hotel. As they pulled up, Dave and Jenny came out and they all had handshakes and hugs, before getting back into the car. Jenny asked, from the back seat.

“Maria, I need something nice for a wedding in a few weeks. Do you know anywhere that’s good?”

Maria looked at Andy and he gave her a wink, then laughed.

“Jenny, we know exactly the place. It’s where Maria got the dress you saw at that meal. She’ll give someone a call to make sure they’re open.”

As he headed for Harborne, Maria rang Collette and found that she was closing early to attend a civic reception, invited by one of her clients. When Maria let Andy know, he just smiled.

“Tell her I’ll come in the back and leave the tag, or tags, on the office desk.”

When they arrived at Jolenes, Andy drove up a driveway and around to a small parking area in the back. Jenny wanted to know what was going on and Maria just told her to trust them, as all would be revealed. They got out of the car and Andy opened the rear door and reached in to turn off the alarm. Then he opened the door, wide.

“Welcome, folks, to Jolenes, importer of fine gowns for discerning ladies. I’ll give you a quick tour and then Maria will help you, Jenny, to choose something for tonight. As you can see from what we’re wearing, it’s supposed to be casual but dressy. Now, behind this door is the climate-controlled store for long-term storage and customer furs. Then there are the stock rooms for different ranges of outfits and accessories. To the front is a lounge area. Upstairs is my office and Collette’s office, the store manager. There are a few other rooms, which, from memory, are used for alterations and storage of old stock.”

Dave looked hard at Andy.

“Your office?”

“Ah, yes. Why don’t we go up and have a quiet drink, while Jenny delves into the stock. Maria, you’ve spent more time back here than I have, recently. Can you point Jenny in the right direction?”

Upstairs, Andy found a bottle of scotch in the filing cabinet, where he had left it some years ago, after he had used it to gain some courage for the funeral. He poured two drinks, then they clinked glasses and sat. Then he proceeded to tell Dave how they came to be sitting in his office, in his dress shop. He was relieved when Dave didn’t laugh.

“Andy, you have this as a fall-back if you leave the force, and I can see that you’re a long way down the road with Maria. I congratulate you on the way that you’ve been working in the CID. To think that if you hadn’t found that body, you may have been a beat copper, right now.”

“If I hadn’t been called to see Sue Cousins, I may have been a Special, pounding a keyboard, or holding out a lollipop at a kiddies crossing. It doesn’t bear thinking about. At the moment, I’m alive and doing something I love. I don’t know what I’ll do when we crack the current case, probably get bored and come here to make my living. I get the place signed over to me when I’m twenty-five, not that far away. Maria and I have bought, or, should I say, are buying, my Aunties house out Solihull way, a nice three-bedroom detached with off-road parking. My dad’s rally car is there, at the moment.”

“A rally car, that doesn’t seem like you, at all.”

“I mean, it’s a car he took to rallies, a Wolseley 6/80 from his youth, complete with full police pursuit kit of the day. I used to love ringing the bell.”

“And the Audi? I did notice two extra switches on the consul.”

“Ah, yes. It was once a pursuit car which he bought as a damaged vehicle, got fixed and resprayed. As an inspector in traffic, he was able to fit it with blues and twos, but not the rest of the kit. It came in handy when we raided that restaurant, and I took Sky to hospital in it. It’s where we’re going for a meal, tonight. They’ve re-opened and gave all our team loyalty cards. Maria and I thought that you would be interested to see the ‘H/N’ that you were able to help with us solving the case.”

Just then, there was a call from downstairs, so Andy rinsed the glasses at a small sink, and they went down to see how the girls had got on. Jenny was elegantly dressed in a flowing mid-calf gown that showed her slender form to its best advantage. Maria had also changed. Both looked radiant.

“Andy, sweetheart, I’ve got the tags, can you take them up to Collette’s desk, as we promised. I hope you don’t mind but this dress was hanging there and calling my name.”

Andy took the tags and popped back up the stairs. When he got back, they went towards the back entrance. Dave asked how many furs were in the cool room.

“About a million Euros worth, I think. It changes all the time, with some going out for civic receptions, and some coming in when the owners go off on holiday. There is a separate security system in there, along with the climate controls. Any changes to the temperature or humidity and Collette gets an alert on her phone. I can’t even go in there, yet. If I did, we’d get a couple of squad cars from Harborne inside five minutes, I remember when it was tested. My mother made sure that I knew everything about the business, even though I wanted to follow my father’s footsteps.”

The other three waited in the car while Andy reset the alarm and relocked the door. They then went north to the restaurant. On the way, Dave tried to pay for Jenny’s dress, but Andy would have none of it.

“The dress is from Maria and I, in gratitude for your help with the case. The price, to me, will be at cost, and I have got quite a decent account, in the business, that covers it. We supplied all the girls from Burton who helped out with the sting, and I think that the accountant will write it all off as advertising, as they’re all likely to be telling their friends.”

At the old Manor house, they stopped in the very full carpark.

“Busy night,” observed Dave.

At the main entrance, the girl who had been on the door when they raided it looked at Andy and Maria, then came over to hug them both.

“Oh, boy! Jim is going to have kittens when I tell him that you two are here. You, sir, are his all-time hero. He hasn’t stopped talking about the time that you laid out the Algerian with one hit. That has been something that he, and the other chefs, had been wanting to do for a couple of years.”

She beckoned to another girl to come over.

“Bella, can you look after the door for a few moments while I escort the fine people to the restaurant?”

She led them past the lift, still sporting the ‘H’ and ‘N’ on the doors, Andy pointed at them.

“I would have thought that you would have removed these, by now.”

“Oh, no! They are part of our popularity. You have no idea how many selfies get taken with those doors in the background. A lot of customers are here to say that they’ve eaten in the ‘House of Horrors’ and a picture next to those doors proves it.”

She led them into the main dining room and stepped back as the chef who had been the second chef in the old business, walked quickly up to them. Holding out his hand, and surprising Andy when he went to shake, only to be pulled into a man-hug.

“Andrew Barton, you are most welcome. We have a special table which we have kept aside for anyone from the raid to use. I suppose that Angela has already told you that I’m your biggest fan, seeing you drop that bastard Algerian was a sight for sore eyes. It was something I’d nearly done several times. Now, madam, if I’m right, you’re Maria, who went through the books before we did the evening do. That was unreal, all our normal guests never knew what went on upstairs, just as none of us did. Old Maxie and Harry kept that all quiet. Look, before you sit down, would you like to show your friends the dungeon?”

He took them back out to the lift and pressed the button. When the doors opened, and they were inside, he put a key in a lock that hadn’t been there before.

“We added the key entry only for the basement. It’s a little different from when you last saw it. It staggered me when I came down for the first time, it must have been horrible for those poor people.”

The doors opened and they walked into the basement area. Jim pointed out the door locks.

“We padlock these when we’re not working. One is the drinks store, and the other has been turned into a larder. It’s a bit cooler, down here, because we’ve piped a pair of cooling units, off the main air-conditioning. About the only thing still here is the trolley, we haven’t had the nerve to take it into the daylight. If I put it in the foyer, I think that a lot of our present customers would want to try it out, and I really couldn’t stand that.”

They didn’t stay long, with both Dave and Jenny very quiet when they went back up in the lift. Back in the foyer, Jim turned to Andy and Maria.

“Look, would you two be happy for some of our customers to have selfies with you, after the meal. We don’t allow the picture taking until everyone has finished. It would be fantastic for advertising, and I’ll give you the meal free. If you don’t mind photos with the staff, I’ll even throw in the drinks.”

“We’re happy to help, Jim, as long as the pictures don’t find their way into the papers.”

They enjoyed an excellent meal, with Andy staying off the alcohol as he was driving them back. Afterwards, Jim announced that tonight, they were all graced with the two detectives who had cracked the ‘Cannibal Case’ and that they had agreed to pose for pictures next to the lift. That led to a half an hour with Andy and Maria posing with couples as Jim took the pictures on their phones. At the end, the whole staff were lined up while Dave took pictures with phones thrust into his hand. At the end of that, he took a couple, for him and Jenny. Before they finished, Maria insisted that Jenny join the two of them for a special picture, seeing that she and Jenny had worked on the case, years before.

All in all, it had been a very jovial evening, On the way back to the city, Dave started asking for ‘blues and twos’ but Andy resisted, telling him that only his superiors would allow him to do that, again. At the hotel, they all got out of the car and Dave followed Jim’s lead by pulling Andy into a man hug.

“Detective Barton, you handled yourself with a grace and humility, tonight. I’m proud to have met you, I’m happy to have helped you, and I would be honoured to have you as a friend. I will see you, again, never fear. Maybe the two of you will be able to come south for your honeymoon.”

All Andy could do was smile and nod, before Jenny enveloped him in a hug of her own, thanking him for the interesting evening and the dress.

“When you two tie the knot, we have to be invited, or else I’ll talk to my grandmother, who is a Cornish Piskie, and she’ll put a hex on your love life.”

“Never fear, Jenny, I think that Maria already has started a list. I take it that she showed you the ring, then.”

“Oh, yes, young groom, she can’t wait to wear it every day. But I’m sure you know that already.”

With final handshakes and hugs, the two got back in the car and went to their new home. Tomorrow would be busy, moving Auntie to the retirement home.

Sunday was, indeed, a busy day. They helped Auntie get her things together. She didn’t need a lot, judging by the size of the wardrobe and drawers in her new room. The room was fully furnished, so there was no heaving and lifting. They moved the main bedroom wardrobe into the unused third room and stored all the left-over clothing there. They planned to sleep in the spare room until they had redecorated the main bedroom, seeing that it was painted in one of those eighties colours that defy description. A new bedroom suite was also on the list.

When Auntie was settled in and asking what was for tea, they said cheerio and went to uncover Maria’s car. When it had been hosed off and warmed up, she gave Andy a kiss and went off to her flat to get some of her own things to bring back. Andy took the Audi to his old place and completely cleared it, taking all the clothes he had left, along with all the linen and kitchen goods. When he was satisfied that nothing had been left, he shut the door on his single life. When he had the chance, he would go into a real estate agent and put the old place on the market. On the way to his new home, he realised that he and Maria had bought their first house together. It was a sobering thought.

That night, not having anyone close by for the first time, Andy didn’t mind when Maria gave vent to her happiness with some hearty groans and screams. They finally went to sleep, cuddled together and giggling happily.

Marianne Gregory © 2023