Cold Justice (Willis/Carter #4)(44)

‘Yeah, I felt sorry for him. He doesn’t know what’s going on any more than we do.’

Lauren clipped the lead on the dog’s collar and lifted him out onto the driveway; he went for a wee. When he’d finished he started shivering.

‘Let’s get inside.’ Willis picked up her bag and the dog cage and followed Lauren. A security light came on as they approached the house. There was a white veranda over the porch and a statue of Pan was perched just inside. Either side of the porch were two large bay windows with ornate brickwork patterns around the window, their own slate roofs.

Lauren unlocked the door. ‘There’s no alarm, I take it?’ She turned to Willis.

‘It’s not working any more, according to Stokes.’

She walked on into the hallway. It had dark wooden panels on the walls, a herringbone red and green tile on the floor, and a large carved newel post at the bottom of the stairs.

‘Do you want me to set Russell up in the kitchen?’ asked Willis.

‘Yes, please.’

Willis headed down the hallway to the kitchen, and put Russell’s cage on the floor beside the long oak table that had benches either side. The place was a sturdy mix of original features and prettied-up plush interior design. She found his bowls in a bag and gave him some water, then she put the kettle on.

Lauren came into the kitchen. ‘The wood-burner is all made up, ready to go. I’ve never used one, but I guess we can figure it out. It’s strange being in this place. It feels like we’re intruding. It’s a pretty overbearing place.’

‘I think we just need to get used to it. Let’s have a look around,’ said Willis. ‘We’ll light the wood-burner first.’

‘It’s in here.’

Lauren led the way into one of the three rooms at the front of the house. It had dark wood flooring and dark red walls with panels of flock wallpaper. Ornate mirrors and heavy brocade curtains made it dark.

‘Do you think we’re going to sit in here?’

‘Probably not, but let’s light it anyway.’ Lauren waited while Willis got the fire lit and then closed the wood-burner when it got going.

They walked around the lower floor, which had been given a makeover but still had a Victorian feel.

Willis was imagining what Carter would say once he saw the interior of Kellis House. It wouldn’t matter that it wasn’t a glass and chrome chalet. It would be added to his list of ‘houses I have fallen in love with’. It would keep Cabrina in raptures.

‘Shall we check out the bedrooms?’ Lauren asked.

Russell followed them as they walked up the first flight of stairs and onto a landing that had a small library space, a sitting area and a desk. The bathroom was to the left – an enormous roll-top bath with gold feet and a walk-in wet room.

‘Boy – he seems to have spent a lot of money on this place,’ said Lauren as she stepped into the first of the bedrooms. It was all heavy dark wood and red velvet, silk curtains and gold swag. ‘Not exactly country chic, is it?’

‘He liked his bling – we saw that in the place in Canary Wharf,’ answered Willis. ‘He liked things to look and be expensive.’

‘How strange,’ Lauren said as she walked around the room looking at it all, bemused. ‘That’s just so different to Toby. Toby likes no clutter, no colour. No mess of any kind. This place looks like it would be a nightmare to clean. It has so many nooks and crannies.’

‘At least these next two rooms are simply furnished,’ said Willis as they looked at the other bedrooms on that landing, which were done out in more simple cottons and patchwork bedspreads. There was a pretty pattern of small rosebuds on the curtains and the furniture was white and French.

‘This is much more like it,’ Lauren said as she followed Willis into the second of the rooms on the landing. They went on up the stairs to what would have been the servants’ quarters in the original house and found one massive suite.

‘This must be his master’s suite.’ Lauren shook her head. ‘Definitely over-the-top.’

Up the third flight of stairs was a room with a four-poster. It had a chesterfield in the corner. Its heavy brocade curtains were opulent purples and gold.

‘Look at this,’ Lauren called from the bathroom.

Willis joined her and stood speechless in the middle of a marble-clad wet room with a bath in the centre and a double sink.

‘This isn’t exactly a family-friendly house, is it? We haven’t seen any cots or bunks,’ said Lauren.

‘No. I haven’t seen the telly yet either,’ said Willis.

She walked back through to the front of the house and the lounge on her right where the wood-burner was fully alight and throwing out some heat. Willis closed the curtains in the rooms and went to find Lauren.

Lauren was sitting at the kitchen table.

‘Can I get you anything?’ Willis asked as she put the kettle back on and looked in the cupboards.

‘Yes, a glass of wine, please.’

‘Okay.’ Willis opened the cupboards looking for any sign of a bottle. She was surprised to see that the cupboards were well stocked.

‘There’s some already in the fridge. I saw it there,’ Lauren said. She was sitting with her head resting on her hands, watching Willis. Russell was doing a smelling tour of the kitchen.