The Locked Room (Ruth Galloway #14)(74)

‘Hang on in there, Cathbad,’ he says aloud. ‘I don’t want to have to come and rescue you again.’

He’s several miles outside Lynn before he realises that he’s driving to Ruth’s. The journey has become second nature to him. It’s almost an effort to remember the route to his own home, the place he has lived for over twenty years. The sea is sparkling in the distance. Why shouldn’t he drive to see Ruth and Katie? It’s not exactly in the Covid rules but last week he was practically living there. Why not see Ruth while he can? On the phone last night Michelle said she might be home soon. ‘George misses you,’ she’d said. Nelson drives even faster, trying to escape guilt.

He’s practically at the Saltmarsh turning when there’s a call on his phone, which is in hands-free mode. He half hopes, half dreads that it’ll be from Judy. But instead, there’s a voice message from Leah.

‘Help,’ is all she says.



Ruth rings Janet back. ‘This is Janet Meadows. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you. Peace and love.’ The cheerful, self-mocking tones almost make Ruth think that the ­original message must be a joke. But something about the capital letters make it seem real. HELP ME. Ruth thinks of Janet alone in Steward’s House. ‘She kept going on about living in a haunted house,’ said Nelson. ‘Practically said she was kept awake by ghoulies and ghosties.’ But what if it wasn’t the undead who kept Janet awake but actual human intruders, people who could do her harm? Crime doesn’t stop because there’s a pandemic, Nelson said once, it just goes underground. ‘It’s Ruth,’ she says. ‘I’m a bit worried. Please call me back.’

Kate is watching Friends. Ross is dressed as an armadillo. ‘There were these people called the Maccabees . . .’ Ruth remembers Janet telling her about the Grey Lady, in the cheerful fluorescent light of the cafeteria. ‘The house was boarded up. That’s what they did in those days. Sealed the house with the occupants still inside. They’d draw a cross on the door and sometimes the words “Lord have mercy” and they’d leave the household to die. I suppose it was a way of containing the outbreak. When they opened the house again, they found the bodies of a man, a woman and a young girl.’ Things are not always what they seem.

Ruth phones Nelson. She can hardly believe it when she doesn’t hear his voice on the end of the line. Nelson always answers his phone. But maybe he’s driving and has forgotten to put it on hands-free. Maybe he’s home with Laura and has switched his phone off, the way she does when she has Kate by her side. What should she do? After pacing the room for several minutes, watching Father Christmas and Batboy join the Armadillo, Ruth looks through her contacts at the Serious Crimes Unit. She can’t ring Judy, for obvious reasons. Clough is no longer on the team. In the end, she clicks on the name ‘Tanya’.

‘Tanya Fuller.’ The no-nonsense voice is a relief.

‘Tanya. It’s Ruth. I’ve had a rather worrying message and I can’t reach Nelson.’

‘That’s weird,’ says Tanya. ‘The boss left an hour ago. I’m still at the station,’ she adds, rather self-importantly.

‘That is strange,’ says Ruth, feeling the first stirrings of real concern. She tells Tanya about the message from Janet Meadows. ‘I’ve tried to ring her, but the message goes straight to voicemail.’

‘Where does she live?’

‘She’s staying in Steward’s House in Norwich.’

‘Have you linked to her location via Find My Phone?’

‘No,’ says Ruth. Her phone is only linked to Nelson’s because Kate did it.

‘Shall we go to Norwich? Have a look at this Steward’s House? You can meet me at the station.’

‘I’ll have Kate with me.’ Ruth isn’t about to leave Kate on her own at night.

‘That’s OK,’ says Tanya. ‘Tony can babysit.’



Nelson stops the car in a lay-by and rings Leah. No answer. The voice on the phone had been high and frightened. The plea had been genuine, he’s sure of it. He looks in his contacts to see if he has an address for Leah. She lives in Gaywood, which means going back the way he came. He considers calling for back-up but thinks it might be better to check out the situation for himself first. Nelson starts the car again and performs a screeching U-turn.



Ruth half expects to see Nelson on the road but the only vehicles she passes are delivery vans. Kate is excited by this change in their routine.

‘Why can’t I come with you to Norwich?’ she asks.

‘It’s against the rules when the police are involved,’ Ruth extemporises.

‘There are a lot of rules now,’ Kate mutters.

‘They’re to keep us safe,’ says Ruth. She’s noticed a tendency in Kate to flout regulations. She doesn’t get this from Nelson, who believes strongly in the rule of law, even if he flouts it when it suits him. It must be from Ruth’s side of the family.

She reaches King’s Lynn in thirty minutes, which must be a record. The town centre is quiet but there are lights in the upstairs rooms of the police station. It’s half past seven.

Ruth texts Tanya, who comes down to let her in.

‘Still no word from Nelson?’ asks Tanya.