The Locked Room (Ruth Galloway #14)(79)

Tanya jumps when her phone buzzes. ‘Judy’ says the screen.

‘Judy! How’s Cathbad?’

‘He’s dying,’ says Judy in an odd, tight voice. ‘But that’s not why I’m ringing. I think I know who killed Avril Flowers. I’m sending you a picture of him.’

Tanya looks expectantly at her phone. She’s still walking, which is why she almost falls over Nelson’s body.



Why is this old-age pensioner here? thinks Ruth. Has he got confused and wandered in to do some late-night shopping? But it’s lockdown. Surely, he should be shielding at home. He looks extremely feeble. And he seems to be wearing his slippers. Maybe she should go and help him. But something – maybe the ghost of Erik hidden within the ersatz Seahenge – makes her stay hidden.

The man goes to the safe Janet used earlier and extracts a key. As Ruth watches he walks towards a door at the back of the shop, almost hidden by packing cases. Edging around the fake timber posts, Ruth follows.



‘Nelson!’ Tanya kneels beside him. ‘Boss!’

Nelson mutters something. It sounds a bit like ‘Cathbad’. At least he isn’t dead, thinks Tanya. She picks up her phone to call for an ambulance. ‘Tombland Alley,’ she says, thinking how ridiculous the address is. Nelson is showing signs of life now. Tanya touches his shoulder.

‘Boss. It’s me. Tanya. I’ve called for help.’

‘Cathbad,’ says Nelson again. ‘Where is he?’

And Tanya remembers what Judy said on the phone. ‘Cathbad’s dying.’



The old man descends some stairs. He doesn’t put on a light. Maybe he can see in the dark, like a cat. He’s certainly as silent as a cat. Ruth follows, trying to tread quietly in her trainers. The man stops and so does Ruth. ‘Don’t look round,’ she prays. He doesn’t. Maybe he’s deaf, even though he seems to have X-ray vision. She hears another key turn in a lock and the man says, in a pleasant, slightly quavery voice.

‘Well, Zoe? Have you decided?’ Is it time to kill yourself?’





Chapter 41


Ruth thinks it’s time to act. Surely, she will be a match for this ancient jailer?

Ruth turns on her phone torch. ‘Zoe?’

‘Ruth!’ comes the reply. The man turns, holding up his hand against the light.

‘Zoe,’ Ruth steps forward into the doorway, ‘are you OK?’

Zoe is in a windowless room. Ruth can just make out a camp bed and a bucket. It reminds her so much of another underground room, discovered fourteen years ago, that her head swims and she thinks she’s going to faint. The man takes full advantage of this. With a surprisingly swift movement he grabs Ruth’s phone from her hand and backs out of the room, slamming the steel door behind him.

Ruth is left alone with her sister.



Nelson struggles to sit up. ‘Cathbad,’ he says again.

‘Take it easy, boss,’ says Tanya. ‘I’ve called an ambulance.’

‘I don’t need an ambulance,’ says Nelson. He supports himself on his elbow, breathing hard. ‘What’s happening?’ he says.

Tanya is not quite sure where to start. ‘Ruth got a message,’ she says. ‘She thought it was from Janet Meadows, who lives here. We came to investigate, and we discovered two students living in one of the empty houses. Then we heard someone sobbing. It seems like there’s someone stuck in an underground room. I’ve called for back-up. Ruth’s waiting for them now.’

‘Ruth . . .’ Nelson rubs his eyes. ‘Where is she?’

‘She went back to Steward’s house.’ This is Janet, appearing out of the shadows with the student – Eileen – at her side. ‘What happened to you, DCI Nelson?’

‘I think I was hit on the head,’ says Nelson. He manages to get to his feet although he looks very pale and sways slightly.

‘You should stay here,’ says Tanya. She doesn’t want him collapsing on her.

‘I saw Cathbad,’ says Nelson. ‘He was on a beach.’

‘You’re delirious,’ says Tanya. Just her luck to be stuck in the middle of Tombland with a bunch of crazies.

‘No,’ says Nelson. ‘It was a dream. It was his dream.’

‘You’re not making much sense, boss.’ But thinking of Cathbad makes Tanya remember why Judy called in the first place. I think I know who killed Avril Flowers. She was sending a photograph. Tanya clicks on the link, squinting to see in the dim light. She can hear Janet telling Nelson to rest and Eileen babbling about the Grey Lady. What wouldn’t she give to have someone sane with her? Judy or Clough. Even Tony.

The picture shows a white bird by a pond and a man in the distance, slightly blurred as if he is walking fast.



Ruth bangs on the door. ‘Help!’

‘It’s no good,’ says Zoe. ‘I keep calling and nobody comes.’

She’s still in her nurse’s scrubs and has a sleeping bag round her shoulders. Her hair is loose and matted. Ruth hardly recognises her stylish neighbour.

‘There are people here,’ says Ruth. ‘We heard you crying.’

‘He left a phone here earlier,’ says Zoe. ‘Just for a second. It was on the floor. When his back was turned, I managed to send a message. I hoped it was to you. Did you get it?’