The Locked Room (Ruth Galloway #14)(80)

‘Yes, I did,’ says Ruth. ‘And I brought the police.’

‘DCI Nelson?’

‘I hope he’s here somewhere but I’m with an officer called Tanya. She’s very sharp. She’ll find us.’ Ruth says this with confidence but a few minutes in the underground room have already had their effect. She’s beginning to feel that they will be there for ever, starving to death in the darkness, ending up as ghosts like the Grey Lady.

‘I thought I heard someone saying “police”,’ says Zoe. ‘But I thought I might be imagining it.’

‘What happened?’ says Ruth. ‘How did you end up here?’

‘I got a call from a patient,’ says Zoe. ‘He said that he was taken ill while working at the information centre. He’s an old man so I was worried. I should have thought that all the tourist places are closed because of lockdown. Anyway, I drove here on my way home. He tricked me. He said he felt faint, so I got him to sit down. Then he said he’d left his inhaler in the cellar. I went into this room and he locked me in. That was Tuesday night, I think. What day is it today?’

Ruth has to think. ‘Thursday.’ It seems years since they heard people clapping for the carers. ‘They’re clapping you,’ she’d said to Zoe that first time.

‘It seems longer,’ says Zoe. ‘I think he might have drugged me. He’s been coming to see me, every day, bringing me food and telling me to kill myself. It’s really creepy.’

Ruth is shivering and not just from the cold. ‘What’s the man’s name?’

‘Hugh Baxter. He always seemed a nice old thing.’

‘Yeah, he sounds a real sweetie,’ says Ruth.

Zoe laughs but then the laugh goes on too long and she starts to sob. Ruth puts her arm round her. ‘It’s OK,’ she says, hoping that it is. Where is Tanya? Where is Nelson? Ruth peers at the metal door. Never has anything looked more closed. What if the man – Hugh – comes back? Ruth looks around for a weapon. Could she throw the noxious-smelling bucket at him?

‘Shall we . . .’ she begins, not knowing what to suggest. Shall we hide? Shall we get ready for hand-to-hand combat? But, before she can finish the sentence, the steel door opens and a bearded man stands in front of them.



Nelson still looks slightly unsteady on his feet but he dismisses Tanya’s suggestion that he sit on the grass and wait for the ambulance. ‘I’m coming with you,’ he says, in the tone that means he’s not listening to reason. So Tanya leads the way back to Steward’s house followed by Nelson, Janet and the weird student girl. Tanya wishes that she could shake them all off. The road is deserted apart from an elderly man walking towards the gateway to the cathedral. The shop lights are on and the door is open.

‘Ruth!’ shouts Nelson, barging in front.

‘Be careful, DCI Nelson,’ says Janet. ‘DS Fuller, do tell him to be careful.’

But Tanya is off, sprinting after the old man.



‘Joe?’ says Ruth.

‘Dr Galloway,’ says Joe. ‘I’ve come to save you.’

‘Thank you,’ says Ruth. All the same, she thinks she will only feel safe once she and Zoe are out of the underground room. Joe seems friendly enough, but she can’t forget that he had a noticeboard full of pictures of her. Stone walls do not a prison make. She grabs Zoe’s hand and tries to edge towards the door.

‘I saw him,’ says Joe. ‘The man who locked you in. I hit him over the head with my torch. Burly, dark man.’

‘That wasn’t . . .’ begins Ruth. Zoe had described her captor as an old man. A burly, dark man can only mean one person. Is that why Nelson hasn’t arrived? Because Joe has knocked him out, maybe even injuring him badly?

‘How did you get the key?’ says Zoe.

‘It was in the safe,’ says Joe. ‘I wasted a bit of time trying to get in by the cellars. I knew this room was here. I saw it on the old plan of the house.’

‘Very interesting,’ says Ruth, in her lecturer voice. ‘Now, if you’d just let us past . . .’

But, before they can go further, there are thunderous footsteps on the stairs and Nelson bursts in. He’s at Ruth’s side in seconds.

‘Are you OK?’

‘Yes. Fine. Zoe’s here. She was locked in by a man called Hugh Baxter . . .’

‘Hugh?’ says Janet from the doorway. ‘But he’s one of the volunteers. A nice old thing.’

‘I saved you, Dr Galloway,’ says Joe, sounding rather plaintive. ‘I saved you from him.’ He points at Nelson.

‘Did you?’ growls Nelson. ‘Well, you’re under arrest for assaulting a police officer for a start. Come on, Ruth, let’s get out of here.’ He steers Ruth towards the door. Eileen is standing there looking rather lost. Ruth hears her say, ‘Where were you, Joe? I was scared.’

They emerge into the shop where the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles are reflecting on the glories of Norfolk.



And, in a King’s Lynn hospital, Cathbad opens his eyes and says, ‘Nelson?’





Chapter 42


After that, it’s all rather chaotic. Tanya appears, leading Hugh by the arm. He keeps asking what’s going on, in a plaintive voice, but Tanya tells Nelson not to be fooled. ‘Judy’s got evidence of him at Avril Flowers’ house on the day she died.’