Their Lost Daughters (DI Jackman & DS Evans #2)(90)
‘At least we can tell her that we will now be concentrating on her girl’s case.’ He picked up the phone. ‘I’ll give her a ring and tell her we are on our way.’
When she picked up, Jackman asked if it was convenient to call on her.
‘You’re a bit late, Inspector. I already know there have been what I believe you call significant finds.’ She gave a tired laugh. ‘I still have my sources.’
‘I’m sorry that is the case. We didn’t want you to hear it from others first, Mrs Black.’
‘I also realise that whatever you have found, it does not involve my Kenya, or you would have been knocking on my door long before this.’
‘That is true, Mrs Black, but Kenya will now be our number one priority.’
‘Then you call on me when your investigation gets under way. I’m fully prepared for whatever the papers and the television are about to throw at us.’
‘I wish I was,’ said Jackman sombrely. ‘I’d avoid watching the news for a while if I was you.’
‘If they were talking about my child it would be different. As it is, I still have hope.’
Jackman thanked her and rang off. ‘I think the poor woman is desensitised after so long.’
Before Marie could answer, Gary knocked on the door and walked in, closely followed by Ted Watchman.’
‘Good Lord, are you still with us? With everything that you have witnessed recently, I thought you would have high-tailed it back to your university long before this.’
Ted brushed a lock of hair off of his face. ‘You can’t get rid of me that easily, especially not when there is a mystery still to solve. I’ve been going over the maps and the underground surveys of Windrush, and I’m worried that we have missed something.’
Jackman glanced at Marie. ‘I’m not sure if I can take too many more surprises.’ He looked back at Ted. ‘I’m not going to like what you are about to say, am I?’
Ted shrugged. ‘Probably not, but I’m going to tell you anyway.’
Jackman felt exhaustion creep over him. ‘Okay, tell us the worst.’
‘It’s the gatehouse lodge, at the entrance to Windrush.’
Marie tilted her head to one side. ‘But that was checked and double-checked by uniform in the initial search for Micah. All it contains is a bit of old furniture left from previous tenants, and little else. There is no cellar, and apparently the attic has several decades’ worth of rubbish in it, but no signs of entry for years, going by the undisturbed dust and cobwebs.’
‘Sorry, Sergeant Evans, but I beg to differ. My geophys reports distinctly showed something below that building. I did mention it, although I thought it was a simple cellar. I thought it would have been checked as a matter of course in the police search.’
‘It was. I spoke to the officers myself.’ Marie looked puzzled.
‘Can we check it out ourselves?’ asked Ted. ‘Only, careful examination of the survey shows what appears to be a short tunnel terminating there. I could be wrong, but I think it was a spur from the tunnel that the old-time wreckers used.’
Jackman exhaled. ‘It is almost one in the morning. We can’t do anything until tomorrow. But if you think we need to look at this place, Ted, then we’ll be guided by you. But until then, everyone home, and for heaven’s sake try to get some sleep.’
As they slowly packed up their things and left, Jackman decided that sleep would probably be quite hard to come by. He, for one, was still fired with adrenalin.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
‘I wish we still had that heat-seeking camera,’ muttered Max.
‘Bit too pricey to have hanging around, I’m afraid,’ Gary said. ‘We’ll just have to use our eyeballs.’
Officers were slipping silently through the trees and bushes, and taking up their positions around the gatehouse. Jackman had decided that if they were to find more nasty surprises, this time they would be well-equipped to deal with them.
He spoke quietly to Ruth Crooke, who had insisted on joining them to direct the operation. ‘Ted Watchman has isolated another underground area. It’s much smaller, but considering the terrible things that have been going on here, there is a good chance there may be more bodies.’
‘How is it accessed?’ she asked.
‘From a tunnel that joins the original marsh tunnel. An armed response vehicle arrived a short while ago, and a small tactical firearms unit is already in place at the entrance, just in case.’
The uniformed sergeant in charge walked up to them and addressed the superintendent. ‘We are confident that the rest of Windrush is now clear, ma’am. As far as we can tell there are no more accessible concealed places, either above or below ground. The Lodge had been searched, but we think that the entrance to the cellar must have been very cleverly hidden.’
‘There have been officers in and out of that gatehouse for days now. Do you really think we missed something?’
Jackman looked at her. ‘Ted is certain, and that is good enough for me. The lad knows his stuff.’
‘After finding what you did in the Children’s Ward . . .’ The superintendent swallowed. ‘Well, we know that the killer is dead and we have two more of the Mulberry family safely locked up, but there is no knowing what might be down there, is there? Take care, won’t you?’