With a last look out over the fen, Matt and Will went indoors.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
‘The phone rang just now,’ Liz called from the kitchen. ‘I wasn’t in time to get it.’
Will noticed the red light flashing on his answering machine. He lifted the receiver and heard the welcome buzz of the restored line. It was a small thing, but comforting, and made Kate seem a little less far away. Mobiles were great, but the fens were notoriously bad for coverage and he had been constantly afraid of losing the signal or forgetting to charge the battery.
They took off their jackets, and as they hung them up, Will noticed Mrs Swain’s letters sticking out of Matt’s inside pocket. ‘Don’t forget those.’
Matt pulled them out and waved one at Will. It was a smart cream envelope with an official-looking logo. ‘This looks important. Must be a solicitor from the name and address on the back. I hadn’t planned on forwarding anything until things had calmed down here, but maybe I should give her a ring. If it’s urgent, I’ll have to deal with it. If not, it can wait. She’ll understand.’
Will suddenly felt guilty about the old lady, especially since his discovery of that piece of material from the doll. It could be completely innocent, or he could be withholding evidence. ‘I’ll ring her, Matt. I really should tell her about Kate.’
‘Please do not concern yourself,’ Emilia said at once. ‘You have enough to worry about. We’ve been watching the news. It is your little niece, is it not? The little girl that is missing?’ Her accent became more pronounced as her emotions took hold. ‘The poor dear child! And Mrs Stonebridge? How is she coping with this tragedy?’
Will did not have the heart to go over the whole story again, so he merely said, ‘She has gone away for a few days, Mrs S. It’s like Victoria Station here at the moment, all too much for her.’
‘I am sure. Her nerves are not good, are they, Mr Stonebridge?’
‘No, they are not good at all.’ He paused for a moment, his mind returning to the tiny piece of linen. He said tentatively, ‘Have you ever seen my wife carrying an old Victorian doll?’
‘No, I can’t say that I have. She used to visit quite frequently but sadly, since my troubles began, I haven’t seen much of her at all. Well, not to talk to, that is. I have certainly seen her on the marsh. She spends a lot of time out there, and on the fen paths. Maybe a bit too much? It’s a lonely place, and if you have problems, I don’t think you’ll find healthy answers in all that solitude. Anyway, listen to me going on like a demented old fishwife! Forget the letter, Mr Stonebridge, just send it on when it’s convenient to you. It will only be confirmation of a letter that I sent to my solicitor about putting my cottage on the market. I had asked them to deal with the sale if I do.’
‘You’re selling up?’ Will said.
‘I’m not sure yet, but I think I probably will. I should get a good price for it. It’s in excellent condition for such an old cottage and as Liz said, if you like remote, it’s in a lovely spot. I think it has retained its old-world charm, even with all the improvements my husband and I made to it.’ She laughed sadly. ‘Despite my objections, my dear husband always insisted on having the best of everything. Apart from the expensive heating system, even his garage has an inspection pit and a workroom. Well, at least it will help me get a fair price for it.’
Will felt the hairs rise at the back of his neck. Why was that? ‘Have you told anyone else about this, Mrs S?’
‘Only my friend here. Why?’
‘I’m not sure,’ he mused. ‘Have you had anyone ask about the cottage? Anyone make you an offer for it recently?’
‘No. I’ve not even contacted an estate agent yet. I am still not entirely sure if I will sell it in the end.’
‘Then could you do me a favour and not mention your idea of moving to anyone just yet?’
‘Of course,’ she said, sounding puzzled, ‘but I hadn’t planned on telling anyone until I was sure in my own mind.’
Will ended the call and stood for a moment, staring at the floor.
‘You look rather thoughtful,’ Matt said.
Will looked up. ‘Matt, the police haven’t checked Emilia’s place, have they?’
‘They never said, but I don’t think so. They know she’s away and probably saw us going in and out and thought there was no need. Why?’
‘Dunno.’ Will was fighting his way back into his jacket. ‘But something’s not right there. Come on, Matt. We’ve missed something.’
Grabbing his own coat, Matt chased after Will, who was already halfway down the drive. ‘What are we looking for?’
‘I’ll know when I find it,’ Will threw back over his shoulder. ‘So far, it’s nothing but the old copper’s nose, twitching like fury.’
Matt muttered something and then called out, ‘Will! I’ve been through that cottage with a fine-tooth comb. There’s nowhere left to look.’
The rain had come to nothing. Will thought they had about an hour before the twilight made it difficult to continue. They were lucky to escape the notice of the reporters. Just as they approached the group of them waiting by the gate, two cars swung into the lane and the press ran off to catch a sighting of the arriving dignitaries. Will and Matt were able to slip into the garden of Little Anchor without as much as an eye turned in their direction.
‘Okay. If you’ve been right through the interior, it has to be outside. The only thing I can tell you is that we’re looking for something, anything, that would be worth forcing the old lady out for.’
‘So, where outside exactly?’ grumbled Matt. ‘The shed was trashed, the summerhouse is empty, which only leaves the garage.’
‘Then let’s get out there now, before we lose the light.’ They let themselves into the big empty garage. The fluorescent lights fluttered and steadied.
‘Goodness! I’ve never seen a smarter garage, have you?’ Matt looked around in admiration. ‘Carpet?’
The floor was indeed carpeted. There wasn’t an oily puddle or greasy rag to be seen. One wall was lined with cupboards, each carefully labelled with a list of the contents. At the far end hung every kind of tool a mechanic might possibly require. Each implement had been outlined so that it could be returned to the appropriate hook.
Will whistled, lifted a large adjustable wrench from its appointed position and looked at the carefully painted outline. He placed it back almost reverently.
They looked around but found only carefully stacked tins of paint, a lawn mower and shelves of car cleaning polishes and waxes. ‘There’s nothing here,’ said Will. He had been so sure of finding something.
Matt stared around doubtfully. ‘So, where is the workroom? She said there was an inspection pit and a workroom, didn’t she?’
‘Well, I suppose that is the pit.’ Will pointed to a square outlined in the carpet. They rolled it up and found a long wooden slatted cover beneath it, which they slid back.
There were steps down into the pit. Will flicked a light switch to the side of them. They looked around, started to speak and fell silent. There, at the far end of the pit, was a door.