The Lantern Men

by Elly Griffiths

  Eventually, March says, ‘She was such a beautiful girl. This doesn’t do her justice.’

  Nelson says nothing.

  March touches the image of Sofia’s face. ‘Sofie,’ he says.

  Nelson says nothing.

  March looks at Nelson. There are tears in his eyes and he wipes them away with the back of his hand.

  ‘I really loved her, you know,’ he says.

  Nelson says nothing.

  ‘She was so . . . fierce. So young and sure of herself. She was miles from home and, yet, she wasn’t scared of anything. I think we were all in love with her. Me, Bob, Leonard, Ailsa and Crissy. Even John. She was like a breath of fresh air. No, something infinitely more bracing. The west wind raging over the Urals. She blew my mind. She really did.’

  Nelson keeps silent. March’s tears are nauseating but they are the only genuine signs of emotion that Nelson has ever seen in him. And he’s pretty sure that the Urals aren’t in Hungary.

  ‘We were in love.’ March looks defiant now. ‘It was a real love affair, even though I was so much older than her.’

  ‘Did you kill her, Ivor?’ says Nelson.

  *

  Ruth opts to take the humanist oath. ‘I solemnly, sincerely and truly affirm that the evidence I shall give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.’ She thinks that Mother Hubbard, supposedly a devout Baptist, gives her a disapproving look.

  ‘Dr Galway, can you tell us what happened in the grounds of the Jolly Boatman pub?’

  Ruth describes how she organised the dig and how the bodies were found. First Jenny, as they know now, and then Nicola.

  ‘They were articulated,’ she says. ‘In one piece,’ she adds, for the families’ benefit, hoping that this will be comforting in some way. ‘They had clearly been laid in the earth and hadn’t fallen there organically. We excavated the bodies and, later on, I examined the bones in the lab. I also took samples from the surrounding earth in the hope that we might be able to extract some DNA.’

  ‘Is it likely that you would get DNA from a skeleton?’ asks Phyllis Hubbard, although she must have heard this before.

  ‘DNA deteriorates after death,’ says Ruth. ‘The strands become shorter. And it deteriorates more quickly in an articulated skeleton. By taking samples from the soil there’s always a chance that you can find DNA in bodily fluids or hair. And this was the case here.’ She hopes that Mrs Hubbard won’t ask what sort of fluids.

  She doesn’t. Instead she says, ‘And then you found the third body? Is that correct?’

  ‘Yes,’ says Ruth. ‘It was found by a member of the team.’ She exchanges another glance with Judy. ‘It was clear that this body had been in the earth longer because it was completely skeletal. The bones were more discoloured and they also seemed to have been placed in the ground with less care. We were unable to extract DNA from these remains but dental records later allowed us to make a formal identification.’

  ‘The body was that of Sonya Novak?’

  ‘Sofia Novak. Yes.’

  ‘Was there anything in the way these bodies were buried that could suggest cause of death?’

  ‘We did find traces of rope which could indicate that the bodies were tied up before or after death,’ says Ruth. ‘There was no DNA on the rope.’ She knows this was disappointing to Nelson and his team. March’s DNA had been all over the ropes that had bound Stacy and Jill, his first victims.

  ‘Was there anything else that struck you as noteworthy?’ asks Mrs Hubbard, one of her stock questions.

  Ruth hesitates. She had thought there was something slightly strange about the bones but it’s hard to put into words and difficult to know if it will help the coroner come to a verdict. Still, she has sworn on her own atheism to tell the whole truth. ‘The remains of Jenny and Nicola were slightly atypical for bodies buried in alkaline soil,’ she says. ‘Some of the bones were cracked, almost honeycombed in places.’

  ‘Why would that be?’

  ‘I’m not sure. It could be due to the presence of groundwater in the soil. This would make it acidic, which damages bone. But general weathering and root action, plants growing along and into bone, can also change the appearance of skeletal remains.’

  ‘Thank you, Dr Galway. Is there anything you want to add?’

  ‘Just to express my profound sympathy to the families of Nicola, Jenny and Sofia. And to reassure them that we treated their daughters’ remains with the utmost respect.’

  ‘Are there any questions for Dr Galway? No? You may step down.’

  As Ruth does so she sees a movement at the back of the room and glimpses a black-clad figure heading for the door. A clatter of high heels, a slam. Chantal Simmonds has left.

  *

  ‘Did you kill Sofia?’ says Nelson.

  March touches the picture again. ‘We had a love affair,’ he says. ‘Crissy understood. We always had an open marriage. I wasn’t Sofia’s first lover. She was a wild child. She liked all sorts of things. Some of them . . . dangerous.’

  ‘Dangerous?’ says Nelson.

  ‘She liked to be strangled,’ says March. ‘Auto-erotic asphyxiation. I looked it up. It’s quite common apparently. The blood vessels constrict and you get an incredible high. I didn’t want to do it but she begged me. The first time she said I didn’t do it hard enough. So I tried again. And it went wrong.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ says Nelson. He’s pretty sure he knows what March means but he wants him to say the words.

  ‘I killed her,’ says March. ‘It was terrible. The worst moment of my life. We were in my bedroom at Grey Walls and she just went limp. I didn’t know what to do. I knew she was dead. There was no point calling an ambulance.’

  Nelson clenches his fists but says nothing. Surely any decent human being would have called an ambulance? But this is Ivor March. Such rules don’t apply to him.

  ‘What did you do next?’ he asks.

  ‘I didn’t know what to do,’ says March. His voice is low, expressionless, lacking its usual assurance and mocking edge. ‘There was no one in the house. Everyone else had gone for some kind of nature hike. Eventually I wrapped the body up – I wrapped her up – and put her in the van. I drove around for hours. Then I remembered that my friend Simon had been digging up the garden of his pub to put in a swing or something like that. So I went there.’

  ‘Did Simon know?’ asks Nelson. They have been in touch with Simon Winsome, who now runs a pub in Melbourne. He claimed to know nothing about the bodies in the garden of the Jolly Boatman. If he was lying, Nelson will drag him back to England to face trial.

  ‘No,’ says March. ‘The pub was closed while they did the work in the garden. The earth was all churned up. It was easy to bury Sofia. I put her in the ground and I said a prayer. It was all I could do.’

  ‘Did you tell anyone else?’ asks Nelson.

  ‘No,’ says March. ‘No one knew. I think Crissy may have suspected something. She knew something was wrong. She could always read me like a book. But I kept it a secret from her. I told her that Sofia had sent Ailsa a postcard saying that she was back in Hungary. I don’t think she believed me though. It destroyed our marriage. I met Chantal shortly afterwards. She offered the chance of a new life and I took it.’

  There are many things Nelson could say. March was offered a new life with a new young girlfriend. Sofia had no such opportunities left. Her life was over, killed in a sex game and buried in the garden of a rundown pub, miles from home. Nelson will make sure Ivor pays the price for his crime. Crissy Martin too, if it turns out that she did know about it.

  ‘I’ll be back later to take a proper statement,’ he says to March. ‘You’d better have your lawyer present.’

  March bows his head. ‘That’s why I wanted Ruth to dig there. I told Crissy to write to Ruth too. I knew she’d find Sofia. I’m glad she did. So
fia deserves a better resting place.’

  ‘They all do,’ says Nelson. ‘What about Nicola and Jenny? Are you ready to tell me what happened to them?’

  March turns to the guard. ‘I want to go back to my cell now.’

  Chapter 26

  Nelson drives back to the station in high spirits. They have a confession at last. He can forget all this talk of Ivor March being innocent. They will be able to charge March with the murder of Sofia Novak and possibly Nicola Ferris and Jenny McGuire too. Back in his office, he telephones Sarah Hammond, March’s solicitor, and asks her to meet him at the prison in an hour. Then he hesitates. He should wait for Judy, she’s in charge of this inquiry after all, but he’s desperate to get the confession on record in case March changes his mind. He looks in the open-plan area but the only person there is PC Rocky Taylor. Rocky waves happily at Nelson. Nelson nods back.

  He’s just thinking that he’ll have to take Rocky with him when Judy appears at the door.

  ‘Inquest over,’ she says. ‘It was Mother Hubbard but she wasn’t too bad.’

  ‘Did she get the names wrong?’

  ‘Of course, DCI Naylor. Verdict was unlawful killing. On the balance of probability, et cetera, et cetera.’

  ‘That’s good. I was worried she’d leave it open. Juries hate an open verdict.’

  ‘Better for the families too. Ruth was good on the stand. Very clear but steered away from anything too graphic. Chantal Simmonds was there.’

  ‘Was she? Spying for March, I suppose. Anyway, speaking of March, I have news.’

  ‘Don’t tell me he confessed?’

  ‘Only to Sofia Novak but it’s a start. Want to come with me to charge him?’

  ‘Do I?’ Judy looks as if he has offered her a rare treat. Which he has. They sweep out of the station, leaving Rocky watching them, open-mouthed.

  *

  Ruth is left feeling rather flat after the inquest. Judy disappeared as soon as Mother Hubbard gave her verdict and so Ruth was left to exchange a few stilted words with Tanya. She congratulates Tanya on her marriage, which took place earlier in the spring.

  ‘Thank you,’ says Tanya. ‘I hate the word wife though. Neither of us is a wife.’

  Ruth doesn’t think that she used the W word. She’s not a fan either but, then, she has never been married.

  ‘How’s Kate?’ asks Tanya. Ruth is rather touched that she has remembered the name.

  ‘She’s fine,’ she says. ‘She’s nine. She’ll be in secondary school in a year.’ Ruth is rather dreading the inevitable rows with Nelson about this choice.

  ‘If you want advice, you can always ask Petra,’ says Tanya. ‘She teaches at Heath House.’

  ‘Thank you,’ says Ruth. ‘That’s very kind.’ She has already crossed Heath House (private, selective) off her list.

  Tanya leaves with the new, young officer in tow. Ruth gathers up her papers and heads to the door just as the next family comes in, white-faced and shell-shocked.

  She is hurrying to be back in time for her parking meter when a voice says, ‘Dr Galloway?’

  Ruth turns. It’s Chantal Simmonds, the black dress and hat looking even more incongruous in the daylight.

  ‘Hallo,’ says Ruth. She doesn’t want a cosy chat with Ivor March’s girlfriend but she can’t see any point in pretending that she doesn’t know who Chantal is.

  ‘You did the excavations, didn’t you?’ says Chantal. She is puffing on one of those vape things. There’s a sickly sweet smell of mango in the air. It makes Ruth feel rather nostalgic for the days when smokers gathered outside offices for cigarette breaks, companionably coughing their lungs out.

  ‘Yes,’ says Ruth.

  ‘You didn’t find Ivor’s DNA on the bodies, did you?’

  ‘You heard me give evidence,’ says Ruth.

  ‘Yes, I heard you. I was impressed. You’re a definite improvement on Phil Trent.’

  Ruth can’t help being rather pleased to hear this. Praise is always welcome, whatever the source. But then she thinks of Phil in his hospital bed watching reruns of Antiques Roadshow.

  ‘Phil’s in hospital,’ she says. ‘Someone attacked him.’

  ‘I know,’ says Chantal, waving the vape pipe as if it’s an old-fashioned cigarette holder. ‘But he’ll get better. It’ll all be for the good in the end, you’ll see.’

  This sounds uncomfortably like Cathbad. Ruth doesn’t want to think that she might benefit from her colleague having a heart attack. ‘I’d better be going,’ she says.

  Chantal ignores this. ‘You met Ivor, didn’t you?’

  ‘Yes,’ says Ruth. She can see a traffic warden approaching her car.

  ‘Do you think he’s guilty?’ says Chantal.

  ‘Yes,’ says Ruth. ‘I do.’ She remembers Ivor’s voice. You’re a very impressive woman, Dr Galloway.

  ‘I don’t think you do,’ says Chantal. ‘Look at the forensics again, Ruth.’

  Call me Dr Galloway, Ruth wants to say. Except this is the way Ivor March had addressed her.

  ‘What do you mean?’ she says.

  But Chantal just laughs. ‘Is that your car?’ she says. ‘I think you’re about to get a ticket.’

  *

  Nelson is still in a good mood when he gets home. He had been worried that March would change his mind when confronted with his solicitor but he tells the same story again, still in that subdued monotone. The only disappointment was that, however hard he tried, Nelson was unable to get March to confess to killing Nicola and Jenny too. He might be able to push for a prosecution on the grounds that three dead bodies in the same place looks like rather a coincidence but, without forensic evidence, it’s a long shot. Still, a good day’s work.

  The garage door opens with satisfying ease. Both his son and his dog greet him at the door. And, in the sitting room, he finds his wife and eldest daughter.

  ‘Hallo, Dad,’ says Laura, who is dressed in her cycling clothes. There is a map spread out on the table and various healthy snacks scattered around.

  ‘Hallo, love.’ Nelson is carrying George but leans over to kiss his daughter.

  ‘Be careful, Harry,’ says Michelle automatically.

  ‘What are you looking at?’ Nelson lowers himself onto the sofa with George still clinging round his neck.

  ‘It’s a map of Laura’s race,’ says Michelle. ‘Laura’s doing a cycling race on Saturday, starting at Titchwell. We’ll be there, won’t we? Unless you have to work?’ There’s a definite edge to these last words.

  ‘It’s just a sportive,’ says Laura. ‘Nothing serious. Only twenty-five miles.’

  ‘That sounds a long way to me,’ says Nelson. ‘On a bloody bike too.’

  ‘That is kind of the point of a bike race,’ says Laura, leaning across to make a face at George. He laughs and grabs at her hair.

  ‘Of course we’ll be there,’ says Nelson. He has always tried to support his daughters in their various interests, spending hours watching Laura play netball or applauding Rebecca in some God-awful play. It makes him sad that, although he watched her stellar performance as the innkeeper in last year’s school Nativity, he will never be able to perform the same service for Katie. He is also slightly ashamed of how much he is looking forward to taking George to football.

  ‘I invited Ruth and Katie too,’ says Laura, not looking at either of her parents. ‘They said they’d come. Frank too.’

  Nelson waits for Michelle to say something. He can only see her leg but he can tell by the way it’s jiggling that she’s annoyed.

  ‘When did you go to see Ruth?’ she says.

  ‘On Monday,’ says Laura. ‘After school.’

  Nelson had also seen Ruth on Monday but he knows better than to mention this. He feels his teeth grind at the mention of Frank.

  ‘Are you getting keen on cycling, then
?’ he says to Laura. He’s always been in favour of sports but he worries that his eldest daughter is too thin and cyclists always seem to be little more than sticks. He thinks of Heidi Lucas, her wandlike legs and fragile arms, her hair spread out across the grass.

  ‘It’s great,’ says Laura, with worrying enthusiasm. ‘I love the club too.’

  ‘One of the members was murdered recently,’ says Nelson. ‘You need to be careful. Don’t go out on your own at night.’

  ‘I know,’ says Laura. ‘I never spoke to Heidi but some of the members are really upset. They’re holding a candlelight vigil for her tomorrow.’

  ‘Poor girl,’ says Michelle, standing up. ‘Will you stay for supper, Laura?’ She tries for a casual tone but Nelson can hear the tension in her voice.

  He thinks Laura will refuse but she suddenly laughs and swings George up into the air. ‘Yes,’ she says, ‘that would be lovely.’

  ‘I’ll drive you home,’ says Nelson. ‘The bike can go in the back.’

  Laura doesn’t say no to this either. Nelson and Michelle exchange glances behind Laura’s back as she plays with her brother. So many emotions but the predominant one is relief.

  *

  Ruth arrives home feeling slightly shaken by the day’s events. The inquest had been stressful and upsetting as always and the conversation with Chantal had been oddly disturbing. What did she mean: look at the forensics again? Does Chantal really believe that Ruth will find evidence that Ivor March is innocent? Could he conceivably be innocent? The recent murder has raised that question in Ruth’s mind but it is outweighed by March’s previous conviction and general creepiness, plus Nelson’s belief in his guilt. But Nelson has been wrong before. All in all it’s been a confusing day. Plus, she got a bloody parking ticket.

  When she gets in Frank is making supper and Kate is drawing at the kitchen table. Ruth is grateful to Frank for cooking. She doesn’t feel like preparing food, although she suspects that it might be her turn. What she really wants is an hour on her own in her study but that’s the thing when you live with someone. You can’t always do what you want. She gives Kate a hug and stands on tiptoe to kiss Frank on the cheek.