House of Lies (Detective Karen Hart)

by D. S. Butler

  Chidlow House was rich with history and oil paintings were everywhere he looked. Hunting scenes were obviously a favourite. Men wearing red jackets and white breeches, perched on large horses, were delicately painted in front of lush countryside. There were lots of pictures of hunting dogs too, as well as the usual family portraits.

  He walked up the stairs, and on reaching the top of the first flight, he stopped short. Ella Seaton was standing in front of him, pale as a ghost.

  She gasped and put her hand to her chest. ‘Oh, you scared me!’

  She reached out a hand to grip the banister.

  Morgan apologised and stepped aside. ‘I thought you were supposed to be in the library, Ella.’

  ‘Oh, yes, I am. I just wanted to go to my room . . . for something.’

  Her cheeks flushed and she put her hands against her pockets, as though trying to stop Morgan seeing inside, but he couldn’t very well order her to empty out her pockets here on the staircase, not without good reason.

  ‘Well, why don’t you join the others?’ he said.

  He preferred all the students and parents to be in one place where he could keep tabs on them, as well as making sure they stayed safe. He didn’t want any other students going missing.

  Ella nodded meekly.

  ‘Did you see DS Hart up here?’ Morgan asked.

  ‘No, sorry.’ She gave him an apologetic smile and then nimbly made her way down the stairs.

  Morgan turned and climbed the second flight. She was an odd girl, definitely a little nervous and jumpy.

  The wind was howling outside, and a sudden squall directed raindrops hard against the windowpanes at the end of the corridor, sounding like a hundred tiny hands tapping on the glass. He felt a sudden chill as he walked across the deep red carpet.

  The doors were all made of oak, old and battered with age, yet they had an old-world charm. The brass doorknobs matched the brass numbers on the doors.

  He paused for a moment, listening, trying to detect which room Karen was in, but couldn’t hear anything.

  Deciding to knock on each door in turn, he rapped on the wood of number twenty, then suddenly stopped when he heard a whispering voice. He couldn’t decipher what it was saying.

  He turned sharply but there was no one in the corridor with him and it definitely hadn’t sounded like Karen. It sounded younger, like a girl but slightly distorted by an echo.

  The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and his skin prickled. Then the sound came again.

  ‘Who’s there?’ he called out, but there was no response.

  A door opened near the end of the corridor. It was Karen.

  ‘Looking for me?’ she asked.

  Morgan frowned. ‘Did you hear that?’ He fell silent listening again for the noise, but there was nothing.

  ‘No. What was it?’ Karen asked.

  ‘Whispering.’

  Karen’s frown matched his. ‘I didn’t hear it just now, but I did hear it earlier, yes.’

  Morgan thought back to meeting Ella on the stairs. Could it be her? Was she playing tricks on them? It was a childish thing to do, but who else could it be? Everyone else was supposed to be downstairs in the library.

  ‘Is something wrong?’ Karen asked.

  ‘I came up to tell you the superintendent wants you to go back to the station. She wants an update.’

  ‘From me?’ Karen asked, surprised.

  ‘Yes, she asked for you specifically, and in person.’

  ‘Why?’ Karen asked.

  ‘I don’t know. It struck me as odd, but she insisted. I gave her an update over the phone, thinking that would be enough, but she asked for you to come back as soon as possible.’

  Karen sighed and looked back regretfully over her shoulder at the room she’d been searching. ‘It’s going to put us behind. Did you tell her I was looking through the rooms?’

  ‘I did, but she still asked for you to return to the station and said she’d send some bodies to help with the indoor search.’

  ‘Who? I’d prefer to oversee the search myself.’

  ‘I’ll keep an eye on things.’ Morgan knew Karen had trouble delegating tasks to officers outside their immediate team. Her trust issues were understandable. She’d been betrayed by officers she’d relied on in the past, and it would take time to build up that trust again. ‘It must be important. I can’t see why she would ask otherwise.’

  Karen nodded slowly. ‘I suppose you’re right, but it’s a pain.’ She walked back into the room, grabbed the keys and then locked the door before handing the key ring to Morgan. ‘What about Chidlow? He’s not going to like it if we bring more officers into his house.’

  ‘I’ll deal with him,’ Morgan said.

  They walked back downstairs together.

  ‘I’ll probably be at least an hour,’ Karen said. ‘Do you want me to ask Rick or Sophie to come down?’

  ‘No, I think it’s better they work on the background at the station. It’s easier to access everything there.’

  ‘Right,’ Karen said. ‘Well, good luck. I’ll see you in about an hour.’

  DI Morgan watched her leave, wondering again what was so important that the superintendent needed to see Karen in person.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Although there was a break in the rain, the journey back to the station wasn’t easy, as many of the smaller roads were flooded. As Karen navigated the country lanes, her car tyres sent waves of water on to the grass verges.

  Karen, reluctant to be away from the case any longer than she had to be, rushed straight to the superintendent’s office without stopping to catch up with Sophie and Rick.

  Pamela, Superintendent Murray’s assistant, told her she could go into the office straightaway. Karen did so and was surprised to see that the superintendent wasn’t alone. Sitting beside her desk, making himself comfortable, was Chief Constable John Grayson. They’d been eating chocolate digestives and drinking coffee.

  ‘Ma’am,’ Karen said. ‘You wanted an update.’

  ‘That’s right, Karen,’ the superintendent said, smiling. ‘Come in, take a seat. Chief Constable Grayson is very keen to hear about your progress, too.’

  ‘Right,’ Karen said, taking a seat and shaking her head when the superintendent offered her coffee. ‘I think DI Morgan has already given you an update?’

  ‘Yes,’ Murray said. ‘I heard you found some cannabis.’

  Karen nodded. ‘That’s right, but I’m not convinced it’s related to the girls’ disappearance.’

  ‘I’m glad to hear it,’ the chief constable said. ‘I was very disappointed to hear that Ethan may be involved.’

  ‘Another student reported Ethan smoking, but he wasn’t the one who supplied the drugs to Cressida or Natasha,’ Karen said.

  ‘That’s something I suppose, but I can’t help thinking I’ve let him down.’ Grayson looked down at his wedding ring. ‘It’s just me and Ethan, you see, since Kath died. It’s not easy bringing up a teenage boy on your own.’

  ‘I wasn’t aware your wife had died, sir,’ Karen said. ‘I’m very sorry.’

  Grayson met Karen’s gaze. ‘Thank you. It’s not easy.’

  He looked pained. Karen knew what it was like to deal with loss. The death of Ethan’s mother probably went some way to explaining the teenager’s behaviour too.

  Superintendent Murray stood up. ‘Excuse me. I need to talk to Pamela. I’ll be back in a moment.’

  She left the room, shutting the door behind her.

  ‘I’m glad it’s you and DI Morgan on the case,’ Grayson said. ‘I can trust you, I’m sure of it.’

  ‘We’ll do our best to find the girls, sir,’ Karen said, unsure where this conversation was heading. She sympathised with the loss of the chief constable’s wife, but couldn’t help feeling this was some sort of ambush.

  The superintendent suddenly leaving the room and the chief constable being so friendly? It smelled like a set-up.

  ‘I’m sure you will. I’ve
been impressed with your career so far, Karen.’

  Karen frowned. She wasn’t aware she was on Grayson’s radar. And she was pretty sure Assistant Chief Constable Fry hadn’t known her name until she made a nuisance of herself over the corruption investigation.

  ‘Thank you, sir,’ she said, shifting awkwardly in her seat.

  ‘I don’t want you to think I’m not taking the investigation into DI Freeman seriously, Karen. I’ve been thinking about it since we spoke, and I’m sure I can do something to encourage the inquiry team to continue on the right track. These investigations have a habit of getting dropped.’

  ‘They were thinking of stopping the case against him?’ Karen asked, outraged.

  ‘I’m afraid it was heading in that direction. It’s not easy to find people to testify against a police officer. And without evidence or testimony, any charges we bring against him won’t stick. I’m afraid they tend to think of it as a cost problem.’

  Karen balled her fists. The idea that the death of her family was being viewed in financial terms didn’t sit well with her at all. ‘But Charlie Cook said—’

  ‘The word of a criminal doesn’t hold much weight. We need more.’

  Karen’s mouth was dry. She wished she’d taken the superintendent up on the offer of coffee. If it was evidence they needed, then Karen would find it. Somehow. There was still Alice Price, who’d accused some of her fellow Lincolnshire officers of corruption. Alice was slightly unbalanced, admittedly, but maybe she knew something that could lead to the truth. Karen would keep digging until she got the answers she needed.

  ‘I didn’t say all this to upset you,’ Grayson continued. ‘You can rest assured I won’t let them drop the case. Not until they’ve exhausted all avenues. I can promise you that.’

  ‘Oh, well, thank you. I appreciate that,’ Karen said hesitantly, uncomfortably aware of what could be behind this sudden change of attitude.

  ‘Of course, I’d like you to keep me up to date on this case. I don’t need to tell you that having a drug charge against Ethan would adversely affect his future. That concerns me.’

  Karen narrowed her eyes. Was Grayson offering his support in exchange for omitting Ethan’s drug use in her reports? She couldn’t accept that.

  ‘I can’t leave Ethan’s involvement out of the report, sir.’

  ‘Of course not. I would never ask you to do that.’

  No, you’re too clever to ask directly, Karen thought, but she caught the heavy implication behind his words.

  The superintendent came back into her office. ‘Sorry about that. There was something I forgot to ask Pamela to do for me earlier. Thank you for the update, Karen.’

  ‘Is that all, ma’am?’ Karen asked.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I’ll get back to Chidlow House then.’

  ‘Yes, very good,’ the superintendent said. ‘Morgan asked for more officers to help with the internal search, so I’ve sent a couple of extra people along to him. That should help you out.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Karen said, imagining Lord Chidlow’s reaction when he saw the extra officers appear at the house. He would not be very happy about that development at all.

  She stood up, said her goodbyes and left the office even more confused than when she’d arrived. Had Grayson been implying that he’d help her with the investigation into Freeman only if she overlooked his son’s bad behaviour? Surely not. He couldn’t be offering to help her with a corruption inquiry in exchange for her breaking the rules.

  The irony was too much.

  After a treacherous journey back through the flooded country lanes, Karen parked outside Chidlow House. The rain fell in fat drops against the windscreen.

  Great. More rain; just what they didn’t need. Karen groaned as she cut the engine and grabbed her raincoat. Luckily for her, she wasn’t one of the officers trying to search the grounds.

  As she locked the car, she caught sight of the groundsman in the distance walking across the lawn. He had the spaniel beside him again. Karen shoved her arms into her jacket then made her way towards them. She called out twice, but the wind snatched her words away before they reached him. He took long strides despite his limp, and Karen had to jog to catch up with him, calling out as she did so.

  ‘Hey, can you wait a minute? I want a word with you,’ she said.

  He carried on walking. His steps only hesitated once, but Karen was convinced he’d heard her. Even if he was hard of hearing, the dog’s reaction beside him must have alerted him to her presence.

  She called out again. ‘I said, can you stop? I want to talk to you.’

  Finally, he came to a halt and turned around with a surly expression on his face. His eyes narrowed but he said nothing, just stared at her. He’d be quite good-looking if he stopped frowning.

  ‘You’re the groundsman, aren’t you? Mike, isn’t it?’

  He took a long time to answer, but finally nodded. ‘Mike Harrington.’

  ‘DS Karen Hart. And who’s this?’ she said, smiling at the dog.

  The question threw him for a moment. He frowned and then said gruffly, ‘Sandy.’

  ‘You know we’re investigating the disappearance of two female students from the study programme at Chidlow House . . .’ Karen began.

  ‘I don’t know anything about it.’

  ‘You didn’t see them or speak to them while they were here?’

  He shook his head. ‘Not that I remember.’

  ‘Do you have much interaction with the students?’

  ‘No, not if I can help it,’ he said, and ordered Sandy to stay still. The spaniel was full of gleeful energy, quite a contrast to the sullen groundsman.

  ‘Maybe I could show you a picture of Natasha and Cressida? You might have seen them and not realised who they were,’ Karen said, digging through her bag to pull out the file.

  He gave a long, drawn-out sigh and took a step closer to look at the pictures, leaning on his cane.

  He shrugged. ‘I think I may have seen them about.’

  ‘Did you speak to either of them?’

  ‘I don’t think so. I just do my job and keep to myself.’

  ‘They’re pretty young women. You would have remembered if you’d spoken to them, wouldn’t you?’

  He stared at her for a long moment and then said, ‘Look, I really do have work to be getting on with.’

  Karen put the file back in her bag. ‘Fine. I’ll walk with you and we can talk as we go.’

  With an irritated huff, he began to walk, and Karen fell into step beside him. ‘What do you know about Lord Chidlow?’

  ‘He’s my boss.’

  ‘Yes, but do you know him personally? Friends?’

  ‘Not really, no.’

  ‘Does he have many visitors to the estate during the year? Parties?’

  ‘I keep my nose out of other people’s business. I find life’s easier that way.’

  ‘Someone mentioned Chidlow had quite the reputation around here.’

  ‘I wouldn’t know anything about that.’

  ‘This is the first time there’s been a study week at the house for students?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘You’re not very talkative, are you?’

  He turned, looking at Karen, and she thought she saw a smile tug at his lips. But it soon vanished and was replaced by the sullen expression again. ‘I like my own company. I’m not one for chatter.’

  I’d noticed, thought Karen.

  ‘We think the girls left the house at nine p.m. last night. Probably left by the French windows at the side.’ She pointed back at the house and was surprised at how far they’d walked.

  He didn’t say anything.

  ‘Well?’ Karen prompted.

  ‘Well, what? You didn’t ask me a question.’

  ‘Well, did you see anything last night or hear anything?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Where were you last night?’

  ‘At home.’

  ‘You live on the estate.
Is that right?’

  ‘Yes. I stay in the cottage on the other side of the lake. It’s quite a way from the house so it’s not surprising I didn’t hear anything.’

  ‘Must be lonely over there on your own. Quite cut off.’

  ‘I like it.’

  ‘I wonder if Sandy heard anything,’ Karen said, leaning down to stroke the dog, much to Sandy’s delight. ‘She didn’t react strangely to anything last night? No barking?’

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘And you shouldn’t pet her like that. She’s a working dog.’

  Karen frowned. ‘Surely even working dogs like a bit of affection now and then.’ She straightened. ‘Well, thank you for your time.’

  ‘You’d better get back to the house. The rain is getting heavier.’ He looked up at the dark clouds.

  ‘I will,’ Karen said, but before the words left her mouth, he was marching off towards the woods with Sandy at his heels.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Karen kept her head down and quickened her step as the rain began to fall more heavily. When she got closer to the house, she noticed that some members of the search party were standing out on the patio.

  ‘Sarge?’ a familiar voice said. Karen turned to see DC Farzana Shah waving at her from the French windows. ‘Come in. You’re getting soaked. I’ve only just got here myself. The super asked me to come down and help with the search of the house.’

  Karen stepped inside, wiping her feet on the rug, then shivered. There was a large fire in the grate. She moved closer to it. ‘What’s going on out there? Have they found something?’

  Farzana nodded. ‘They found one of the girls.’

  ‘Which girl?’ Karen asked.

  ‘Cressida.’

  ‘Alive?’

  ‘Yes. I mean, she’s traumatised, looks like she’s been out all night.’

  ‘Where is she?’

  ‘They’ve put her in the front parlour, part of Chidlow’s private residence. DI Morgan is talking to her now. We’ve called her parents. She’s just through here,’ Farzana said, leading the way.