The Dungeon House (Lake District Mysteries)

by Martin Edwards

  ‘Is that so?’

  ‘Yes.’ He coughed. For a man who did not, Hannah suspected, embarrass easily, he seemed rather uncomfortable. ‘Jo suggested we go off to Drigg. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the place, but there’s a long beach, and extensive sand dunes. We’d … well, that was the first place where we ever made love. She made it fairly plain she’d like me to – um – rekindle things between us.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘I told her I had to get back home. My Dad was very poorly at the time, and I needed to be there.’

  ‘That was an excuse?’

  ‘Listen,’ he said earnestly. ‘The last thing I wanted was to be unkind. I was fond of Joanna, and she knew I wasn’t seeing anyone else. Amber pestered me, God rest her soul, but she was too young for me. The snag was, I simply wasn’t ready to resume my relationship with Jo. To be totally honest, I doubt I’d ever have been ready. She was too … intense.’

  ‘So you weren’t tempted?’

  ‘I’m not saying that.’ His teeth flashed. ‘I was a young man, with a young man’s libido. Joanna had found herself a good job, and was ready to settle down, but that wasn’t for me. I was young, ambitious, and hopelessly immature. I’d left Malcolm’s company, and started working in claims. I needed to focus my energies on my career. A wife and a tribe of snotty-nosed kids didn’t form part of the plan. So I gave Jo a peck on the cheek, and cycled back home.’

  ‘What did Joanna do after you separated?’

  ‘At the time, I assumed she’d simply headed back to Holmrook, and gone to bed.’

  ‘Why come here instead? It was too late for a social call, did she offer any explanation?’

  ‘I’m still not clear, she was rather muddled.’ He spread his arms vaguely. ‘Typical of Joanna, I’m afraid, and I certainly didn’t subject her to a Spanish inquisition. I’ve spent the last twenty years trying to forget what Malcolm did.’

  ‘Did Amber phone Joanna? Was she asking for help when your uncle ran amok?’

  He clenched his fist. ‘That must be it. Yes, I bet you’re spot on. They were very close, those two. Joanna was like Amber’s big sister.’

  Les didn’t look convinced. ‘Why wouldn’t Amber ring 999?’

  ‘Your guess is as good as mine.’ Nigel said. ‘Malcolm was Amber’s dad, don’t forget. If she called before he started shooting, perhaps she thought Jo could talk some sense into him. Who knows?’

  ‘What did Joanna tell you about the events of that night?’

  ‘She said she … had a bad feeling about what had happened at the barbecue. Malcolm’s drunkenness. His nasty temper. I suspect Amber confided in Jo, told her that Lysette was seeing Scott Durham.’

  ‘What do you know about their affair?’ Les said. ‘Their alleged affair?’

  ‘No more than anyone else. It wasn’t common knowledge until after the shootings. I certainly had no idea. Like I said, I scarcely knew Scott Durham, and Lysette was my aunt. She wasn’t going to tell me her secrets.’

  Les grunted. ‘Sorry, I interrupted. You were telling us about what Joanna did, the night of the shootings.’

  ‘What she told me she did,’ Nigel corrected. ‘When she arrived at the house, she said, the front door was ajar, and she heard a commotion from the direction of the quarry garden. Amber was screaming her head off. Jo wasn’t sure if there’d been a burglary, she was frantic. When she pushed the door open, she saw Lysette’s body, sprawled across the floor. Blood was spattered everywhere, she said it was like staring into an abattoir.’ He swallowed some whisky. ‘In a blind panic, she ran out toward the quarry garden, and saw two figures on the path at the top of the quarry. Malcolm and Amber. He was waving his rifle around like a maniac.’

  He wiped his mouth. ‘Sorry, it’s dreadful, reliving that night, even after so many years. This is why I didn’t want Joanna to go on about it. What was done was done. I just hope Malcolm is still rotting in hell.’

  ‘Take your time, Mr Whiteley,’ Hannah said. ‘It’s been an emotional few days for you. Can I get you anything, a glass of water?’

  ‘No, no, I’ll be fine.’ Gritting his teeth, he looked up at her. ‘This is a wonderful day. You’ve brought me the best news I’ve ever received. Shona is safe and well. The very least I can do is to answer your questions.’

  ‘Thanks.’ She was battling to suppress her impatience. Gently does it.

  ‘Joanna said she was rooted to the spot. In front of her eyes, Malcolm and Amber struggled, and Amber fell over the edge.’

  ‘Her father pushed her?’

  ‘God knows. Jo didn’t seem sure whether it was accidental or deliberate. I doubt it changes anything. We’ll never know.’

  ‘How did Joanna Footit see what happened?’ Les asked. ‘At that time of night, surely it was pitch black.’

  ‘The quarry garden was still a work-in-progress, but Malcolm had already installed lights along the length of the path. They had motion sensors, a security feature. She had no trouble seeing him and Amber, but they couldn’t see her. Obviously, she was frightened out of her wits, and started to run for her life. She hadn’t got very far when she heard a shot. Only later did she realise that was Malcolm, killing himself.’

  ‘What did she do then?’ This was Hannah.

  ‘Legged it all the way home.’

  ‘Had she cycled there?’

  Nigel looked confused. ‘I’m not sure. She didn’t say.’

  ‘Why didn’t she call the police, raise the alarm?’

  ‘I asked her that.’ Nigel shook his head. ‘She didn’t give me a straight answer.

  ‘If you ask me, the whole experience was so shocking, it caused her to have a total breakdown.’

  ‘She was interviewed by the police,’ Les said. ‘I’ve read her statement.’

  ‘Yes?’ Nigel’s face was blank. ‘All of us who had anything to do with Malcolm were interviewed. She must have been in a poor way when she spoke to your colleagues. I’m sure she said nothing about her visit to the Dungeon House, or I’d have heard about it.’

  ‘The statement fills less than two sides of paper, but there’s no hint that she wasn’t fit to be questioned.’

  ‘On the surface, she may have seemed okay, but inside …’

  ‘She was asked about the barbecue and the meal in the pub. She also confirmed that you and she went your separate ways after your walk on the shore.’

  Nigel nodded. ‘Of course.’

  ‘You and she didn’t meet after the shootings?’ Hannah asked.

  ‘We never had a chance. I heard she wasn’t well, and I thought if I got in touch, I’d do more harm than good. I heard a rumour she’d taken some of her mum’s sleeping pills, and had to be rushed into hospital. The next I knew, she’d left the area.’

  ‘You never tried to get in touch with her?’

  ‘No, Chief Inspector. Does that sound heartless?’ He drained his glass. ‘You need to understand, it was a crazy time. The media were all over us as a family. Press, television. My uncle, aunt and cousin were dead, and my father was dying. He and Malcolm didn’t get on, but the whole business traumatised him. I’m sure it shortened his life. Not long afterwards, we buried him too. I always thought of him as Malcolm’s final victim.’

  He stood up. ‘And now, Chief Inspector, if you don’t mind, I’ve got a raging headache, and I’d better take something for it before I keel over. Will you excuse me? I’m thrilled about Shona, but right now, so much has happened so quickly that I feel like I’ve been through a threshing machine.’

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  ‘Why aren’t you looking smug?’ Les demanded, as they walked back to the car. ‘You were dead right about the Footit woman.’

  ‘Time enough to pat myself on the back when we’ve cleared everything up,’ Hannah said. ‘Hello – see that?’

  She was pointing to the name painted on a white van parked outside the garage block. Deano Garden Services. Two men came into view from behind the van. One was shaven-headed, and in hi
s early twenties; his companion was squat and hairy, a low-browed older man. Both wore blue overalls; they were carrying a driftwood bench along a path between the trees.

  ‘Let’s have a word,’ Les said.

  Hannah sprinted toward them, calling, ‘Mr Dean?’

  The men halted, and lowered the bench to the ground. The lad with the shaved head treated her to a toothy leer. ‘Boss ain’t here. Friend of his, darling? You can come in the woods with us for a picnic as long as you get rid of your granddad.’

  She shrivelled him with a look. ‘We’d like a quick word with Mr Dean.’

  The older man glowered. ‘Who wants him?’

  ‘Cumbria Constabulary. DCI Scarlett, this is Mr Bryant.’

  ‘Oh yeah?’ the lad jeered. ‘What’s the boss been doing, then?’

  ‘Where is he today?’

  The older man spat on the ground. ‘Back at his place.’

  ‘Not working today?’

  ‘Sorting out some tax stuff, he told us,’ the lad said. ‘Has he been on the fiddle?’

  ‘Thanks very much for your help.’ Turning on her heel, she returned to the car.

  ‘Want to pay Deano a visit?’ Les asked.

  ‘Lower Drigg isn’t far from here. Joanna has spent the last few days meeting up with people from her past, and she was in Dean’s car when Quiggin’s daughter was killed. He might point us in the right direction, and the sooner we find her, the happier I’ll be.’

  ‘Reckon she’s done a runner?’

  ‘God knows.’

  ‘She went to Daniel’s lecture, and asked a cryptic question about motive. The shootings were playing on her mind. Chances are, she decided she couldn’t handle it any more, and decided to get out of the Lakes.’

  ‘Leaving all her stuff in her room? Why not tell Quiggin?’

  ‘She’s flaky.’

  Hannah frowned. ‘Yes, but …’

  ‘You always want a rational answer for everything, don’t you?’ Les sighed. ‘People aren’t rational.’

  ‘If you’re about to say especially women, forget it, unless you fancy walking back to Kendal. What do you make of the story she told Nigel about the night of the shootings?’

  ‘Weird.’ Les buckled his seat belt. ‘Why keep quiet all these years?’

  ‘Nigel might be right. She was having a breakdown. After what she witnessed, hardly surprising.’

  ‘If that is what she witnessed,’ Les said.

  ‘You think she lied to Nigel?’

  ‘We’ll only find out if we get to talk to her.’

  ‘Agreed. But let’s have a word with Gray Elstone before we call on Dean. You never know, perhaps she’s run off with her old boss.’

  Two fathers with missing daughters, but only one with cause to celebrate. When Hannah phoned the accountant’s office, Yindee said that Elstone was in a meeting with a client. When pressed, she conceded that he might become free in the next half an hour. Her manner was off-hand, and when they arrived at the office, she was in the middle of a furious row with Gray’s PA . The older woman, cheeks flaming with temper, stomped back into her room as the detectives introduced themselves, and slammed the door behind her. Yindee picked up her mobile, and started texting, as if Hannah and Les were invisible.

  Moments later, Gray Elstone’s door opened, and a thickset man wearing an anorak and a surly expression marched out. Perhaps he’d just been advised that the Revenue was planning to double his tax bill. He didn’t spare the two detectives a glance before clumping down the stairs in heavy boots.

  ‘Chief Inspector.’ Gray gave Hannah a sorrowful smile as she introduced Les. ‘To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?’

  ‘We won’t take up much of your time, Mr Elstone, I’m sure you’re busy.’ Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yindee was still texting. ‘This is my colleague, Les Bryant.’

  ‘Yindee’s offered you a drink?’

  ‘I think she was just about to,’ Les lied cheerfully. ‘Mine’s coffee with two sugars, and the Chief Inspector usually likes a cup of Earl Grey at this time of the afternoon. Milk, not lemon, if that’s all right.’

  ‘Okay.’ Yindee put her phone away in her bag, a sulky child deprived of a favourite toy.

  Elstone led them into his office. ‘My apologies if you’ve been kept waiting. That client you saw is a hill farmer. Having a rough time of it financially, I’m afraid. The old agricultural way of life is becoming untenable, though it pains me to say it. Now, how can I help you?’

  ‘A couple of things,’ Hannah said. ‘First, you might like to know that Shona Whiteley has been located. Early indications are that she’s safe and well.’

  Elstone gaped at them. ‘Are you saying that she wasn’t kidnapped, after all?’

  ‘I’m afraid we can’t divulge anything more at this stage.’

  ‘Good grief.’ He gnawed at a fingernail. ‘That is a turn-up. Of course, I … I’m pleased for her father. It’s a desperate business, to have your only child go missing. I don’t suppose there’s any connection?’

  ‘It’s very early days yet, but as far as we can tell at this stage, there is no link between what has happened to Shona, and Lily’s disappearance.’

  ‘Ah. I see.’ For a horrible moment, Hannah thought he was going to burst into tears, but he fought to compose himself. Well, as I say, I’m glad it has turned out for the best. At least, for Nigel.’

  ‘There’s something else. We spoke yesterday about Joanna Footit. Do you happen to know where she is right now?’

  He rubbed his chin, as if to aid his memory. ‘She’s staying in Ravenglass.’

  ‘Not any more,’ Les said. ‘The last time she was seen was yesterday evening. She didn’t check out of the guest house, and her things are still in her room, or so it would seem, but her bed wasn’t slept in. Her car has also vanished.’

  Gray’s tufted eyebrows lifted. ‘That doesn’t sound like Joanna.’

  ‘Really? She’s had problems over the years.’

  ‘Yes, yes, that’s true. Poor girl – poor woman, rather. I hope … nothing has happened to her.’

  ‘Did Joanna talk to you about what happened at the Dungeon House all those years ago?’

  ‘No, no, she didn’t.’ His fingernails strayed to his mouth again. ‘Why do you ask? This has nothing to do with the kidnapping of Lily.’

  ‘This is another unexplained disappearance of a female in West Cumbria, Mr Elstone. We can’t afford to ignore any angle, no matter how …’

  ‘Tangential?’

  Excellent word, much better than far-fetched … ‘That’s right,’ she said gratefully.

  ‘Malcolm … did what he did on the Saturday night, and the bodies were found by Robbie Dean the next day. It caused a sensation. Something like that would make headlines in a large city, but in this part of the world … well, the news flew around in a matter of hours. It was quite appalling. I mean, he was my major client. As for Joanna, she didn’t come into work on the Monday.’

  ‘She took the day off sick?’

  ‘Not just that one day. Amber Whiteley was a close friend of hers, so I understood perfectly. We’d all been together at the barbecue. I could hardly expect her to come in, and behave as if nothing had happened.’

  ‘Did she get in touch, let you know how she was feeling?’

  A shake of the head. ‘No, her mother kept me in the picture by phone. I offered to pop round, pay a welfare visit, but she said Joanna wasn’t up to it. I felt sorry for her. Decent people, the Footits.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘Joanna sent in a sick note. Stress, anxiety, something along those lines. Then her mum rang up, and said Joanna had taken an overdose. They found her semi-conscious, and rushed her to hospital. Her stomach was pumped, or whatever they do in these cases.’ His expression was a blend of distress and distaste. ‘Quite dreadful. The next I heard was that she’d decided to leave the district. She wanted to make a fresh start somewhere else. Her parents were desperately worried, but what co
uld they do? She was a grown woman, and there was no question of sectioning her. But there was just no reasoning with her.’

  ‘Did she say goodbye to you?’

  ‘Not a word.’

  ‘So you never discussed what happened at the Dungeon House?’

  ‘Nor anything else.’ He folded his arms. ‘It was a shame. I’d gone the extra miles as an employer, making it clear that I’d hold the job open for as long as she needed to get herself back on her feet.’

  ‘Upsetting.’

  A quick, opportunistic nibble of the thumbnail. ‘Yes, it … did disappoint me. But it was nothing personal. After everything that had happened here, she simply needed to get away.’

  ‘Very understanding,’ Les said. ‘Not every employer would be so fair-minded. Some would bear a grudge.’

  Elstone blanched, and Hannah found herself itching to give him the benefit of the doubt. She couldn’t help feeling sorry for the man. This was a weakness in a detective, she knew, one of the reasons why her career was never likely to reach the giddy heights.

  ‘It was lovely to see her again.’ Elstone sounded a note of defiance. ‘A lot of water has flowed under the bridge. But her main aim was to meet Nigel again. She’d already bumped into Scott Durham. Have you spoken to Scott or Nigel?’

  ‘We’ve come here straight from Ravenglass Knoll,’ Hannah said.

  ‘Nigel must be ecstatic that Shona is safe. Lucky devil.’ The mask slipped, and Hannah glimpsed his bitterness, raw and ugly as a gaping wound. Seconds later, the bland professional expression was back in place. ‘I do apologise, Chief Inspector. Your people are doing their utmost, I’m sure. It just seems … hopeless. The ultimate lost cause.’

  ‘When we first spoke,’ Hannah said gently, ‘I explained that case reviews usually take time. We need to take a fresh look at all the evidence …’

  ‘And consider any fresh evidence,’ Les interrupted. ‘Speaking of which, Mr Quiggin from Ravenglass is a client of yours. How did he come to appoint you as his accountant?’

  Elstone looked baffled. ‘In the usual way, as I recall. Word of mouth recommendation is still the best way to pick up work in a rural community. I keep advertising to the bare minimum, and never bother with all this social media gubbins. Leave it to the big city firms, that’s my motto.’