Page 3 of The Chapel of Bones

‘Adult male. Fully clothed. Body in a fairly good state of preservation; signs of mummification. I’m sure you’ll be relieved to know that it’s likely he was put in there after death. No indications that he was alive when the work was done; no sign that he was clawing at the plasterboard or anything like that.’

‘Thank God for that,’ said Gerry. ‘Can’t think of anything worse than being walled up alive.’

Wesley shuddered. He’d suffered from claustrophobia since childhood, and in his view, being unable to escape from a confined space was the stuff of nightmares.

‘Wesley, Gerry, delighted to see you.’

They recognised the voice at once. The pathologist, Dr Colin Bowman, seemed to treat every encounter as a jolly social occasion, even when a decaying corpse was present.

‘What have you got for me today?’ He rubbed his hands together as though he was anticipating a treat.

‘Mummified corpse hidden inside a wall,’ said Gerry.

‘Really?’ Colin sounded slightly amused. ‘How very Gothic. I suppose I’d better take a look.’

Gerry led the way over to the corner of the room, where the CSIs had just finished ripping out the plasterboard, revealing the body in its full horror for the first time. They stood aside to let Colin see the focus of their attention.

‘Oh my,’ he said, suddenly serious, before opening his case and starting a preliminary examination with great care.

A few minutes later, he packed his instruments away and delivered his verdict.

‘Won’t be able to tell you much until I get him on the table. All I can say at the moment is that he’s male, probably around five foot nine. As for the cause of death, that’ll remain a mystery until I make a more thorough examination.’

‘Any idea of his age?’

‘Not young, certainly. Possibly late middle age. He appears to have a good head of grey hair.’

‘Any idea how long he’s been in there?’

Colin considered the question for a few moments. ‘The clothing looks fairly modern. By modern, I mean late twentieth century or maybe even more recent; certainly not Victorian, so he wasn’t put there when the house was built. As far as I can tell, he’s wearing twill trousers, a shirt and a sweater, but the latterhas served as moth larvae’s dinner. At first glance the clothes appear to be good quality. Not that I’m any sort of fashion expert, of course,’ he added with a smile.

‘So we have a well-dressed middle-aged man,’ said Wesley. ‘The type who’d probably be missed.’

Gerry called over to Jenny. ‘Have you found anything else in that cavity, love?’

The CSI produced a couple of evidence bags. ‘There was a sheet of paper by his feet. Looks like some kind of list. And a letter. Might have dropped out of his pocket.’

Gerry’s face lit up as though he’d just struck gold. Wesley was already wearing crime-scene gloves, so he took the sheet of yellowing paper from the evidence bag that Jenny handed him and unfolded it carefully. There were words neatly printed on the lined page, which looked as though it had been torn out of a notebook.Bonnacon. Ape. Griffin.It did indeed appear to be some kind of list, albeit a short one.

When he showed it to Gerry, the reaction was a shrug. ‘Any idea what it means?’

‘I recognise ape and griffin, of course, and I think a bonnacon is some kind of legendary bull. It looks like a list of animals, real and mythological.’

‘Let’s have a shufti at the other bag,’ Gerry said impatiently.

Wesley unfolded the letter with great care. It had been typed on thin paper with an old-fashioned typewriter, with each lettereraised above its neighbours.

‘What does it say?’ Gerry asked, straining to peer over Wesley’s shoulder.

‘It’s addressed to a Dr Aleric Donnal. Address, Harbour Steps in Tradmouth. The letterhead just says “Tradmouth Second-Hand Books”. No address.’ Wesley began to read aloud. ‘ “Dear Aleric, I am pleased to inform you that the book you asked me to find is now available. If you would drop into the shopbefore you set off for pastures new, I will be pleased to discuss remuneration. As for the other matter, you’re welcome to call at the house any time. Yours, Ethelred.” ’

‘Doctor?’ Gerry frowned. ‘A medical man?’

‘Or an academic. It shouldn’t be hard to find out.’

‘Aleric and Ethelred. They’d stand out in the school playground,’ said Gerry, shaking his head.

‘Depends on the school,’ said Wesley with a grin.