Page 83 of The Chapel of Bones

Wesley held the bag up so that Gerry could see and manoeuvred the watch until the back was visible. The inscription was still clear even after several years in the earth.To Tina. Happy 21st. Love Mum & Dad.

‘Well, we know her name at least,’ said Neil, sounding pleased with himself. He saw Wesley glance at Gerry. ‘Aren’t you going to call the station and get them to check missing persons?’

It was Gerry who answered. ‘There’s no need. We’ve been looking for a Tina, and now we’ve found her. A woman calledTina Gadson walked out on her husband around the same time Aleric Donnal disappeared in 2011, and was never seen again.’

‘And nobody reported either of them missing,’ said Wesley. ‘Aleric Donnal’s colleagues assumed he’d gone back to France to continue his research, and Tina Gadson was said to have travelled abroad.’

‘But they both ended up here,’ said Neil, as though he could hardly believe it. ‘I presume they were killed by the same person. Any idea who?’

Wesley nodded slowly. ‘We have a suspect, but he’s disappeared too. No record of him.’

At that moment, Colin Bowman arrived with a cheerful greeting and a handshake for everyone as usual before he donned his crime-scene gloves.

By now the CSIs had managed to uncover most of the body and peel back what remained of the disintegrating bin bag. The dead woman’s face had mostly rotted away, but some desiccated flesh and hair remained, and it had become clear that there was something round her neck – the remnants of a scarf. It was most likely some man-made fibre, as it was well preserved even after so long in the ground.

After a while, Colin gave his preliminary verdict. ‘That scarf around the neck looks rather stretched, as though it’s been pulled tight, so it must have bitten into the flesh. I won’t know for sure until the post-mortem, but if I was a betting man, I’d put money on strangulation being the cause of death. That’s just my first impression, so I could be wrong,’ he added.

‘Just like Sue Potter,’ Wesley said softly as he turned away. It would take a while for the body to be lifted from the ground, and they had things to do.

‘There’s one place we haven’t been yet,’ he said to Gerry as they walked back to the car.

‘Where’s that?’

‘The Gadson family home. That rather run-down house behind the zoo where Dale lived.’

‘It was searched thoroughly when he died and nothing relevant was found, just a load of empty bottles and some tatty furniture. He’d really let the place go.’

‘What about documents? Family papers?’

‘Nothing of particular interest. Nothing much in his office either.’

Wesley stopped suddenly. He needed to think. ‘I want to have another word with Jim Baker.’

‘Why? I believed him when he said he had nothing to do with Gadson’s death.’

‘Me too. But he must have been living here at St Julian’s when Tina disappeared.’

‘Aphrodite and Apollo were here too.’

‘Maybe in body, but . . . We’ll speak to them as well.’

Wesley rang the station. They needed Baker brought in for interview again as soon as possible. As they climbed into the car, he looked back. The scene was busy with CSIs and archaeologists, but there was no sign of Helen Jones, and Wesley wondered if she’d returned to the house. A house she probably thought by now must be cursed.

Surprisingly, they didn’t have to contact Jim Baker. As soon as they reached the station, they found him waiting in the reception area, and the only word Wesley could think of to describe his manner was ‘sheepish’. Gone was the swagger, the arrogance of a man convinced he was right and everyone in authority was wrong. Wesley thought that whatever had brought about this change must have been some kind of cataclysmic Damascene conversion. And he was impatient to find out what it was.

‘There’s something you should know,’ Baker began.

Gerry looked sceptical. ‘I thought you didn’t like talking to the police.’

Baker took a step towards the door, and for a moment Wesley was afraid the DCI’s attitude had made him change his mind. Sometimes Gerry’s bluntness could seem crass to those who didn’t know him. Wesley gave his arm a nudge.

‘Please, Mr Baker. We’d like to hear what you’ve got to say.’

When Baker appeared to hesitate, Wesley immediately took action. ‘Come this way. Fancy a cup of tea?’

Baker nodded meekly, and Wesley ushered him through to the most comfortable interview room, equipped with kettle, tea bags and matching mugs. If they were going to get anything out of the man, he knew they needed to play nice.

Gerry’s mobile phone rang. It was the chief super, summoning him to her office for an update on the grim new discovery at Sycamore House. Relieved, Wesley called Rachel to ask her to join them. Her calm presence might help to move things along.