“Yes, I’ll show you.” I led the way upstairs, followed by Bill and with Suzanne behind him.
I took him into the main bedroom and showed him the chimney breast. Suzanne and I had already moved everything away to give him easy access.
“The decoration doesn’t look very old. It’s a shame that I’ll have to remove it.” He sniffed the air. “Are you certain that there is a dead bird in the flue? I can’t smell anything.”
“I do have a very sensitive sense of smell and I have noticed it ever since moving in a couple of weeks ago”, I lied.
“Fair enough. I’ll put a sheet down to catch the mess.” He tapped around the face of the chimney breast, determining the extent of the hollow area. “I’ll cut a hole in the plywood cover. I’m afraid it will ruin your decoration.”
“Don’t worry about that. Do whatever is needed to get at the space.”
I heard his power drill cutting through the plywood panel. He told me that he would cut the panel out by using a jig-saw from the hole he had already made. Suzanne and I held our breath, feeling absolutely certain that we knew what really was hidden in the flue.
The noise of the jig-saw was quite loud in the room and it was a relief when Bill had cut the panel, letting it drop onto the floor. “That’s a surprise”, commented Bill.
“What is it?”, I asked, nervously.
“Well, it’s unusual.” I could imagine him scratching his head at what lay in front of him. “First of all, most people covering openings in Chimneys, tend to use quite thin plywood or even hardboard. This is twenty mill thick ply. Much thicker than necessary. Then, the opening had been covered with a sheet, attached with adhesive tape to the face of the wall. Behind the sheet, there is a large package, covered in insulating material. The sort of thing you’d put around a hot water cylinder. Anyway, I’ll try and lift it out.”
Suzanne and I were holding each other’s hand, the tension in the room becoming ever more intense. Bill puffed and panted as he pulled at the object concealed in the flue. “My God! It’s heavy. It’s quite a job to pull it out. Ah, that’s better.”
We heard his laboured breathing as he, presumably, lifted the ‘thing’ out and laid it on the dust sheet.
“There’s no sign of a dead bird, Mr. Buckingham. Do you want me to open this package that I’ve taken out of the flue?”
“Yes, please. We need to get to the cause of the smell.”
“Fair enough. I’ll cut through the covering with my Stanley knife.”
I could hear the sound of the sharp knife cutting through layers of adhesive tape and, suddenly, realised that I had been holding my breath.
“Oh, my God! It’s part of a body! Oh, shit! I don’t think you should look, Mrs. Buckingham!”
For once, it was a blessing that I could not see the human remains within the package. I did not correct him about Suzanne’s marital status. “What can you see?”
Bill had lost his usual confidence and there was a noticeable tremor in his voice as he said, “Oh, the stench! It is a rotting corpse of a man from the head down to the waist! It’s in a thick, plastic bag”
“Oh, my God! No wonder I could smell it. I wonder how long it has been there?” Suzanne was holding me tight and averting her eyes away from the human remains lying on the floor.
“I think you need to phone the Police. This guy did not put himself there.”
“Yes, of course.” I took the mobile from my pocket and dialled the emergency service.
“Which Emergency service do you require?” the female voice sounded calm and efficient, unlike my own turbulent feelings, at that particular moment. Part of me had been expecting this horror, yet another part was in denial of the facts which lay before us.
“Police, please.” I was immediately connected to a police officer who listened calmly as I relayed my story. He made a note of my name and address.
“Please do not touch anything, sir. Somebody should be with you shortly.
Within ten minutes, the police were at the front door. Suzanne, Bill and I had decided to come downstairs, all of us suffering from the shock of the horrific discovery. “Kelly! Come here!” She ran up to me as I was grabbing her lead and harness from the hallway. Slipping them on to her, I opened the door wide.
“Mr. Buckingham?” His voice was deep and conveyed a sense of great discipline. I certainly did not envy his job. I could imagine how the neighbours would react on seeing the police officers coming to my door. There would, no doubt, be many wagging tongues, especially as we were the newcomers in the area.
“Yes, I phoned. Please come in” Suzanne hung on to my arm as we moved back to allow them to enter.
Seeing Kelly in harness, he realised that I had a problem with my eyes and said, “Thank you, sir. My colleague is Detective Wilson and I am Detective Inspector Paul Marsden of Greater Manchester Police Department. Would you mind telling me what happened?”
“No problem. We have only moved in here a couple of weeks ago and, since then, I have noticed a strong smell in the bedroom. I thought it must be a dead bird caught in the chimney. I called Bill to find out the cause of the problem and when he cut through the panel, he discovered the remains.”
“Okay, sir. My colleague and I will have a quick look. Perhaps it would be better if you all remained down here.”
I was relieved not to have to return and said, “It is in the rear bedroom.”
Bill asked, “Do you need me?”
“I would be grateful if you could stay for now, sir. We will have to take a statement from all of you.”
I could hear the heavy footsteps of the two men as they mounted the stairs.
Suzanne, Bill and I went into the living room and sat down to wait. After a few minutes, the policemen returned.
D.I. Marsden spoke. “I’ve called the Scene of Crime team to follow-up on this investigation, sir. I don’t suppose you know who the man is?”
“I’ve no idea”, I lied. “As I mentioned, we have only been here a couple of weeks. I have never met the previous occupants, but I understand that a Bosnian couple used to live here. Perhaps the estate agency may be able to help with details of the previous occupants.”
“That would be very helpful, sir. Do you have the phone number of the agent?”
Fortunately, I have a good memory for phone numbers and gave him this information. After this, the three of us had to sign statements prepared by the officers. At least, they would, now, realise that Suzanne and I were not yet married.
Bill interrupted. “Is it alright if I go, now? I have other jobs to go to.”
“Yes, Sir, that’s fine. We may find it necessary to contact you again, but we do have your phone number, now, should we need to get in touch with you.”
Bill approached me, put his hand on my arm and said, “Just let me know if you want any other jobs doing, Mr. Buckingham. I won’t charge you for today.”
“Thanks, Bill. I’m certain that we will need some work in the future. I’ll be in touch.”
After Bill had left, it came as a surprise when D.I. Marsden asked, “Mr. Buckingham, is there somewhere else that you and your partner could live for a few days?”
Unfamiliar with police procedures, I asked, “Why?”
“I’m sure you will appreciate that the team on their way to collect evidence will make living here pretty difficult. On top of that, I think that we should also investigate the chimney breast in the other bedroom. Who knows? We may find the rest of this poor guy!”
I could, now, understand the situation and, thinking fast, I said, “Yes, we should be able to move out for a few days, as long as we can get some luggage together.”
“No problem. That would be very helpful, sir.”