“Suzanne, love, could you put some things in a case for the two of us to go somewhere else, please?”
“Yes, of course.” Addressing the inspector, she asked, “Will it be alright for me to collect some clothes from our bedroom?
“Yes, of course. Just be careful not to touch anything near the chimney breast.”
I remained on the sofa, desperately thinking where Suzanne and I could go for a few days.
“This must have come as quite a shock to you, Mr. Buckingham, especially after just moving here?”
“It certainly has. The last thing I expected on moving into my first home was to find a body hidden in the chimney. The couple living next door may also be able to help you with your enquiries about the previous occupants.”
“Oh, yes, we will be interviewing them and all other close neighbours.
After a few minutes, Suzanne returned from her packing. “Right, I’ve packed a couple of cases, which should be enough for a few days.”
“Thanks, love. Oh, can you also grab Kelly’s dish and food, please. Okay, inspector, is there anything else you need from us before we leave?”
“I’d appreciate it if you could leave your front door key with me. I’ll give you a receipt for it and you can pick it up when we have finished here.” I’ll give you my contact details, in case you need to get in touch with me.”
I pulled my keyring out of my pocket and slid the front door key from the ring, handing it to the policeman.
As we were preparing to leave, the door bell rang. It seemed strange not to answer the door myself, as one of the policemen opened it. “The Scene of Crime team are here, Mr. Buckingham. Do you have everything you need?”
“I think so. Are you ready, Suzanne?”
“Yes, love. Perhaps one of these nice policemen would help me get the cases in the car?”
“No problem, Ma’am. Bob, would you give this lady a hand, please?”
I held back until the cases were packed in the back of the car, when Suzanne returned to help me towards the door of the car.
“We’ll be in touch as soon as all the investigations have been completed. Goodbye, sir, madam.”
As we drove away from our house, Suzanne asked, “Where do you want me to drive to?”
“Sorry, love. I should have said. We could probably stay at a hotel, but the simplest would be to stay at my parent’s house, if you don’t mind?”
She laughed. “I don’t have any problem about staying with your parents for a few days, as long as you are prepared to restrain your passion.”
Laughing, I said, “The walls are a bit thin, so I suppose that we will not have to be too energetic or noisy!” I told her just how to get to my parents’ house. It was only a few minutes drive away.
When my mother answered the door, she must have been surprised to see us. I used the same line as when Suzanne turned up at my house. “Is there any room at the Inn?”
I could hear the confusion in my mother’s voice. “Tonie? Suzanne? What has happened?”
I hoped that she did not think that we were splitting up after such a short period together. “It’s a bit complicated, mum. Let us in and we’ll tell you all the details.”
“Of course. Come inside. Your father is working, but Hannah is at home.”
Suzanne, Kelly and I followed Mum into the living room. It felt strange to be back, even after only a couple of weeks.
When Mum had stopped fussing over us and made certain that we were comfortable, I told her about the smell in the bedroom and how we had asked a handyman to open up the chimney breast. In other words, I gave her the same sanitised story as we had given to the police.
“My God!” Mum was shocked by what we had experienced earlier in the day. “It’s hard to imagine that somebody’s corpse could be hidden in the chimney within your bedroom.” She would be even more surprised if she knew about the hauntings we had experienced over the past couple of weeks, but there was no way that I was going to reveal the horrific details to her.
My sister, Hannah was there and she also shuddered at the thought of what we had discovered. “Gruesome!”
“The Crime Scene Investigation team is turning the house upside down to collect any evidence. Do you think we could stay here for a few days until the police have finished their investigations?”
“Of course you can. Both of you will always be welcome, here. I take it that you have some luggage?”
“Yes. There’s a couple of cases and Kelly’s food in the car. I’ll take them upstairs if you can give Suzanne a hand to get them out of her car, please.”
Within a few minutes, our luggage was in my old bedroom and Suzanne saw the room where I had slept for most of my life.
“Sorry, Suzanne. My old bedroom is just a little cramped.”
She held me close, saying, “I don’t mind where we are as long as I’m with you, sweetheart.”
After a few minutes organising our room, we returned to the living room, where Mum and Hannah were waiting for us. “It’s just about lunch time. Would the two of you join us for a light lunch?”
“Yes, thanks, mum. That would be great.” Any distraction from the horrific events earlier this day would be welcome, yet I knew that this would prove very difficult.
When my mobile phone played “I’m going slightly mad” by Queen, later that afternoon, I had a feeling that I knew exactly who it would be. The deep, serious voice of D.I. Marsden said, “Mr. Buckingham, we’ve opened up the chimney breast in the other bedroom and have found more human remains.”
Although I had expected this, it still made me feel uneasy. “I take it that these remains are the other part of the same body?”
“It does look that way. The body from hip down to feet was wrapped inside a plastic bag, just as in the other room. All the body parts are on their way for forensic examination, at the moment. Having said that, there is still a great deal of evidence to collect, here, so it could be a few days before we are likely to finish.”
“That’s okay. We’re staying at my parents’ house until we can return.”
“Good! I’ll let you know as soon as we have finished.”
Suzanne and I spent the rest of the day talking to and helping Mum and Hannah. Dad was really surprised, yet pleased, to find us when he returned home from work. His surprise turned to shock when I told him about the gruesome find in the chimney breasts. Typical of my Dad, he quipped, “That’s a very weird moving-in present!”
“And one that I could have done without”, I answered, truthfully.
The wonderful smells coming from the kitchen were making my mouth water. “What are you cooking up for dinner, mum?”
“Beef casserole and dumplings. Will that be okay?”
“Absolutely fine for me. How about you, Suzanne?”
“Oh, yes, please. It really does smell so good.”
It seemed so strange, that night, being back with my family, together with Suzanne, my future wife. Kelly must have, also, been wondering why we were back in our old home, yet it did not stop her from dozing contentedly, amusing everyone with her gentle snoring and occasional wind noises.
Chapter Thirteen – Ivanko’s story
It was Friday morning before I heard from D.I. Marsden. “I’m sorry it’s taken so long, but we’ve now finished checking for evidence. You are free to return to your home. I’ll be here for another hour or so if you want to pick up your key.”
“Good. We’ll be there soon”, I replied.
Suzanne and I quickly packed our cases and loaded them into the car. Mum would have been happy for us to stay even longer, but I really wanted to be back in our own house.
“You’re both welcome to stay here any time you want. Take care.”