His hard hat on, Bishop was now talking to the representative of the new owners of the property, who told him that many of the old Victorian bricks should be put in storage as they were quite valuable. Holding his clipboard in his left hand, Bishop said they would need scaffolding to be erected on the standing walls, but he could make sure the bricks were salvaged.
Bishop heard a shout and turned to see one of the men working on the gardens clearly in a distressed state. ‘There’s almost been a fatal accident,’ he explained breathlessly. Bishop, keen to end the conversation, followed his worker back to the garden.
The ten-foot-high corrugated fencing which had been erected around the half-acre site had been pulled down to allow the diggers to enter. Bishop stood in shock as he was told that a large crater had appeared in the ground, and the digger had almost tipped into it. When the machine backed away, it had clipped the side of the now partially visible air-raid shelter. Bishop made his way around the crater as the men gathered, all looking down. It appeared that at one time it had been some kind of tunnel as they could see part of a concrete wall. He instructed the men to stop working as he checked through the plans on his clipboard. He was surprised at the size of the air-raid shelter as the measurements didn’t correspond with his plans, and there was certainly no reference to any kind of tunnel.
Bishop was joined by Tom, the worker who had been overseeing the clearance of the garden, a huge man also wearing a hard hat. ‘I reckon we need to take a look inside the shelter,’ he told Bishop. ‘I’m worried more craters could appear, and my team can’t work safely.’
The shelter had what looked like a heavy garden door, with iron studs and hinges, secured by a large chain. Another worker appeared with a jack to break open the chain and the three of them heaved open the door, releasing a dreadful stench of mould and sewage. Wincing, Bishop stepped gingerly into the first chamber and was again surprised at the size of it. There were old tables, chairs, cupboards storing tinned food, lamps and candles. Shining a powerful torch beam, Bishop made his way to an archway.
‘None of this is on the bloody plans I’ve got,’ he muttered, shaking his head. ‘This place is twice the size that’s indicated.’
There were four steps down to the second chamber where there was an array of old iron bedsteads stacked with blankets and pillows, all of them green with mildew. He shone the torch towards another door and could see the debris from where the digger had struck the outer corner. From the first chamber Tom called out that they needed to be careful that the shelter didn’t collapse. Bishop moved cautiously further in and then almost dropped the torch in shock. There was a corpse lying on the mattress of a small cot bed.
He gasped. ‘Jesus, God! Tom, you better get the police here. There’s a bloody dead body. I’m coming out.’
Bishop had not stayed long enough to note that the grotesquely shrivelled victim was female, what remained of her long blonde hair spread like a halo around her skull. Nor did he notice the worst horror. The dead woman was chained to the bed.
Chapter Two
Jane tried to keep her expression neutral as she scanned the detailed estimates from Edward Fraser and the plumber, Archie. Although at first the size of the estimates was a bit of a shock, with her promotion she would be earning around £12,000 to £13,000 a year, and she began to think that it would be sensible to agree to both of them. The fact that Archie was much older than Edward — known as Eddie — and had brought with him a number of letters of recommendation made him seem trustworthy.
She also decided that she would like Archie to look at her upstairs bathroom and toilet as she was thinking about having an en-suite in her bedroom. Eddie accompanied Archie upstairs and they spent a good fifteen minutes checking everything out. Jane stood by the open door as Archie examined a number of tiles and at the same time removed the side panel of the bath, pointing out that the carpet was badly stained so at some point there had been considerable flooding. They all then went back downstairs, and Jane made a pot of tea, whilst Archie discussed with Eddie what he felt the estimate would come to.
The phone rang in the hall and Jane hurried to pick up, instantly recognising the voice of her superintendent. ‘You’re going to be part of a team working out of Stockwell police station, Jane. Sorry for not contacting you earlier, but you need to be there first thing in the morning. The case you’ll be working on has only just been brought to my attention, so I’m afraid I can’t give you a lot of detail. All I know is that a body has been discovered by a demolition team on a building site. The DCI heading up the investigation is Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Carter. He’s very experienced, and I’m certain it’s going to be a very good fit. Any questions?’
‘No, sir,’ Jane replied, already feeling excited by the prospect of joining the investigation. ‘Thank you, sir.’
When Jane returned to the kitchen, Archie had already left to complete another project he was working on.
Eddie pointed to the back door. ‘I locked it after him.’
Jane smiled, impressed by the fact they had washed their mugs and left them on the draining board. Eddie leaned against the sink.
‘Archie’s a bit strait-laced, but he’s a good guy. He thinks the job up in the bathroom will need more consideration, so he’d like to provide an estimate which includes that. He feels it’s important that your plumbing upstairs is closely examined and reckons you may also require a new boiler.’
Jane sat down at the table and gathered all the estimates together, eager to get Eddie to begin work as soon as possible.
‘Do you mind if I ask you a couple of personal questions?’ she said.
‘Sure, go ahead,’ Eddie said.
‘I’m sorry to have to ask this, but I need to know if either of you have had any criminal convictions of any sort?’
‘Convictions? You mean prison time? No, I haven’t and I’m damned sure Archie hasn’t either. He’s a straight-as-a-die kind of bloke.’
‘Yes, I’m sure he is.’ Jane nodded. ‘I hope you understand why I need to ask these questions. You’ll be having my house keys, so I need to know that you’re trustworthy and reliable.’
‘Well, you can trust and rely on me,’ Eddie smiled. ‘But you should ask Archie for yourself. Whilst I’m here, can I suggest you get some sort of security light in your porch? If you’re coming home late at night it’s quite dark out there, and there isn’t much overhead lighting in the street.’
Jane nodded. ‘Yes, I agree... When do you think you’ll be able to start? I’m starting a new position over in Stockwell, so I’ll be leaving first thing in the morning, and I’ll be out all day. I often work very long hours, sometimes into the night if needed.’
Eddie hesitated. ‘I can start immediately. Like I told you earlier, your wiring is pretty dangerous. Are you a nurse?’
‘No, I’m actually a detective with the Metropolitan Police.’
Eddie gave a quick laugh. ‘Well, I didn’t see that one coming. I’d better do a good job, then!’
Jane fetched her spare keys and handed them to Eddie. ‘Thank you,’ she said, shaking his hand enthusiastically. ‘If you need anything, I should be able to give you a work phone and fax number soon.’ She paused. ‘Do you work at weekends?’
Shrugging into his leather jacket he gave her a cheeky smile: ‘If I want to get a job finished fast I do, yes.’
John Bishop was at his wit’s end. The police had cordoned off the garden and the partly demolished house, as they examined the body that was still in the shelter. His team had been released and he had had to inform the owners that work had been stopped until further notice. Police patrol cars were parked at the opening of the corrugated-iron fence that had been used by the diggers and dumpers, and yellow-and-black crime scene tape was stretched across the opening. Bishop’s men had placed long planks of wood across the large cavity that had appeared, but there were concerns that the tunnel might collapse. It had been confirmed that there was a locked door in the basement which presumably led into it.