at the walls. One day, she didn’t even hear me talking to her. Maybe she wasn’t feeling too well then.’
Gina checked her watch. There was no point delaying. Maybe Lucy’s house held the answer. With a life at risk and Lucy being their main suspect, they were going in. Gina caught sight of all the handwritten memos on the wall. It was the way she wrote an ‘e’ that gave her away. The same half an eight ‘curly e’ was on the handwritten order in Gina’s pocket. That ‘e’ had been the same in the diary excerpt left in her car, and the notes on the board in front of her confirmed that it was Lucy, but why? Gentle, friendly Lucy. The happy, smiley woman who serves coffee and brightens everyone’s day up, the woman who runs a café with her lovely father, Bill. It was now time to find out. ‘I best let you get back to your customers. Sorry for keeping you.’
‘I hope everything’s okay.’ The girl fed her apron back over her head as Gina hurried back to the street where Jacob was ending his call.
‘Call for backup. Let’s get to Lucy and Bill Manders’s house in Stoke Prior.’
The three-storey Victorian gothic house stood back at the end of a long, winding, tree-lined drive. Weeds grew up from the old tarmacked drive and what was once a fountain was now covered in oak leaves, the basin filled with old bricks and moss. Gina hurried out of the car and took the five steps up to the grand front door as Jacob followed. She zipped her protective jacket up, ready for what might come their way. Ivy had all but covered the front of the house concealing most of the old brickwork. She pulled the vine away from the doorbell and revealed a broken plaque. First word unknown, second word carpentry and she bit her lip as she saw the carving of the lion underneath, a lion that was far more accomplished than the attempts on the coffins. She banged hard and opened the letterbox. A spindly spider fled for its life, attaching its web to Gina’s hand. She flinched and shook it away. ‘Lucy, Bill, open up. It’s DI Harte. Gina from the café. We need to talk to you.’
‘They’re either not in or not answering, guv. I’ll head around the back.’ He left her at the front, knocking.
She moved back, taking one step at a time. Everywhere she looked, it felt as though the house was watching; its imposing size and proportions were threatening in their own way. A flurry of crispy leaves drifted down as the wind howled. This ghost symbol had to be referring to this house. She’d never seen a creepier house in all her life. It made the squat look like the Wacky Warehouse. The smeared windows reflected stony skies and wavering trees, that same smeary mess distorting everything in the natural world. Gina tried to tiptoe on the drive but the main windows at the front were too high to peer through. She caught sight of a little window at the base of the building. It was a cellar. She leaned over the cast iron railings and peered through, all she could see was a dust-covered workshop full of shelves and tools. Full bin bags filled one end of the room.
Another two cars pulled up. Wyre and O’Connor got out of one and PCs Smith and Kapoor out of another.
Smith zipped up his jacket, checking that his baton and stab proof vest were all in place. Gina did the same. It was getting real. ‘More backup is on the way, guv.’
She nervously smiled. Fear and excitement coursed through her veins. ‘I’m heading around the back with Jacob. Keep an eye out here. Don’t go in until I say.’
They nodded while getting into place, either side of the front door. Smith gripped the Enforcer.
She hurried around the building, which revealed a large expanse of open farmland. ‘Alright, guv. There’s a large shed just over there. Follow me.’ She hurried over, stepping on the uneven slabs that led to it. ‘You can see through the window. There are reels of red material, just like the lining in the coffins. It’s leaning up against that corner.’ Just short of pressing her nose against the glass, she managed to peer through the grime. Despite there being loads of wood and material stacked up, there was no sign of a person in the shed.