her.'
Mrs Hedges broke down in tears. Anna showed her disgust by walking out and shutting the door firmly behind her.
It was after seven by the time they had cleared the cellar. The forensic teams departed, leaving the murder team still searching, assisted by the SOCO officers and the TSG. The dogs were let loose, but by this time they were as tired out as their handlers: they had been given Charles Wickenham's clothes so they could trace his scent, but as he lived at the house and used all the surrounding buildings, their noses kept leading them this way and that, round in circles.
By nine o'clock, Langton released the SOCOs. His own team would continue the search. They were all tired out, but Langton would not stop. By ten-thirty, it was so dark without arc lamps that it was getting impossible to continue the search outside. Their tea wagon had gone and it was almost eleven when an exhausted Langton called everyone together.
'We leave eight officers here; we start an alert to airports, stations, the bastard can't just have…' He trailed off and gave a helpless gesture: Wickenham had disappeared into thin air. They had all been diligent; Langton could not apportion blame to anyone other than Constable Ed Harris, who had been taken by ambulance to the local hospital.
The eight officers who would remain at the estate were given orders to pair up and be in radio contact with each other, taking up positions inside and outside the main house. The surveillance officers were certain they had not seen anyone leave the premises, but by midnight, Charles Wickenham had not been found. Langton, with Anna and Lewis, left: Mayerling Hall. They were too tired and morose to begin questioning either Edward Wickenham or his fianc?e, who were still held in the cells at Richmond. Langton knew he had only few hours left to question them, so he gave instructions to apply for an extension.
The officers in the Incident Room had been updated with all the details from Mayerling Hall. They had been as depressed as the team there when nothing had been discovered and then as jubilant when the cellar was located. Then they received the news that their suspect had done a disappearing act.
Bridget stood in front of the photographs of the Black Dahlia, whose haunted eyes seemed to look at her accusingly. She whispered to herself, 'Dear God, don't let it happen again. Don't let him get away with it.'
The murder of Elizabeth Short had become so intertwined with the Red Dahlia case, it was almost as though if they captured her killer, the Black Dahlia could rest in peace.
Langton was in the Incident Room by seven the following morning. There had been no report of any sightings of Charles Wickenham. He sat in his office, depressed and angry, arranging for a new team to relieve those who had been at the Hall all night.
Mrs Hedges was allowed to leave her room to make herself some breakfast; she was asked that she limit her movements to her room and the kitchen. She sat in her rocking chair, eating scrambled eggs and bacon. She had no real conception of what was happening: just that her employer Charles Wickenham had escaped arrest. After her breakfast, she got out all her papers and began to calculate how much savings she had and what she should do if he never returned. She was astonished to find that with all the cash she had hoarded, she had over seventy thousand pounds. Rocking back and forth, she looked around the sparse room at the single bed she'd had for twenty years and the old, wing-backed easy chair. She did like her large colour TV, but apart from that, she'd had nothing new for fifteen years. They might have redeveloped the barn, but nothing had ever been done to her quarters; it was becoming more and more difficult for her to get in and out of the bath in her ensuite bathroom and for her to yank the old pull chain on her wooden-seated toilet. She had some early photographs of Emily, and these were the ones that pained her. She had been such a pretty child, white blonde hair, and wide blue china doll eyes. It was Emily she had wet-nursed and it was Emily she loved most of all. She sat looking through her cheap Woolworth's album: Justine winning rosettes at her equestrian competitions, Edward as a boy, smiling with a cowboy hat on, and then there was one of his wedding to that nice girl. There were none of Dominique Wickenham.
Mrs Hedges closed the book; she had been on the periphery of the Wickenhams' lives for so many years. She had no life of her own, but she had never really minded that. The family had become her life. She thought of what Anna had said to her: hear no evil, see no evil; well, she was not the evil one. Nevertheless, guilt swept over her.
It was about twelve o'clock when she took her breakfast tray back to the kitchen. She brewed a pot of tea for the officers and handed around the biscuits. She was on her way back up the stairs when she heard a faint scratching sound. It seemed to be coming from beneath the servants' staircase. She listened, sure she had heard something, but there was silence. She continued to her room and closed the door.
Mrs Hedges sat back in her chair, put on her glasses and read Charles Wickenham's newspaper, rocking gently back and forth.
As the forensic team arrived at the Hall to continue their search for further evidence in the cellar, work back at the lab was at full speed. Wickenham's computer had been removed; his waste disposal unit had been dismantled; even his paper-shredding machine was taken. The collection of fibres and bloodstains also needed to be analysed. It would be weeks of work.
At the station, the officers gathered for Langton to give out his instructions to the duty manager. Still held in their cells were Edward Wickenham and Gail Harrington. They had both been allowed to make one phone call and they awaited the arrival of their solicitors. The loss of their suspect was a very big deal and they all knew it, most of all Langton. They had had no reported sightings. The hunt continued.
Langton would conduct the interview with Edward Wickenham himself; Anna and Barolli would concentrate on Gail Harrington. There was no let-up for him: he had to go to the magistrates' court to find out whether his application to keep Gail and Edward in custody had been granted. It had: he had three extra days. That was the good news.
At two o'clock, Gail Harrington was brought into the interview room. As she and Edward had asked for the same solicitor, there had been a delay while they agreed who should be represented by whom.
Gail was obviously in a distressed state and cried as Anna read her her rights. She was arrested for attempting to pervert the course of justice and obstructing the police. She kept on saying that it wasn't anything to do with her, she hadn't done anything wrong. She had been shown photographs of Louise and Sharon and denied knowing either; now she was shown the mortuary photographs and given details of the horrific murders. She was so shocked, she could hardly speak.
Just over one hour later, Anna returned to the Incident Room. Langton was still questioning Edward Wickenham. She asked that Langton be called out so she could update him on what they had gleaned from Gail Harrington. Langton was not too pleased, but he and Anna went into his office.
Anna said that it had taken only one hour and fifteen minutes before Gail had made a statement. When shown the jewellery taken from the cottage, she admitted it was hers, and when shown a photograph of the brooch, sent to the station from the American dealer in Chicago, she said it was part of a set that had included the necklace and earrings, given to her by Charles Wickenham. To specify the exact time and date that the jewellery had been in her possession was hard, as she couldn't recall exactly, but she did know that it was after she had returned from the health farm.
Under pressure from Anna, she also admitted that she had known Sharon Bilkin. She recalled that Charles Wickenham had taken her to choose her diamond engagement ring; her fianc?, his son, was not even with them. She had arranged to meet up with Charles after she had been to have her hair done; it was at the salon that she had met up with Sharon. Anna was able to pinpoint that this appointment was after the murder of Louise Pennel. Sharon had been having some fresh hair extensions done; she had recognised Gail and had come over and talked while Gail was waiting for her tint to take. Gail had told her that she was in London to choose her engagement ring. They exchanged phone numbers, although Gail said she had no intention of seeing Sharon again. That was the end of their conversation, as Gail was taken over to the basins to have her tint washed out.
Shortly before she was ready to leave, Charles Wickenham had walked into the salon, motioned to her that
