behind the partitions.' Mrs Hedges pointed to an ironing board. 'I've been doing the ironing up here as the laundry room has been taken apart; it was really something for me to do.'
'Did you have much cash up here?'
'Pardon?'
'Any savings? Did you keep them up here?'
'Some, yes; never been too fond of banks. My sister was with a company that took all her savings, so I used to keep mine here.'
Anna pointed to a drawer. 'Do you still have them?'
'My money?'
'Yes, is it still safe?'
She opened the drawer and took out a biscuit tin. 'Yes, it's all here.'
'So you didn't give any money to Mr Wickenham?'
'No, no; he didn't know I had it, in any case. It was my secret, really; my wages were paid into a bank account at the local bank. This money's tips and extras the house guests would give me.'
'How much money do you have in your savings account, Mrs Hedges?'
'Oh, well, a lot.'
'Like how much?'
'I've at least seventy-two thousand pounds.'
'And you have not withdrawn any of it recently?'
'No, no, I've not been out of the house.'
'I see, thank you.'
As Anna turned to leave, Mrs Hedges caught her arm. 'Leave them be. They are blameless. Maybe now they can have some kind of life without their father.'
Anna hesitated. 'But he could walk back in here, Mrs Hedges; maybe not right now, but sometime. If he did come back, you know they would be too afraid of him not to comply with anything he wanted them to do.'
'I'm here for them and he won't come back.'
'How can you be so sure?'
Mrs Hedges wouldn't meet Anna's eyes, she looked to the floor. 'Because I'll protect them.'
'You?'
'Yes me, I've taken care of them.'
'What do you mean?'
There was a pause, as Mrs Hedges chewed at her lip. 'I meant like I always tried to do when they were children.'
'But you failed; you know what he did to Emily.'
She made no answer.
'Mrs Hedges, two young girls — perhaps even more — not much older than Wickenham's daughters were murdered in the most brutal way.'
'I know; I know that now.'
'If he did come back, you know he would have them in his power to do anything he wanted.'
Before she could answer, Langton called for Anna. She hesitated, then thanked Mrs Hedges. Together they went down the narrow staircase and into the hall. Langton was standing with Lewis.
'This is a waste of time. If the sisters know anything, they are not about to tell us. If they want to get a solicitor, we can either wait or call it quits.'
They called it quits; the three returned to their patrol car. Anna had wanted to stay, but Langton's patience had worn thin. He leaned against the bonnet of the car.
'Listen, if they do know where he is, they are refusing to say. We've already run up massive costs for this waste of time, and I'm gonna have to go back and answer to the Commander: she just hit the proverbial.'
Anna folded her arms.
'What? We tried, didn't we, Lewis?'
'Yeah, that Justine is something else.'
'I'm not satisfied!'
Langton laughed.
Anna glared back at him. 'I'm not. Just come with me, the pair of you, please, it'll take a few minutes.'
Disgruntled, they returned to the house. Justine was standing in the hallway. 'You thinking of moving in, or what?'
Anna looked at her, and wasn't giving anything away. 'You can stay with us if you want, I just want to…'
'Do what the hell you like. I'm going to have my breakfast!' Justine slammed into the kitchen.
Anna looked around the hall. 'Right, we have forensic officers around the hall, we have others examining the dining room, and outside we have God knows how many officers.'
'Get on with it!' Langton snapped.
Anna walked into the drawing room. 'I am Wickenham. I get the opportunity to knock out the officer, so where do I go from here? Up the chimney? No, there's no access, so I'm desperate to get to the door where you are standing.'
'Jesus Christ, we've done all this, Anna!'
She pushed past them into the hall. 'To the right is the kitchen full of officers, to the left the front door, with even more police outside. The cellar's crawling with forensics, so, the only route he could have taken is the stairs. If he makes it to the stairs, he could maybe get to Mrs Hedges's room; it'd take no more than a couple of seconds.'
'But she was in there, and she swears…'
'Whatever she swore could be a lie. What if he did make it there and she was able to hide him?'
Langton sighed. 'Her room was searched minutes later, she was alone. This has all been checked out, Travis.'
'I know, but it's the only route he could have taken.'
'He wasn't in her bedroom: it was searched within seconds.'
'So that leaves this area.'
Anna walked to the narrow servants' stairwell. They all stood looking at the narrow staircase.
'This is also the oldest part of the original house.'
Langton looked at Lewis.
'Have these stair rods been moved?'
'I don't fucking know'
'The carpet looks as if it has been.'
Anna went down on her hands and knees, she crawled up four stairs and then hurled aside a mound of sheets and towels. She sat back on her heels and pulled at the stair rod; it came away in her hand. Bending closer, she could see an opening no more than an inch in width.
'I need some kind of jemmy to pull this open. Can you see the gap?'
'Yeah I can see it, but it's a sixteenth-century bloody staircase! Of course there's gonna be gaps!'
'This isn't just a gap. Get the entire carpet pulled back.'
Lewis and Langton peeled back the old stair carpet. Anna worked her fingers inside the gap, and the stair board opened a fraction.
'Jesus Christ, what is it?'
Anna reeled back as the stench hit her. Langton stepped in to help. The wooden slat slid sideways. She could see downward into a space no bigger than a coffin. 'It's possibly another priest hole that's been covered by the stair carpet.' Anna took out a handkerchief and covered her face.
Langton peered into the dark recess but could see nothing. He slipped his hand into the opening and recoiled. 'Get a torch: there's something wedged down there.'
Anna and Langton sat side by side on the lower stair as Lewis ran out to the car and returned with a torch.
Langton shone it into the recess. The beam of light lit up the face of Charles Wickenham, his mouth drawn
