by K E O'Connor
Flipper looked up at me and gave me one of his doggy smiles. All was forgiven.
“Ranulph chose the place,” said Henry. “He said he didn’t want his sister too far away. I guess, even in death, he wanted her close to him.”
Helen and I both pulled grossed-out faces.
Helen looked at me. “What do we do now?”
“Talk to Ranulph,” I said.
Chapter 22
“Do you think that’s wise?” asked Henry, as he shut the panel on Katie’s pictures. “He wasn’t safe to be around before you knew he was a killer.”
“And you are?” asked Helen. “You’ve lied to us all. You’ve lied to me about who you really are, and you’ve lied to yourself. You shouldn’t be ashamed of what you like to do. There’s nothing wrong with liking nice things.”
“There is something wrong with helping Ranulph hide two bodies, though,” I muttered.
Henry hung his head again. “You’re a lovely girl, Helen. If things were different, I think we would have had a future together.”
“Not anymore!” snapped Helen. “And, I don’t share my clothes with anyone.”
“I don’t suppose a prisoner who likes women’s clothing is ever going to be on anyone’s list of must-haves when it comes to marriage,” said Henry glumly.
I shook my head at him. “Don’t go anywhere. We need to find out where Ranulph is and get the police involved.”
Henry raised his hands and moved to sit at the desk. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m just glad the truth is out. It feels like such a relief not to be hiding it from people anymore.”
“Let’s go.” I grabbed Helen’s elbow and propelled her out of the study and through the back door, Flipper following closely behind us.
“Are we really going to find Ranulph?” asked Helen, as we scurried through the night. “As Henry said, he’s not safe to be around.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “We can’t give Henry the opportunity to alert Ranulph that we’ve discovered his secret. What if he tries to get away before he’s arrested? Katie and Johnny won’t have any justice.”
“You want to apprehend him yourself?” asked Helen. “Can’t the police do that when they get here?”
I pulled out my phone. “Well, I never dialled their number. I misdialed by mistake and sent a message to Zach when Henry surprised us in the study. Zach’s going to think I’m an idiot when he receives it.”
“The police aren’t coming?” Helen’s eyes widened. “Perhaps we need to call them now?”
“We’ll call them on our way to the house,” I said. “We have to keep an eye on Ranulph, just in case he tries to do anything silly, like run away or move the bodies.”
Helen shuddered. “That’s a gruesome thought, but I wouldn’t put anything past that nasty creep.”
“Let’s make sure he doesn’t get an opportunity to do anything like that.” We dashed across Henry’s estate, jumped over the fence, and ran towards Lady Camilla’s house.
Just as we reached the front door, a flash of headlights dazzled me, and I raised my hand to shield my eyes and peered into the gloom. It looked like Zach’s Land Rover coming towards us. “You go inside and see if Lady Camilla is about.”
“She must be asleep by now,” said Helen, following my gaze and seeing the Land Rover.
“We don’t want to give her a fright if we go charging in and accuse her son of being a murderer.”
Helen nodded. “I’ll go and have a quick check. Looks like help has arrived, anyway.” She dashed into the house.
I turned, just as the Land Rover cruised to a stop by the front door, and the window wound down. It was Zach!
“What are you doing here?” I hurried over to the vehicle.
“You sent me a weird message,” said Zach. He lifted his phone and showed me lots of exclamation marks on the screen. “I was in the area and thought I’d better drop by to make sure everything was okay.”
My gaze went to the passenger seat, where a broad, darkly-stubbled man sat. He looked similar to Zach, but with more muscles and dark chest hair poking out the top of a checked shirt.
“This is Gunner, my brother,” said Zach, gesturing to the man next to him. “He arrived today and wants to spend a bit of time in the countryside, away from the work stress in London.”
“In truth, I got so curious about this mysterious girlfriend Zach kept talking about that I had to come to see her for myself.” His accent had an East London twang to it. “You must be Lorna. It’s nice to meet you and good to see Zach hasn’t made you up.”
I nodded a greeting to Gunner. “I’m glad you’re here. Wouldn’t mind some help.”
Zach raised his eyebrows. “Let me guess, the ghosts are being troublesome?”
Gunner leaned forward in his seat. “Did you say ghosts?”
Zach waved his hand in the air. “Long story. Lorna’s got something of a special talent.”
Gunner grinned at me. “I look forward to hearing about that.”
Flipper ran over and rested his paws on the side of the Land Rover, peering into the back window. Jessie was inside and gave a gentle woof when she saw her best friend.
“What’s the problem?” Zach opened the door, and let Jessie out so she could greet Flipper.
“There’s a killer we need to arrest,” I said.
Gunner shot out of his seat and hurried around the vehicle. “You say you found a killer?”
“I think so,” I said, remembering Gunner was someone high-up in the police.
“What evidence do you have?” asked Gunner.
I pinched my lips together. I didn’t know Gunner well enough to tell him I’d been given clues by ghosts. “I’ve got a confession from someone who assisted in hiding the bodies. He wants to come clean about his involvement. I’m sure he’ll tell you what happened. But he pointed the finger at someone else as the killer.”
Gunner drew his shoulders back and flexed his biceps. “We’d better go and speak to this killer.”
Helen ran out of the front door and dashed over to us. “Everything’s okay inside.” Her gaze went to Gunner, and her eyes widened.
“Zach got my odd text message,” I said to her. “And he brought along his brother, Gunner.”
Helen ran her hands over her hair. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” said Gunner, giving her a big grin. “Should we go and see about this killer?”
I led everybody to the front door, but Gunner placed a hand on my arm before I could open it and take a step through.
“Let me go in first. This individual might not be safe if he’s confronted.”
“We know what we’re doing,” said Helen sharply, as she frowned at Gunner. “We’ve never needed your help in the past with this sort of thing.”
“I’m sure you don’t, gorgeous,” said Gunner. “But I’ve arrested more criminals than you’ve had tubes of lipstick.”
Helen opened her mouth to speak, but Gunner raised a finger. “We need to go in quietly. We don’t want to spook anybody.”
“Lady Camilla is asleep,” hissed Helen, her cheeks bright pink. “I’ve already checked.”
“So where’s the perp?” asked Gunner.
“Most likely in his bedroom,” I said. “We can show you where it is.”
Gunner eased open the front door. “Let’s go. But keep quiet.”
I led Gunner to the bottom of the stairs and was about to go up when he stopped me again. “Give me directions. I’ll take it from here.”
“That’s never going to happen,” said Zach quietly. “Lorna likes to do things her own way.”
I flashed Zach a glare. “Nothing wrong with being an independent woman.”
Gunner grinned at me. “Not for a second. Which bedroom is it?”
“Turn right at the top, and it’s the third door on the left,” I said. “But we’re coming with you.”
“Yes, we are,” said Helen. “We figured this out on our own. We didn’t have any interference from
you.”
“I’m not interfering, beautiful. I’m making sure you both stay safe.” Gunner tweaked a strand of Helen’s hair.
Helen stepped back and folded her arms over her chest. “Maybe we don’t need anyone to keep us safe. We do a good job on our own.”
Zach coughed into his hand and looked at the ground.
I sighed. “Fine. You two go up first. But we want to see what happens. And neither of you has ever met Ranulph Reynold before, so you’ll have no idea if you’re speaking to the right person.”
“Lorna has a point,” muttered Zach. “They need to come with us to show you you’re arresting the right guy.”
“Very well. But stay back, I don’t want either of you getting in harm’s way,” said Gunner. He walked softly up the stairs and stopped outside of Ranulph’s bedroom. He looked over at me and raised his eyebrows.
I nodded, feeling my blood pumping through my veins. We were so close to catching Katie and Johnny’s killer, so close to getting them justice.
Gunner rapped on the bedroom door. “Ranulph Reynold. This is the police.” His tone was strong and authoritative and I heard Helen give a little gasp as he spoke.
After a few seconds of waiting, the bedroom door cracked open, and Ranulph’s dark eye peered through the gap. “The police? Who let you in?”
“I did,” I said. “They have a few questions about Katie and Johnny’s disappearance.”
“What about it?” Ranulph’s voice went high and squeaky.
Gunner pushed against the door, making the gap wider.
Ranulph hurried back a few steps and wrapped his arms around his chest. He was dressed in a pair of too tight red, silky underpants, six-inch black patent heels, and had a bright-pink feather boa around his neck. Other than that, he was naked.
“You can’t barge in here,” stammered Ranulph. “Don’t you need a warrant or something?”
“I’m not here to do a search,” said Gunner. “But I have reason to believe you are involved in a missing person’s inquiry.”
“Two missing people,” I said.
Gunner glanced at me, and I nodded at him again.
Gunner rolled his shoulders. “Someone has confessed to their involvement in these disappearances. And your name was mentioned.”
“I know nothing about any of that,” said Ranulph. “My sister ran off with some working class loser two years ago. I haven’t seen her since, and I don’t want to.”
“You told me you thought she was dead,” I said.
“Because she would never survive on her own, cut off from the family money,” said Ranulph. “She was too pampered and privileged to be independent.”
“But you know more about her disappearance, don’t you?” I said to Ranulph. “Why she cut off all contact with the family.”
Gunner cleared his throat and shot me a hard glance. “Mr. Reynold, I’d like to take you in for questioning. Nothing formal at this stage, but I want to find out more about what you know about these disappearances.”
“I won’t go,” said Ranulph. “And you can’t make me. You don’t have any proof I’m involved in this.” He jabbed a pudgy finger at me. “And you should never have let this police officer in here. I’ll have you fired for this.”
“You won’t if you’re behind bars,” said Helen. “Which is where you’ll be if you have harmed your sister and her boyfriend.”
“You’ll need proof to back up those accusations,” said Ranulph.
“Will the bodies be proof enough?” I asked Gunner. “And a confession from someone who helped Ranulph move the bodies?”
Gunner raised his eyebrows. “That would be a good start.”
“There are no bodies!” Ranulph staggered back a few steps, wobbling on his heels as he did so.
“If we go into the woods, and I instruct my dog to start digging a hole in a particular spot, he’s not going to find the remains of Katie and Johnny?” I asked.
Ranulph’s mouth fell open. “That’s not possible.”
“Perhaps you’d like to get dressed in something more... comfortable,” said Gunner. “We can discuss this in more detail at the local police station.”
“Or, I can take Flipper out, and get him to start digging,” I said.
Ranulph’s shoulders sagged. “No, don’t do that. I’ll get some clothes on.”
“Good decision,” said Gunner. He gestured me out into the corridor. “Exactly how much do you know about these murders?”
“I know Katie and Johnny were drugged, and then dragged to a car and poisoned with carbon monoxide,” I said, trying to ignore the perspiration on my top lip as Gunner’s intense gaze speared into me. “And Ranulph blackmailed two friends to help remove the bodies from the car and hide them in the woods.”
“And the person who confessed to you told you all this?”
“More or less,” I said.
Gunner scrubbed a hand across his stubbled chin. “And where will I find this person?”
“His name’s Henry Davenport. He’s the next door neighbor. And you’ll want to talk to Billy Jacob as well. He works on the estate as a handyman. Henry claims they were both involved.”
Gunner pulled out his phone and punched in a number. “I need backup. We have to cordon off the area around the bodies, and get these suspects into custody before they make a run for it.”
I nodded and let out a sigh. At last, Katie and Johnny would have justice.
A bedroom door along the corridor opened, and Lady Camilla peered out, a sleep mask tugged onto her forehead, and her hair messed up around her narrow face. “What’s going on? What are you doing lurking outside Ranulph’s bedroom?”
Chapter 23
I looked at Gunner. “Let me handle her Ladyship.”
Gunner shrugged and turned away, his phone glued to his ear.
“Lady Camilla!” I hurried towards her. “We didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Well, you have.” She squinted at me. “Who are those men? You know the rules about male guests.”
“They’re here to see Ranulph,” I said. “Perhaps you should go back to bed for now.”
“I’m awake, and I demand to know what’s going on.” Lady Camilla pushed past me and hurried to Ranulph’s bedroom door. “Ranulph, what are these people doing in my house at this time of night? I hope you aren’t planning on having a party.”
“Mommy! Don’t believe a word these men say to you,” said Ranulph, as he buttoned his shirt.
Lady Camilla looked at the discarded feather boa and black heels on the bedroom floor. “Are you entertaining a lady in here?”
“No, there’s no lady here,” said Ranulph, as he kicked fruitlessly at the feather boa, causing the feathers to drift from side to side.
Flipper darted forward, grabbed the shaking feathers and shook them between his teeth.
Lady Camilla walked into the bedroom, her nose wrinkling as she did so. “I thought I told you to clean your bedroom.”
“I’ve been busy,” said Ranulph, as he zipped up his trousers.
“You must do it when you get back,” said Lady Camilla.
“Your son will be some time,” said Gunner, as he walked back into the bedroom.
Lady Camilla spun towards him. “Why? Where are you taking him?”
Gunner pulled a wallet from his back pocket and showed his identification. “I have reason to believe your son has been involved in a crime. I’m here to find out more.”
“A crime!” Lady Camilla stared at Gunner. “What nonsense. Ranulph would never do anything silly and get himself in trouble with the law.”
“He might have done,” I said, as I gently touched Lady Camilla’s arm.
Lady Camilla glared at me and pulled her arm away as if my touch offended her. “Have you called the police on my son?”
“I’m innocent,” whined Ranulph. “Everyone is against me. Katie most of all.”
“Katie? What’s she got to do with any of this?” Lady Camilla’s hands fluttered against
her chest.
“Perhaps I should make you a cup of tea?” I said to her. “Let Ranulph have a chat to the police. I’m sure this will be cleared up soon.”
“No, I want to know what’s going on,” said Lady Camilla. “Has this got something to do with my Katie?”
“I’ll put the kettle on,” said Helen, and hurried out of the room.
“Let’s go and sit down and let the police do their job,” I said to Lady Camilla.
Lady Camilla looked from me to Ranulph, and her lips pursed. “What have you done?”
“Don’t believe them,” whimpered Ranulph. “None of this is my fault. Katie was always your favorite. You shouldn’t have made me jealous.”
“Jealous? I love you both equally.”
“You liked Katie more,” said Ranulph. “You were always trying to get her married off and make sure she was provided for. But what about me? What about my feelings?”
“You have everything you need,” said Lady Camilla. “And I could have found you a wife, when you matured.” Her gaze flitted around the grubby bedroom.
“I got the basics,” said Ranulph. “But I knew you loved Katie more than me.”
“And what did you do about that?” Gunner asked Ranulph.
“Nothing!” said Ranulph.
Gunner shook his head. “Best I ask the rest of the questions at the station. I’ve spoken to the local sergeant, and he has a room waiting for us. We’ll be nice and cozy in there, and can get this sorted out.”
“Tell me what you’ve done!” snapped Lady Camilla to Ranulph, waving away Gunner, as he approached them.
“We’ll know soon enough, ma’am,” said Gunner.
“Let’s get out of their way,” I said to Lady Camilla, as I gestured to the open door.
Gunner beckoned Ranulph towards him. “You’re coming with me.”
“He won’t hurt him will he?” asked Lady Camilla, as she reluctantly let me lead her out of the room and along the corridor to the top of the stairs.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Gunner got there first as he followed behind us with Zach and Ranulph.
