Page 48 of The Chapel of Bones

‘That’s right.’

‘And you all moved in around the same time?’

‘Me and Fiorenza moved in about a week after Tim got the keys to the place.’

‘So he was already there before you arrived?’

‘Yeah. Suppose he was for a short while. Why?’

‘Do you know what date he got the keys?’

She frowned in an effort to recall the details. ‘It was probably the last week in May. I remember because I moved in on my birthday. That’s the first of June.’

Wesley sat for a few moments deep in thought. When he looked up, he saw that Rachel was watching him with a puzzled frown on her face, as though she was trying to guess what he was thinking.

‘Have you any idea who was living in the house before Tim bought it?’

The answer came quickly. ‘It had been rented out. I don’t know who lived there, but they left quite a bit of stuff behind.’

‘What sort of things?’ Rachel caught on fast.

‘Furniture. Old books.’ June closed her eyes, trying to take her mind back to those carefree days. ‘I remember Tim saying that he’d had to get rid of a couple of sitting tenants, who weren’t the type of people he wanted. But they’d left by the time I moved in.’

‘He got rid of people?’ Wesley was surprised. That seemed to contradict the ethos Tim Fontescue-Burns had claimed to espouse. ‘Do you know who these people were?’

There was a long silence while she considered the question. ‘I think Aphrodite and Apollo were already living there, but he let them stay on because he thought they’d fit in. But I’ve no idea about the others.’

‘Can you remember which estate agency dealt with the house purchase?’

‘No, but I remember Tim saying that he’d bought it off a man who owned a bookshop. The house used to belong to the man’s parents, and he rented it out after they died.’

‘Do you know where the bookshop was?’

‘Tradmouth, I think.’

‘Can you recall the man’s name?’

‘Oh, it was something unusual. Tim made a joke – said he hoped he was ready.’ She raised a hand, looking pleased with herself. ‘Ethelred, that’s it. Ethelred the Unready.’

‘Ethelred Bingley?’ Wesley experienced a sudden feeling of triumph. Ethelred Bingley, second-hand bookshop proprietor, had written to Aleric Donnal, who was later found dead in a house he’d once owned. He could hardly wait to tell the team about the connection. But he knew he shouldn’t allow himself to get carried away. There was still a lot of work to do.

‘That name rings a bell. I never met him, but Tim might have done.’ June paused. ‘Do you think this Ethelred had something to do with—’

Before she could finish, the door to the office burst open.

‘June, I’ve just got back and one of the goats is eating that parasol you put out in the courtyard.’

Wesley looked round. ‘Hello, Della.’

His mother-in-law folded her arms. ‘Why are you harassing June?’

He stood up and thanked June politely. ‘We’re just off. Nice to see you too, Della.’

‘I’d check what the goats are up to if I were you,’ Rachel said on her way out. She had never had a high opinion of goats.

The window was open, so Jim Baker could hear the lions roaring as he abandoned his latest painting. He needed to visit Dale again. He wanted to get something off his chest and he knew that if he confided in Dale it would go no further. Dale had noliking for the police either – especially since the puma almost escaped last month, something he’d kept very quiet about. If the authorities got wind of what had happened, his collection would be at risk. And in his own way, Dale loved his animals.

Jim pulled on his denim jacket, his eyes fixed on the picture on the easel. A grotesque demon hovering in a red sky as a monstrous sea serpent dived beneath rough waves with a flailing human figure in its mouth. He stared at the image for a while before covering it up with a sheet and walking out.