Page 86 of The Chapel of Bones

Before Wesley could reply, Rachel rushed into Gerry’s office without knocking.

‘Rob’s got something. He couldn’t find any trace of a Jon Gadson who was the right age, so then he had the idea of looking for Jon’s mother’s maiden name, just in case he’d decided to use that. I went through all the routine statements taken from everyone who was at the scene when Aleric Donnal’s body was discovered and found someone with that surname. It’s cropped up in the investigation already, albeit on the distant fringes.’

‘Go on,’ said Wesley, excitement taking the place of despair.

Once he’d heard the name, another piece of the jigsaw slotted into place, and he went to his desk and picked up his phone.

‘Hello, is that Suzy Porter?’

‘Speaking.’

‘This is DI Peterson. We met a few days ago.’

‘I remember. Are you going to prosecute the woman who sent those terrible messages?’

‘This is about something else entirely,’ said Wesley quickly, determined to keep the focus on the investigation. ‘You mentioned that you were being disturbed by noise a few weeks ago.’

‘That’s right. But I don’t see what it’s got to do with—’

‘What kind of noise was it?’

‘Machinery. Those terrible buzzing chainsaws. It was a terrible racket.’

‘Where was the sound coming from?’

‘The churchyard. I was about to complain to the vicar, but then it stopped. Look, are you going to—’

But before she had a chance to say any more, Wesley thanked her and ended the call. He needed to speak to Mark.

His brother-in-law answered almost immediately, and very soon Wesley had all the information he needed. He knew now why Sue Potter had been targeted.

He rushed to Gerry’s office to break the news, and the DCI’s face lit up as he leapt from his seat, all pain forgotten.

‘Well, well. Who would have thought it, eh?’

At that moment, Wesley’s phone rang. After a swift one-sided conversation, he looked at Gerry, his eyes shining with excitement. ‘I asked the team earlier to extend the search of the area around Sycamore House. They didn’t find anything new at first, but then Helen Jones told them about a piece of woodland about a quarter of a mile from the house. It looks as though it belongs to a nearby farm, but it turns out that the land actually belongs to Sycamore House. Mrs Jones didn’t realise that until she had a closer look at the deeds, and shepassed on the information to the search team. Anyway, they came across a tumbledown wooden outbuilding hidden by trees and overgrown shrubs. They described it as looking like Sleeping Beauty’s castle.’

‘And?’

‘When they hacked away the undergrowth and gained entry, they found something inside. Two cars hidden under old tarpaulins. One is registered to Aleric Donnal and the other to Tina Gadson. There was luggage inside Tina’s. Looks as though she was intending to leave home after all.’

‘I was wondering what had become of the victims’ vehicles. Now we know.’

‘There was something in the glovebox of Donnal’s car. A blue notebook. They’re bringing it over. I told them to get a move on.’

Aleric Donnal’s notebook

12 May 2011

Somebody mentioned today that my strange student’s sister took her own life earlier this year. I am surprised he hasn’t asked the university to make some allowance for his family tragedy. I know such a request would be dealt with sympathetically. Today he dropped a leaflet in the corridor. I ran after him and tried to give it back, but he told me he didn’t want it. It was for a local zoo, which I found surprising, and when I was putting it in my briefcase, he seemed agitated and muttered something about sirens enchanting men with their beauty. I am concerned about his state of mind. He is definitely in need of help. But I am unaccustomed to dealing with such things.

I tried to put the awkwardness I felt aside and engage him in conversation. I asked him where he was living and he said he had moved away from home and was now sharing a house with others. He said the name of the house was St Julian’s, and this name interested me greatly because it was the dedication of the chapel and holy well built as penance by Thomas Fontescue, Brother Anselm’s ‘sinner’, whose story and confession I had found in the muniment room at Fontescue Hall. I wondered if there was a connection.

I asked him whether his landlord was Ethelred Bingley, and he said he thought he was. I was surprised at the coincidence, because Ethelred had mentioned the house he owned near Neston only the other day and told me he’d come across some interesting carvings in the garden. I found it more comfortable to change the subject to matters historical, so I asked Jon if he was aware of any statues in the grounds. He said there might be something like that, but he wasn’t sure because the gardens are extensive and mostly woodland.

Later I called Ethelred and he confirmed that the carvings were definitely there and probably very ancient. He also mentioned some ruins, and I wondered whether they could be the remains of the chapel mentioned in the documents I found at Fontescue Hall.

Ethelred told me that the carvings resembled animals. He said he’d seen three. An ape, a griffin and something that looked like a bull. I said it might be a bonnacon.