The Whitby Murders (A Yorkshire Murder Mystery) J. Ellis (distant reading TXT) 📖

Louise looked over the deserted graveyard and up at the clouds racing across the sky. She shuddered.

‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘The whole thing just seems to get weirder.’

‘Well, I must admit it’s getting a bit more interesting, sir.’ Inspector Granger smiled at Oldroyd. ‘But I’m not sure where it leaves us.’

Steph and Oldroyd were in Alice Granger’s office as the three of them assessed the new information in the case. They were drinking the good coffee from the inspector’s coffee machine and eating chocolate brownies that Steph had allowed Oldroyd to indulge in on this occasion. Due to his and Andy’s struggles with their weight, all cakes and biscuits had been banned from his office in Harrogate. Steph supervised this. Granger had been informed about the true nature of the sarcophagus at the escape room and Oldroyd had given her an account of what had happened to Louise and the others the night before. Louise had called him early in the morning and told him about the strange encounter at the abbey church. His first instinct had been to be angry with her for taking such a risk, but she persuaded him that it was not really dangerous as there were four of them. He’d made her promise to inform him immediately if further messages came from Dominic.

‘As far as the sarcophagus is concerned . . .’ began Oldroyd, who paused to enjoy his brownie. He glanced at Steph as he bit the crumbly, cakey chocolate treat and she raised an eyebrow. He was revelling in a break from the strict regime. ‘It could have been used by the assailant, Dominic Holgate, to hide in, instead of going through the door onto the street. If that’s what happened, it means that he somehow knew about the sarcophagus and that the attack was planned.’

‘And later on he left the building through that door?’

‘Presumably.’

‘I’m wondering why bother? If you’re going to go out of the building later anyway, what do you gain by hiding in there for a while? In fact, later on people are on the lookout and it’s harder.’

‘I agree, but I’ll be very interested in what forensics have to say about that stain.’

‘You really think it’s blood?’

‘My instincts say yes, but it could have been there a long time and may have nothing to do with this case. If it’s more recent, it could be that Holgate cut himself when he stabbed the victim. We could prove that he did hide in there. In itself that might not take us very far, but I find it difficult to accept that the sarcophagus illusion just happens to be in the next room to the murder.’

‘But, sir, you’ve said to Andy and me several times in the past that coincidences do happen and they’re not as unlikely as people think,’ said Steph.

‘You’re right and I might be on the wrong track completely. We’ll see.’

‘This business last night,’ said Granger, moving on. ‘I’m sure you’ve emphasised to your daughter and the others that what they did was very risky.’

‘I have and they won’t do it again.’

‘Good. The whole thing is very odd though, isn’t it? Apparently he arranges to meet them and then as soon as they see him he disappears, leaving the suspect’s watch and some garlic. What do you think’s going on?’

‘It doesn’t make much sense. They didn’t get close enough to see his face, which from a distance seemed to be made up to look like a vampire, or hear his voice, so there’s no proof it was actually him.’

‘I presume the watch was designed to convince them that it was him?’

‘I would have thought so.’

‘What about the garlic?’

Oldroyd raised his arms in a gesture of incomprehension. ‘We all know that in the legend, garlic is supposed to deter vampires. Is it some kind of cryptic clue?’

‘It would be consistent with the meeting point up on the dark hill above the town and in a graveyard. As if someone’s trying to create a gothic atmosphere for some reason,’ suggested Steph.

‘A clue to what?’ asked Granger. ‘It’s Goth Weekend here and the murder took place in a Dracula-themed escape room . . . But apart from that I’m not sure how all this vampire stuff is really relevant.’

‘Maybe it was significant that he murdered her in that escape room while they were both dressed up in gothic costumes, ma’am,’ replied Steph.

There was a pause. No one could add anything to that suggestion.

‘I take it you’ve had no information about where Holgate might be?’ asked Oldroyd.

Granger shook her head. ‘No, and it’s not what I would have expected given that I understand he didn’t know the area so he wouldn’t have had any hiding places ready. I thought he would have been spotted by now, especially if he’s in a distressed state.’

‘Unless he had an accomplice, ma’am,’ offered Steph.

‘Yes, but we’ve no evidence of that yet, have we?’

‘No, ma’am, but I agree with DC Oldroyd that things appear to be getting more complicated.’

Granger continued. ‘We’ve spoken to the woman running the escape room, Elaine Pesku. She’s Romanian; she confirmed the account given by the others. She missed the action as she’d gone to the toilet. She encountered Louise and the escape-room actor, and then dialled 999. She told us all about that spare room and confirmed there was no other way out. The owner, Hugh Preston, told her he was going to convert that room into part of the game.’

‘How long has she been working there?’

‘She said for just over six months. We can’t confirm that, or the business with the sarcophagus, until we find the owner . . . which we haven’t done yet. The only other person present was the actor playing the part of Dracula.’ She looked at her notes: ‘Philip Owen. Again, he confirmed the story that everyone else told us. His job was to add to the tension by following the players through the rooms. As soon as he knew something