The groundskeeper emerged from the forest as I parked the car to one side of the long driveway cutting through the trees. His light brown hair rose in a wild thatch around his head. He crossed his arms over his chest as we climbed out of the car.
‘Hello again, Karl. Let me introduce Detective Sergeant Gabe Martin.’ Juliet dipped her head towards the ivy-covered dwelling beside our car. It was tiny compared to the manor; one storey and there could only be a couple of rooms. A muddy four-by-four was parked in its shadow. ‘Is that your cottage?’
‘Yes.’ Karl made no move to invite us inside, even though it must have been where he was headed before we’d arrived. ‘You got some more questions for me?’
‘We do,’ Juliet said.
‘I thought you might.’ Karl unfolded his arms and turned around. ‘I’ll show you where the dogs are and all.’
I followed behind him and Juliet. His boots were caked in mud. It was hard to gauge the size while he was on the move between the long shadows cast by trees. Big, anyway.
Within seconds of walking, I would have been lost without a guide. The trees around us all looked the same: extra leggy without an abundant covering of leaves.
‘You manage the grounds?’ Juliet asked.
She had changed into a pair of flat trainers. That was the closest she’d get to confessing her footwear this morning had not been perfectly suited to romping through a forest.
‘Yeah.’ Karl nodded, his mussed hair swaying. ‘The gardens are easy, they’re just grass, and Mr Dunlow likes the forest left as is.’
‘How often do you walk through the forest?’ I asked.
‘Every day. I walk the dogs all around the place.’ His accent was gentle, a soft Yorkshire lilt. He may have grown up there but had lived south long enough that he’d lost most of the distinctive tones.
Karl led us into a barn that loomed between trees. The air smelt of wet fur, but it was warm after the chill wind outside. A few dogs yipped at us from behind waist-high wooden gates, but they quietened when Karl waved his hand at them. Only one remained intrigued, a snout snuffling along the top of the gate.
‘Can you tell us what you did yesterday evening?’ I pulled out my notepad.
Karl stopped walking in the middle of the barn. He leant against a wooden post that stretched up to the high ceiling, one of his ankles crossed over the other.
‘I fed the dogs at about seven and tidied up a bit. They were all here then. After that I went back to the cottage. That must have been about nine. I had something to eat and went to bed.’
‘Can anyone confirm this?’ I asked.
‘No. I live alone.’
Another suspect with no alibi. This was becoming a worrying pattern. At least Karl looked concerned, his stubbled jaw jutting.
‘Did you hear anything during the night?’
‘I didn’t hear gunshots, if that’s what you mean.’
I made a note. Karl wasn’t a complete dickhead like his boss, but he certainly wasn’t happy we were here. I’d spoken to witnesses who were scared, who were worried about saying anything in case they got in trouble. Karl wasn’t acting like them, but there was an edge to his answers.
‘Did you notice anyone entering the estate?’ I asked.
‘No. The gate’s got a system; the button’s attached to my phone so I can let people in no matter where I am. If someone had come in that way, I’d have known about it.’
‘Would you know if someone let themselves in?’ I asked.
‘No.’ Karl scratched at the side of his head. ‘There aren’t many keys though. Mr Dunlow and the boys have got them. Maybe one or two others.’
‘Could you give us a full list of the people with keys?’ Juliet pulled a business card out of her pocket. ‘You can email it over.’
‘Fine.’ Karl stashed the card in his worn coat without looking at it. ‘I don’t think the girl came in through the gate.’
‘How do you think she got in?’ I asked.
‘There’s a stone wall all the way around the land, but it’s not too high and it’s crumbling in places. If someone wanted to get in without anyone knowing, they could climb it.’ Karl kicked at the hay under his boot. ‘Mr Dunlow doesn’t care all that much about someone getting onto the grounds. The main house has an alarm and the dogs are down by me. I’ve told him a few times he should get CCTV but he’s not keen on it. He told me to keep my nose out, that he doesn’t want to be watched all the time.’
I wasn’t sure Dunlow would have phrased it in such a polite way. I made a note to have the walls around the estate checked. If Karl was right, Melanie might not have been running randomly through the forest while chased by a dog, but towards somewhere she knew she could escape.
Although, I didn’t know how she could have found her way in the dark even if she wasn’t pursued. Melanie was a city girl, like me. We were immediately disorientated once surrounded by nature.
Juliet wandered over to the back wall of the barn. Shelves of dog food and toys stretched across it.
‘What happened this morning?’ I asked.
‘I got up early, like usual. About six.’ Karl turned slightly to keep both me and Juliet in his line of sight. ‘I noticed there was a problem when I came to feed the dogs. Lucy was missing.’
He pushed away from the post and led me over to an empty stall near where Juliet was snooping. In the next space, the interested Alsatian bounced onto its hind legs. It wagged ecstatically when Karl rested his hand between its ears.
‘Can you describe Lucy?’ I asked.
‘She’s a big dog, bigger than Artie here.’ He patted the dog absently. ‘White Shepherd. Beautiful, but a brute. She doesn’t like anyone apart from Mr Dunlow. He spoils her. She’s the one that bit Leo the other day.’
‘Does Leo like the dogs?’
‘Yeah.’ When Karl smiled, a dimple formed in his left cheek. It made him look younger, early thirties rather than late. ‘He’s great with them. It shook him up when Lucy turned on him.’
‘Did he get the bite seen to?’ That would be one way to check Leo had been bitten when he said he had. It didn’t seem like Karl was lying, but he could be a far better actor than Leo.
‘I had a look at it. It wasn’t nasty, no worse than I’ve had before. I told him if it started swelling or itching he needed to go to the hospital, but he wasn’t too bothered.’
‘What did you do when you noticed Lucy was missing?’ I asked.
‘Nothing. I wasn’t too concerned. The dogs get out occasionally. They like the woods, but they come back when they get hungry or lonely. I had a quick look around the barn but I won’t feel worried unless she’s missing for a few days.’
‘She’s still not returned?’
‘No.’ Karl scratched between Artie’s pointed ears. ‘If you ask me, she was the dog that did that to the girl’s face. I didn’t get a good look, just grabbed the dogs and called the police, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you found some white fur. Lucy’s a terrible moulter.’
Her stall had clumps of discoloured fur in the corners. The side panel shuddered as Artie’s tail thumped into it.
‘Why have you got plastic gloves out here?’ Juliet pointed at an open box on the top shelf.
Karl swallowed. ‘Sometimes I have to help the dogs, you know, do their business. It’s an anal gland thing.’
‘Say no more.’ Juliet walked away from the back wall, her lips downturned in disgust.
I flipped over a page in my notepad, suppressing a smile. ‘After you noticed Lucy was gone, you went into the forest?’
‘Yeah. I took a couple of the dogs with me, Bane and Wolfie.’ Karl stepped away from Artie’s stall to point at two others. ‘We walked the route I take most mornings; around the edge of the estate, then back through the middle of the forest.’
‘What did you do when you found the body?’
‘I didn’t find it.’ Karl rubbed at the stubble on his chin. ‘Bane did. He came running over, barking like crazy and pulling at my arm until I followed. Like I said, once I saw the body, I got the dogs away and called the police, then Mr Dunlow.’ He paused. ‘Whoever did it, I don’t know if they’re stupid or didn’t know I walk through the forest every day, but that girl was going to be found.’
I noted that down. None of the suspects we’d talked to seemed unintelligent, but Karl made a good point. Why would anyone leave a body where it would be discovered?
‘How did Mr Dunlow react when you told him about the body?’ Juliet asked.
‘Honestly?’ Karl looked between us. ‘He was annoyed. Doesn’t mean he did it or anything. That’s the way he always is. He and Terence are too stuck up to talk to the likes of me. I’m not sure Mr Dunlow’s got it in him, no matter how much he likes shooting at the range and on the hunt.’
Karl shook his head and walked towards the wide doors of the barn. I quickly scrubbed between Artie’s ears. He licked at my wrist.
Juliet kept pace beside Karl, and I hurried to catch up. ‘Can you confirm Terence was off the property last night?’ she asked.
‘Yeah. Ted left yesterday afternoon. A wedding or something.’ Karl looked up at the dark sky. The sun had set while we were inside the barn. The only light came from the bright moon. ‘Is there anything else? Only, I need to get on. I’m behind as it is.’
‘We need a DNA sample.’ Juliet pulled a kit out of her pocket.
Without protest, Karl wiped the swab around the inside of his mouth and passed the closed tube back to her. ‘Is that everything?’
I wished there was more light, that the nearby trees weren’t half-blocking the moon. There was something lurking behind Karl’s words. It was like he expected us to have more to ask about.
‘No, that’s it. Thank you for talking to us,’ I said.
Karl strode off through the forest. Keeping him in sight, we followed at a more sedate pace and arrived at the car as he closed the door of his cottage.
‘We’re not invited in then,’ Juliet muttered.
A light came on in one of the rooms. From this far away, it was impossible to see inside. Movement from behind the murky panes of glass could have been the curtains whisking shut.