‘That was no ghost,’ says Tanya.
Once again, Ruth is grateful for Tanya’s presence though she could have done with some of Judy’s sympathy and Nelson’s comforting bulk. Where is he?
‘That’s the sound I heard,’ says Eileen, sounding very young and very scared.
‘Where’s it coming from?’ says Ruth, retreating a few steps down the stairs just to be on the safe side.
‘From down below, I think,’ says Janet. ‘Maybe the cellars? The undercroft?’ How can she be so calm when it’s her own – temporary – house that she’s talking about?
‘I thought I heard something earlier,’ says Ruth. ‘When we were passing the bricked-up doorway. It sounded like an animal.’
‘Let’s go back that way,’ says Tanya. ‘It must be in the right general direction.’
They must make a strange procession, thinks Ruth, as Tanya leads them back into the enclosed garden. Tanya with her phone held out in front of her, Janet with her stick, Eileen shivering in her hooded sweatshirt, Ruth in her TV-watching attire of jumper and loose trousers. It’s much colder now and she wishes she’d brought her anorak.
‘Where’s this doorway?’ Tanya points her phone torch at the wall.
‘Here.’ Ruth turns on her own torch app. ‘Where the bricks are different.’
As they go nearer, they hear the sound again, louder this time and definitely human.
‘Police!’ shouts Tanya. ‘Who’s there?’
Her words echo around the stone square. There, there, there . . .
And a faint voice answers them.
‘Help.’
‘What are you doing here?’ says Nelson. The waves crash against the shore but the fairground music is still playing.
‘I might ask you the same thing,’ says Cathbad in his usual maddening manner.
‘This is my dream,’ says Nelson, rather annoyed.
‘I think you’ll find it’s mine,’ says Cathbad. He hums gently as he gazes out towards the horizon.
‘What the hell am I doing in your dream?’ says Nelson.
‘I think you’ve come to save me,’ says Cathbad.
Tanya kneels on the uneven ground by the wall.
‘Who’s there?’ she calls.
‘Me,’ comes a voice. Just as she did earlier, Ruth thinks that it sounds somehow familiar.
‘Are you locked in?’ says Janet.
‘Yes.’ There’s something unintelligible then, ‘Underground . . . he locked me in.’
‘We’ll get help,’ says Tanya. She stands up and speaks into her phone, calling for back-up using impressive-sounding code words.
‘Hallo?’ Ruth presses her face to the wall. ‘It’s Ruth.’
There’s no answer.
‘Ruth,’ says Tanya. ‘You go around to the house and wait for back-up. Nelson might already be there. Tell them where to find us. Janet and I will wait here. See if we can find a way in.’
‘Here’s the key to the shop,’ says Janet. ‘Are you sure you don’t mind?’
‘Not at all,’ says Ruth. Frankly, Tanya had her at ‘Nelson’. Ruth sprints back through the alleyway. Eileen starts to follow but Tanya calls her back, presumably wanting to question the girl further.
Ruth lets herself into the shop and switches on all the lights. She’s had enough of the darkness. She prowls around, sending carousels of fridge magnets spinning. She knocks over a pile of calendars showing the Beauties of Norfolk. She imagines Nelson striding in, shouting ‘Jesus wept’ at the scenic images of his adopted county. When she hears footsteps, she almost shouts out, but she stays silent, hidden behind a life-size replica of Seahenge.
Between the papier-mâché timbers she sees the door opening and an elderly man entering the shop, blinking in the glare of the lights.
Tanya leaves Janet and Eileen trying to find a way into the hidden room and walks towards the alleyway. She’ll speak to the back-up officers herself. If Nelson isn’t already there. Where is the boss? He left the office at five thirty. Normally, they’d all assume he was with Ruth but Ruth is here, in Tombland. And Joe McMahon is missing too which is why Tanya wants Eileen to stay close, where she can see her.
Tanya jumps when her phone buzzes. ‘Judy’ says the screen.
‘Judy! How’s Cathbad?’
‘He’s dying,’ says Judy in an odd, tight voice. ‘But that’s not why I’m ringing. I think I know who killed Avril Flowers. I’m sending you a picture of him.’
Tanya looks expectantly at her phone. She’s still walking, which is why she almost falls over Nelson’s body.
Why is this old-age pensioner here? thinks Ruth. Has he got confused and wandered in to do some late-night shopping? But it’s lockdown. Surely, he should be shielding at home. He looks extremely feeble. And he seems to be wearing his slippers. Maybe she should go and help him. But something – maybe the ghost of Erik hidden within the ersatz Seahenge – makes her stay hidden.
The man goes to the safe Janet used earlier and extracts a key. As Ruth watches he walks towards a door at the back of the shop, almost hidden by packing cases. Edging around the fake timber posts, Ruth follows.
‘Nelson!’ Tanya kneels beside him. ‘Boss!’
Nelson mutters something. It sounds a bit like ‘Cathbad’. At least he isn’t dead, thinks Tanya. She picks up her phone to call for an ambulance. ‘Tombland Alley,’ she says, thinking how ridiculous the address is. Nelson is showing signs of life now. Tanya touches his shoulder.
‘Boss. It’s me. Tanya. I’ve called for help.’
‘Cathbad,’ says Nelson again. ‘Where is he?’
And Tanya remembers what Judy said on the phone. ‘Cathbad’s dying.’
The old man descends some stairs. He doesn’t put on a light. Maybe he can see in the dark, like a cat. He’s certainly as silent as a cat. Ruth follows, trying to tread quietly in her trainers. The man stops and so does Ruth. ‘Don’t look round,’ she prays. He doesn’t. Maybe he’s deaf, even though he seems to have X-ray vision. She hears another key turn in a lock and the man says, in a pleasant, slightly quavery voice.
‘Well, Zoe? Have you decided?’ Is it time to kill yourself?’