‘What are you hearing, space boy?’ said Penny.
‘People shouting and running about downstairs,’ I said. ‘Mr MacKay sounds very upset about something.’
Doctor Hayley and Doctor Doyle emerged from the room next to ours. Bleary-eyed and confused, they looked like they’d got dressed in a hurry as well. Hayley fixed me with a cold glare, as if getting ready to accuse me of being responsible for the commotion.
‘What is it?’ she said loudly. ‘What’s happening? Has something happened?’
‘An alarm bell is ringing,’ I said. ‘Now you know everything I do. Happy?’
‘Damn it, Jones …’
‘You don’t look happy …’
‘Ishmael,’ said Penny. ‘Look at the time. It’s later than you think.’
‘Story of my life,’ I said.
‘No, really!’
She held up her wristwatch. I looked at it, and then at mine. It was more than two hours since we’d retired to our room.
‘MacKay said he’d call us down for dinner in an hour,’ I said. ‘Why didn’t he call us?’
‘Ah,’ said Doyle. ‘That’s our fault, I’m afraid. Sorry.’
Hayley shut him up with a look, and then nodded to me grudgingly. ‘I gave orders for dinner to be postponed. I decided it was vital Doctor Doyle and I talk with Parker again. If only to undo whatever harm you might have done. So I told MacKay to hold off dinner until we returned. But by the time we were done, we were both so tired …’
‘All we could think of was getting our heads down,’ said Doyle.
‘For a nap,’ said Hayley.
‘Of course,’ said Penny.
‘Did you get anything out of Parker, this time?’ I said.
‘Nothing useful,’ said Doyle.
‘We’re wearing him down,’ said Hayley.
‘Are we?’ said Doyle. ‘Feels a lot more like he’s wearing us down.’
‘I think we need to make sure we still have a prisoner to interrogate,’ I said. ‘Alarm bells are often associated with prison breakouts.’
‘Oh, shit!’ said Hayley.
‘Well, quite,’ said Penny. ‘Now if we’ve all finished quizzing each other, could we perhaps get a move on?’
‘You are of course entirely right,’ I said.
‘Damn right!’ said Penny.
I led the way, moving at some speed because no one ever sounds an alarm bell to tell you good things. Either someone had got in or someone had got out … Or something had happened to the most valuable man in Ringstone Lodge. Penny strode along beside me, matching me stride for stride, grinning broadly. She loved a mystery, and was always happiest when she was actually doing something. Hayley and Doyle hurried along behind us, determined not to be left out of anything. When we finally got to the bottom of the stairs, the first thing we encountered in the entrance hall was MacKay yelling at Baxter and Redd.
‘I want the whole Lodge searched! Every room, every corridor, every nook and cranny! Kick in doors, look under beds, and tear down the shower curtains. And when you’ve done all of that, I want a full sweep of the grounds and the perimeter. Why are you still standing here? Go!’
MacKay was in full Regimental Sergeant Major mode, so the two big security men just nodded quickly and hurried off. I said MacKay’s name loudly, to make myself heard over the alarm bells, and he swung round scowling fiercely. He started to say something and then broke off. He tilted his head back and raised his voice.
‘Mr Martin! Turn that damned alarm off! I can’t hear myself think.’
Martin must have been listening from his security centre, because the alarm bell shut down immediately. The sudden silence was a relief.
‘Why the electronic hysteria, Mr MacKay?’ I said. ‘What’s the emergency?’
‘Has Parker escaped from his cell?’ said Penny. ‘Or has someone broken into the Lodge?’
I looked at her reproachfully. ‘I was about to ask that.’
‘Keep up or get left behind,’ Penny said ruthlessly. ‘Well, Mr MacKay?’
‘Frank Parker is dead,’ MacKay said flatly. ‘Murdered.’
Hayley and Doyle made soft shocked noises and looked at each other with wide eyes, like frightened children.
‘Now we’ll never know what he might have told us …’ said Hayley.
‘How was he killed?’ I asked.
‘Stabbed, in his cell,’ said MacKay. ‘Even though it was never unlocked.’
‘Really?’ said Penny.
‘How is that possible?’ I said.
‘I don’t know!’ said MacKay. ‘It should not have been possible for anyone to get anywhere near Mr Parker, let alone murder him inside a cell that couldn’t be opened!’ He shook his head, suddenly seeming tired and dazed. ‘Nothing has made sense since that man got here …’
‘Could it have been suicide?’ Penny said tentatively.
‘What? No … I don’t think so, miss,’ said MacKay.
‘Could someone have been trying to help him escape?’ I said.
MacKay shook his head again, more firmly. ‘Whoever got in came here to kill him.’
‘But the cell was never unlocked?’ I said.
‘No,’ said MacKay. ‘Mr Martin was most firm about that.’
‘Could he have been stabbed through the bars?’ said Penny.
‘That doesn’t seem likely, miss.’ MacKay took a long, slow breath to calm himself. And just like that, his moment of near-panic was over and he was the professional old soldier again. ‘When I went down to the cell I found Mr Parker lying on his bed, on his back, some distance from the bars. Looking quite peaceful. Apart from the knife sticking out of his chest. There was no sign of any struggle. I believe he may have been stabbed while he was sleeping.’
‘But that would have to mean someone got inside the cell,’ I said.
‘I have already conferred on this with Mr Martin,’ MacKay said steadily. ‘He was most emphatic. The cell can only be unlocked from his security centre; and every time the bars open, the event is logged and recorded by his computers. Mr Martin swears no one has been inside that cell since Doctor Hayley and Doctor Doyle finished their last conversation with Parker, over an hour ago. And besides, no one could reach the cell without being detected by the cameras and motion sensors that line the whole length of the basement corridor.’
‘I’m trusting those computers less and less,’ I said. ‘It seems more and more likely they’ve been interfered with.’
‘Mr Martin says not,’ said MacKay. ‘And he was very firm about it.’
‘There’s no way anyone could avoid the cameras?’ said Penny. ‘With inside information, perhaps?’
‘I don’t believe so, miss,’ said MacKay. ‘We need to talk to Mr Martin. If any of the computer systems have malfunctioned, he will know.’
‘Lead the way,’ I said. ‘I’m just dying to talk to Mr Martin.’
‘You go on without us,’ said Hayley. She’d been quiet for some time, concentrating on Doyle, whose eyes were worryingly vague and confused. ‘I’m taking Robbie back to the lounge. He needs to sit down and gather his thoughts.’
‘Fine,’ I said. ‘But stay in the lounge. I mean it! Don’t make me have to come looking for you.’
Hayley sniffed defiantly and led Doyle away. He went with her like a bewildered child.
The heavy steel door to the security centre was closed and locked. Penny and I stood back as MacKay announced us via the comm grille by the door. He waited, then hammered on the door with his fist and yelled into the grille again. The door finally opened, and we all filed in. Martin swivelled round on his squeaky chair to face us, grimacing apologetically.
‘Sorry for the wait while I checked you out. I’m not feeling too trusting at the moment.’
‘Same here,’ I said. ‘Why didn’t you see Frank Parker being killed?’
‘Because I wasn’t here,’ he said, avoiding my eyes. ‘I was sleeping in the room next door. I didn’t want to leave my post, but I had to. I
was nodding off in my chair. Do you know how long I’ve been on duty? Tell him, MacKay. Ever since Frank Parker arrived!’ He caught the look on MacKay’s face and calmed down a little. ‘I was promised backup so I could get some rest.’
‘He’s on his way,’ said MacKay.
‘I had to get some sleep,’ Martin said sulkily. ‘I have a cot set up in the next room, for emergencies. So I’m only ever a few minutes away from the centre. Everything should have been fine. All the systems were running on automatic, and I locked the door before I left. No one could get in or interfere with any of the systems without setting off a whole bunch of alarms.’
‘What did trigger the alarm, in the end?’ said Penny.
‘I’ll show you,’ said Martin. ‘But I don’t want anyone saying it’s my fault! None of this is my fault.’
‘Get on with it,’ said MacKay.
Martin fast-forwarded through a bunch of recordings on his screens, to prove no one had approached the Lodge through the grounds or entered the Lodge without being noticed. Then he switched to a screen showing Parker in his cell. He was lying on his bed, perfectly at ease, ankles casually crossed. Staring up at the ceiling, apparently entirely unconcerned by his situation. Perhaps because he thought he was safe in his cell.
And then all the screens went blank.
‘Mr Martin!’ said MacKay.
‘The cameras just shut down!’ said Martin. ‘All of them! Which isn’t supposed to be possible. All right, I suppose you could go round the Lodge smashing them with a hammer, but I’d notice that. No, every camera inside the Lodge shut down simultaneously, for a good ten minutes.’ He gestured at Parker’s screen. ‘When I could see again …’
The screen showed Parker lying on his bed. His position hadn’t changed, but now there was a knife buried hilt-deep in his chest. His eyes still stared up at the ceiling, but they weren’t seeing anything.
‘That’s what set off the alarm,’ said Martin. ‘The cameras going down and coming back on again.’
‘Someone must have hacked into your computers,’ said Penny.
‘Not past my firewalls,’ Martin said firmly. ‘And yes, before you ask, I’m already running full scans on all my systems. It’ll take some time, but I can tell you right now no one got to them!’
‘The cell was still locked?’ I said.
‘Yes!’ said Martin. ‘You could crash this whole room and that cell would still remain locked. Built-in security measure.’
‘Could you force it open manually?’ I said.
‘If you had time and the right tools, probably,’ said Martin. ‘But that didn’t happen.’
‘What did you do after you returned to the centre?’ said MacKay.
‘The moment I realized Parker was dead, I checked every room in the Lodge on my screens,’ said Martin. ‘But there was no sign of any intruder, anywhere.’
‘How could anyone have got to Parker?’ I said. ‘How could he be killed inside a locked room no one could enter?’
‘I don’t know!’ said Martin. ‘Maybe the ghosts did it.’
‘Not funny, Mr Martin,’ said MacKay.
‘Wasn’t meant to be,’ Martin muttered. He sounded more confused than defiant. He swivelled back and forth in his chair, ignoring the noises it made, looking from one screen to another as if half expecting an answer to present itself. When that didn’t happen, he reluctantly looked back at MacKay.
‘We’re in deep shit, aren’t we? The Organization will have all our heads for this.’
‘Not if we solve the mystery ourselves,’ I said. ‘Luckily for you, I’m pretty good at that. Mr MacKay, what have you been doing for the last few hours? Instead of making dinner, as you promised?’
‘I was overruled on that by Doctor Hayley,’ MacKay said steadily. ‘While everyone was resting I patrolled the Lodge, as is my custom of an evening. Checking all the doors are locked and the windows are all secure. I saw nothing out of place, and heard nothing unusual.’
‘Where were Baxter and Redd?’ I said.
‘Outside, most of the time,’ said MacKay. ‘I did question them, and they were both adamant they saw no sign of intruders in the grounds.’
‘That’s where they were, all right,’ Martin said quickly. ‘I had them on my screens. And MacKay. Everyone was where they were supposed to be.’
‘Except you,’ I said. ‘How long were you gone?’
‘It was just a quick break,’ said Martin. ‘Maybe … three quarters of an hour.’
‘Long enough,’ I said.
‘The computers monitor everything,’ Martin said stubbornly.
‘Not this time, they didn’t,’ I said. I turned to MacKay. ‘Where were you, exactly, when the alarm started?’
‘In the kitchen, at the back of the Lodge,’ said MacKay. ‘Mr Baxter and Mr Redd had only just come back inside. It was getting cold, and they needed a break. I sent them to the lounge and said I would bring them some hot coffee. I was busying myself in the kitchen when the alarm sounded. I ran back here and found the door to the security centre was open. On entering, I discovered Mr Martin staring at a screen showing the prisoner dead in his cell. I immediately went down to the basement and checked on Mr Parker’s condition. I came back up, yelled for Mr Baxter and Mr Redd, and sent them off to check for intruders. Then you arrived.’
‘Did you go inside the cell to check on Parker?’ I said.
‘No, sir. I thought it important to preserve the crime scene. I did check the bars, to make sure they hadn’t been tampered with.’
‘So you can’t confirm Parker is definitely dead?’ I said.
‘He has a knife sticking out of his chest!’ said Martin.
‘Appearances can be deceiving,’ I said. ‘In our line of work.’
‘I was a professional soldier for many years,’ MacKay said flatly. ‘I believe I know a dead man when I see one.’
‘Even so …’ I said. ‘I need to see the body for myself. Show me, MacKay.’ I looked at Martin. ‘You stay here.’
‘Damn right!’ said Martin. ‘I’m not being caught out again.’
‘I’m coming too!’ said Penny.
‘Are you sure?’ I said.
‘I’ve seen my share of dead bodies,’ said Penny. ‘Remember?’
‘Of course you have,’ I said. ‘All right, come along. But watch where you step, I don’t want any clues trampled on.’
‘I will trample on your soft and delicate bits if you patronize me again,’ said Penny.
I looked at MacKay. ‘It’s true. She would.’
I studied the backstairs carefully as we went down, but I couldn’t see any footprints or physical evidence. But once we reached the basement corridor and approached Parker’s cell, the smell of blood came clearly to me. And underneath that, other smells associated with sudden death. We finally stopped before the cell bars and looked at the body. Parker was dead. No question of it.
‘Not much blood,’ I said, ‘for a chest wound.’
‘The knife will be holding most of it in,’ said MacKay.
I looked to Penny. ‘You all right?’
‘After everything I saw at Belcourt Manor, a knife in the chest is nothing,’ Penny said steadily. She looked at MacKay. ‘There’s no way the killer could have reached him through the bars. He must have gone in. And since Parker was stabbed from the front, either he was attacked in his sleep … or he knew his killer and believed he had no reason to fear him.’
‘Let’s hope it’s that straight forward,’ I said. I gave the steel bars a good rattle, but they didn’t budge. I nodded to MacKay. ‘Open it up.’
MacKay started to say something, and then stopped as the bars slid smoothly to one side. Martin was listening. I stepped inside the cell, and then looked back as MacKay and Penny started to follow me in.
‘Not just now,’ I said.
Penny looked like she wanted to argue, but didn’t. MacKay just nodded. I leaned over the body lying on the bed and studied it carefully. Parker had been stabbed on
ce. No defence wounds on the hands or arms, suggesting no struggle. But I didn’t think he’d been asleep when it happened. He was laid out too neatly on his bed. No matter how sudden the attack, you’d expect some thrashing around. And besides, all field agents learn to sleep lightly. Parker would have heard the cell opening. No, he knew his attacker and let him get close … And afterwards the killer took time to arrange the body. Which might turn out to be significant, or might not. Killers follow their own logic.
I got down on my knees and studied the floor carefully. Moving slowly around the cell a few feet at a time, checking everything. I couldn’t see a single footprint anywhere, which suggested the killer had cleaned up after himself. This had been no impulsive killing, no moment of madness or passion. Someone had planned Parker’s death down to the last detail. I leaned forward and sniffed the floor, but I couldn’t detect any trace of soap or bleach.
When I was finished with the floor, I got to my feet and examined every surface close up. If I concentrate, I am able to see fingerprints. A talent I prefer to keep to myself. I did tell Penny once and she asked if I could see DNA traces … I almost said something very rude. I may be an alien visitor from another world, but I’m not Superman.
No fingerprints and no blood drops, which meant the knife had plunged into Parker’s chest once and then stayed there. I studied the knife hilt. Nothing special about it; not military issue, or special forces. Would probably turn out to have come from the kitchen … Where MacKay said he was when the murder took place. A kitchen knife would seem to indicate the killer was one of us in the Lodge, because an outside killer would have brought a weapon with him. But why a knife? Rather than strangling or a blow from a blunt instrument? A knife suggested anger and a personal grievance. Someone who needed to see the knife going in. However, a knife also suggested control. Because beating Parker to death might have been even more satisfying to someone who hated him, though far more messy. The killer would have been bound to get blood on him and on his surroundings.