The Skeleton Room Read Online Free PDF

out and half a million pounds’ worth of computers were stolen.’
    ‘How’s the driver?’
    ‘He’s got a sore head but otherwise he’s fine. They kept him in hospital overnight for observation. What happened down at
     Millicombe yesterday?’
    Before he could answer Gerry Heffernan lumbered in and made straight for his office, shouting that he was in urgent need of
     a cup of tea.
    ‘Well, at least the boss has got his priorities right,’ said Rachel in a low voice when she was sure he was out of earshot.
    Wesley started to laugh, then he looked up and saw that Steve Carstairs was watching them with speculation in his eyes. He
     straightened himself up in an attempt to look businesslike. There was nothing Steve would like better than to start a few
     rumours.
    Rachel glanced over in Steve’s direction and understood. She’d stick to police matters when he was about. ‘So what did you
     find over at Millicombe?’
    ‘It was at Chadleigh, just outside Millicombe. Some divers working on a shipwreck spotted a body in the water and brought
     it ashore.’
    ‘Suspicious?’
    Wesley shrugged. ‘Don’t know yet. Probably an accident or suicide. We’ll know more when Colin Bowman’s done the post-mortem.’
    ‘Man or woman?’
    ‘Woman. And we had another call before that. Somebuilders found a skeleton while they were working on a place called Chadleigh Hall. Heard of it?’
    Rachel nodded. Being a local farmer’s daughter she knew the area well. ‘It used to be a girls’ boarding school – known locally
     as “Virgins’ Retreat”.’
    ‘Well, it’s possible that one of the virgins had been tied up in a sealed room and left to die.’
    A momentary expression of shock passed across Rachel’s face. ‘I didn’t know much about the place, not moving in those sorts
     of circles, but I never heard of anything odd going on there.’
    ‘And if there was, your mother would know about it?’ Wesley grinned. Rachel’s mother, Stella, had a talent for uncovering
     local secrets which the intelligence services would have envied.
    ‘Not necessarily. Millicombe’s fifteen miles away. My mother’s radar might not reach that far.’
    ‘Anything new to report here?’
    ‘Steve and Trish have been to interview the owner of the hijacked lorry but apart from that it’s been pretty quiet. A woman
     came in yesterday to report that her friend’s gone missing but that’s about all.’
    Wesley looked up. ‘Anything to worry about?’
    ‘I doubt it. The woman had an affair, left her husband and then went to stay with a friend from work. I can just imagine the
     rest: a few tears, a few glasses of cheap plonk and a few “aren’t all men bastards” sessions.’
    ‘Has the man she was having an affair with been contacted? Isn’t it likely she’s gone off with him?’
    ‘According to the friend, Lisa Marriott, the affair finished a few weeks ago, but it’s always possible she could have had
     second thoughts and taken up where she left off. She received a letter just before she disappeared, apparently, then she went
     out and didn’t come back.’
    ‘A grovelling letter from the husband or the other man?’
    ‘Possibly.’
    ‘Have you checked it out?’
    ‘The friend said the boyfriend’s name was Mike but she didn’t know anything else about him. I’ve tried to get hold of the
     husband but there’s been no answer. There’s one interesting thing, though. The husband’s called Trevor Gilbert, and guess
     what . . .’
    Wesley was hot and tired, in no mood for guessing games. ‘What?’
    ‘He works for Nestec. The computer firm whose lorry was hijacked last night. He’s the warehouse manager. He was the one who
     saw the consignment of computers off the premises.’
    ‘So you think there could be a link between the hijacking and the woman’s disappearance?’ Wesley looked at Rachel with admiration.
     She had deserved her recent promotion to detective sergeant.
    ‘Trevor Gilbert sees half a