Don.”
“Oh, I’m not just a gorgeous hunk, Kate.”
Ignoring that, she continued, “Can’t the cleaning women help over what’s missing?”
“They’re upstairs right now, we fetched them straight away. But they’re a dead loss. They can’t seem to agree about anything.”
“There must be friends of the Tillingtons who could help us. Or their solicitor. There’s most likely an inventory somewhere, for insurance. We’ve got to show some brisk action on this one, Don, or heads are going to roll.”
“There’s no need to get heavy with me, Kate,” he said sulkily.
She cocked an ear, listening. From upstairs there came a faint mumble of voices, but everything was quiet on the ground floor, except for a low-pitched humming sound, very faint.
“What’s that, Don?”
“What’s what?”
“That humming noise. Seems to be coming from the rear of the house.”
“I can’t hear anything.”
Kate’s own hearing was very acute. She’d noticed before that she responded to sounds that other people didn’t pick up. She walked across to a door at the back of the hall and opened it. “It’s coming from here, all right. Surely you can hear it now?”
Don Trotton listened a moment, then gave a bright smile. “That’s the deep-freeze. You probably noticed when the compressor motor cut in.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Patiently, he explained technicalities to the feminine mind. “When the temperature inside the deep-freeze cabinet rises above a certain level, there’s a thermostat which automatically switches on the current. The compressor starts operating and hey-presto, the temperature is brought down again.”
“I meant,” Kate said irritably, “why is the freezer left on when the owners are away for such a lengthy period?”
He still didn’t get her drift. “If it wasn’t left on, the stuff inside would have thawed out and gone bad.”
“But a lot of freezer foods don’t keep indefinitely. Not without deterioration. Most people going away for a whole year would empty the freezer beforehand. Use up the contents, or give it away to friends.”
“The Tillingtons obviously didn’t.”
“I think we’d better take a look,” said Kate. “There’s something odd here.”
“Is this your idea of brisk action?” he enquired derisively, then hefted his shoulders. “Okay, you’ve got the pips. Let’s go open the box.”
Don led the way to a small utility room down a passageway leading off from the kitchen. The freezer was set against one wall. It was the chest variety, six feet wide with access from the top. As they entered the room, the thermostat cut out with a soft click. Don laid a hand on the lid, and paused for effect.
“What’ll it be, a packet of fish fingers, or a nice bit of fillet steak?”
“Open it, Don.”
He did so with a flourish, smirking with delight because this damned female DCI was about to look foolish. Glancing down casually, he did a double take.
“Christ Almighty!”
Kate said the same thing, but inaudibly. Crammed into the otherwise empty freezer was the hard-frozen body of a man.
Chapter Six
Did you have a premonition, Kate?
The body, prone and fully clothed, was that of Sir Noah Kimberley. He’d been a tall man, and to fit him into the confined space of the freezer, his head had been twisted on its neck, so that the fine grey eyes stared up at her in mute agony. His silver-grey hair was dishevelled, frozen now in grotesquely icy spikes.
Instantly, automatically, Kate had switched into action. Orders were issued and delegated down the line; due processes were set in motion. Dr. Meddowes arrived and superfluously confirmed that life was extinct. As people came and went, Kate overheard every possible variation of the “frozen stiff” sort of wisecrack. To the general public they’d have sounded unfeeling, but she knew that such jokery was a safety valve for men who had a difficult and unpleasant job to perform. In this
“Oh, I’m not just a gorgeous hunk, Kate.”
Ignoring that, she continued, “Can’t the cleaning women help over what’s missing?”
“They’re upstairs right now, we fetched them straight away. But they’re a dead loss. They can’t seem to agree about anything.”
“There must be friends of the Tillingtons who could help us. Or their solicitor. There’s most likely an inventory somewhere, for insurance. We’ve got to show some brisk action on this one, Don, or heads are going to roll.”
“There’s no need to get heavy with me, Kate,” he said sulkily.
She cocked an ear, listening. From upstairs there came a faint mumble of voices, but everything was quiet on the ground floor, except for a low-pitched humming sound, very faint.
“What’s that, Don?”
“What’s what?”
“That humming noise. Seems to be coming from the rear of the house.”
“I can’t hear anything.”
Kate’s own hearing was very acute. She’d noticed before that she responded to sounds that other people didn’t pick up. She walked across to a door at the back of the hall and opened it. “It’s coming from here, all right. Surely you can hear it now?”
Don Trotton listened a moment, then gave a bright smile. “That’s the deep-freeze. You probably noticed when the compressor motor cut in.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Patiently, he explained technicalities to the feminine mind. “When the temperature inside the deep-freeze cabinet rises above a certain level, there’s a thermostat which automatically switches on the current. The compressor starts operating and hey-presto, the temperature is brought down again.”
“I meant,” Kate said irritably, “why is the freezer left on when the owners are away for such a lengthy period?”
He still didn’t get her drift. “If it wasn’t left on, the stuff inside would have thawed out and gone bad.”
“But a lot of freezer foods don’t keep indefinitely. Not without deterioration. Most people going away for a whole year would empty the freezer beforehand. Use up the contents, or give it away to friends.”
“The Tillingtons obviously didn’t.”
“I think we’d better take a look,” said Kate. “There’s something odd here.”
“Is this your idea of brisk action?” he enquired derisively, then hefted his shoulders. “Okay, you’ve got the pips. Let’s go open the box.”
Don led the way to a small utility room down a passageway leading off from the kitchen. The freezer was set against one wall. It was the chest variety, six feet wide with access from the top. As they entered the room, the thermostat cut out with a soft click. Don laid a hand on the lid, and paused for effect.
“What’ll it be, a packet of fish fingers, or a nice bit of fillet steak?”
“Open it, Don.”
He did so with a flourish, smirking with delight because this damned female DCI was about to look foolish. Glancing down casually, he did a double take.
“Christ Almighty!”
Kate said the same thing, but inaudibly. Crammed into the otherwise empty freezer was the hard-frozen body of a man.
Chapter Six
Did you have a premonition, Kate?
The body, prone and fully clothed, was that of Sir Noah Kimberley. He’d been a tall man, and to fit him into the confined space of the freezer, his head had been twisted on its neck, so that the fine grey eyes stared up at her in mute agony. His silver-grey hair was dishevelled, frozen now in grotesquely icy spikes.
Instantly, automatically, Kate had switched into action. Orders were issued and delegated down the line; due processes were set in motion. Dr. Meddowes arrived and superfluously confirmed that life was extinct. As people came and went, Kate overheard every possible variation of the “frozen stiff” sort of wisecrack. To the general public they’d have sounded unfeeling, but she knew that such jokery was a safety valve for men who had a difficult and unpleasant job to perform. In this
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