‘The living room is free,’ he said.
The lounge was a huge space, expensively decorated in neutral colours, though the feature wall with a real fireplace was painted in a warm deep blue. The carpet smelled new, the curtains were rich and expensive. The whole room oozed class and taste.
Rory headed for the sofa and slumped down in the middle. ‘I have never seen anything like this before in my life. It’s like a horror film up there.’
‘Are you all right?’ Sian asked, sitting next to him.
‘No,’ he said. ‘I will be. I just need a minute.’
Matilda sat on the edge of an armchair. She looked at a gorgeous grandfather clock in the corner of the room and listened to the heavy ticking. It would look great in her new hallway. There was a photograph on the mantelpiece of a couple raising a glass of champagne to the camera. They looked happy.
‘Rory, what have we got here?’
He swallowed hard then looked up at his boss. ‘There’s a young guy on the stairs, about my age, I’d say. He’s been stabbed a fair few times.’ He blew out his cheeks and took a deep breath. ‘On the first-floor landing there’s an old-ish bloke who’s practically been decapitated.’ He swallowed hard. ‘I’m sorry. It’s just … there’s so much blood. I’ve never seen so much blood. Every time I close my eyes, I’m just seeing red.’ He ran his fingers through his short dark hair and took a deep breath. ‘On the top floor there’s a woman. You can’t make out her face at all.’ He took another breath which shook with fear. ‘In the small bedroom at the top of the stairs there was a young girl. She was tied to a chair.’ His voice quivered with emotion. ‘She was drenched in blood.’
‘Is she dead?’
‘No. She hasn’t got a mark on her. I think the blood must belong to the other victims. God only knows what she must have seen. There was a dog with her too; a Dalmatian, only a puppy. He was covered in blood as well.’
‘Where are they now?’ Matilda asked.
‘The girl is at the hospital. I think she’s in shock. She didn’t say anything. A PC is with her. The dog is in the back of the forensics van.’
‘OK. The dog is a crime scene. He’ll need checking out. Maybe the killer touched him. Or maybe the dog bit him.’
Rory nodded. ‘I carried her to the ambulance,’ he said, a tear rolling down his face. ‘You should have seen how she was looking at me. She couldn’t take her eyes off me. I didn’t know what to say to her.’
‘Rory, do you want to go outside, get some air?’
‘I think I will, thanks,’ he said, standing up. ‘Scott’s upstairs in the bedroom the girl was found in. He’ll be able to give you more information.’ He left the room while he was still talking.
‘I don’t think I want to go up there,’ Sian said.
‘If only we had that option.’
Dressed in white forensic suits, Matilda and Sian stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked at the young face of Jeremy Mercer.
‘Poor bloke,’ Sian said.
Matilda looked up the stairs, at the bloody footprints and paw prints on the carpet, the sprays and smeared stains on the wall. ‘Come on.’
She led the way, taking the stairs slowly. She didn’t touch the bannister, despite wearing gloves, in case she smudged any fingerprints. Sian was close behind. Matilda could hear her breathing heavily. The metallic smell of blood was heavy in the air. She could already taste it. Something caught her eye. She turned right and looked through the spindles at the landing.
‘Shit,’ she muttered under her breath, quickly looking away.
‘How bad is it?’ Sian asked from behind. Her voice was quivering with nerves. Her eyes remained fixed on the back of Matilda’s head.
Matilda composed herself, still with her eyes closed. She took a deep breath and eventually opened them. ‘Don’t look until you’re on the landing.’
She held out a hand and Sian took it, gripping it hard. Matilda pulled her up. As she turned around, she gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth. On the floor in front of them was a grey-haired man. His face was deathly white from having bled out. The carpet was saturated. The walls were dripping in blood. The man’s head was barely attached to his body. This was a scene of pure carnage. As much as they wanted to, neither was able to take their eyes off the destruction at their feet.
The door to a room on the left was slightly ajar. Inside, muffled voices were heard, and a brilliant yellow light was coming out from the gap.
Matilda walked over to it and pushed the door open. Sian followed close behind. DC Scott Andrews saw them enter and went over. His white forensic suit was stained with dried blood.
‘Ma’am,’ Scott said quietly, nodding at his boss.
‘Scott, I thought the girl was unharmed?’ Matilda frowned at the scene laid out before her.
‘That’s right.’
‘So where did all this blood come from?’ Matilda looked down at the white carpet. A trail of blood ran from the door to the bed. The pink duvet was smeared with blood.
‘Well, there was a puppy. He was on the floor next to the girl when the first officer on the scene arrived. It was as if he was looking after her. If you look, there are paw prints all over the carpet. I’m guessing the dog kept going out onto the landing and coming back in, not wanting to leave her.’
‘Poor thing,’ Matilda said.
‘The dog or the girl?’ Scott asked.
‘Both.’
Sian, gloved hand slapped to her mouth, looked down at the floor. She couldn’t take her eyes from the horror. ‘Are you sure she wasn’t hurt in any way?’
‘Not physically.’
‘She wasn’t … you know … interfered with?’
‘We don’t know that yet. I’m sure they’ll check her out at the hospital.’
‘How was she tied to the chair?’ Matilda asked. The chair was a small pine children’s chair. It was painted cream and the name ‘Rachel’ was written in pink copperplate on the back with a picture of a Dalmatian drawn on the seat.
‘She was tied around the waist, which held her arms in too. Her legs were tied together. She was also gagged but she’d managed to work that loose somehow.’
‘Why tie her up and not hurt her yet go on to kill like he did?’ Matilda asked, more to herself than her colleagues.
‘I don’t know. Have you seen the other victims?’ Scott asked.
‘We’ve seen two,’ Matilda replied.
‘Prepare yourselves. This is horrific.’
Matilda turned to Scott. He was looking at the ground, but she could see him struggling to keep hold of his emotions. ‘Are you all right?’ Matilda placed a comforting hand on the young DC’s arm. She could feel the tension.
‘No, I’m not. You don’t expect anything like this, ever.’
‘I’ve sent Rory outside for a break. Do you want to go?’
‘No. I’m fine.’
‘Right. Well, I need a team to go door to door. I want to know who these people are and if anyone saw anything. Sian, can you sort that?’
‘Sure.’
‘Obviously, don’t go into any details on what’s happened here. Not yet.’
‘There’s