The Dark Room by Minette Walters

today? If either of them have previous
records, that’s got to be the quickest route to identification.’
    ‘Yes, well, I’ll be in a better position to judge that when we’ve got them out of the bags.’
    ‘What about the green nylon twine that was used to tie their hands and feet? Anything useful to say about that?’
    ‘Not really. It’s available in most garden centres, DIY stores and supermarkets. Impossible to break and takes years and years to wear through. The knots were standard
grannies, repeated several times to stop them slipping, and they were very tight, so presumably the victims struggled to get out of them. That’s an avenue worth exploring. How does one man
tie up two healthy adults? And when did he do it? Before he transported them to Ardingly or after he got them there? If it was before, how did he get them to the middle of the forest? If it was
after, why didn’t one of them run away while the other was being trussed? I really think the most likely scenario is that you should be looking for two or more suspects.’
    DI Maddocks rubbed his jaw in thought. ‘Are you sure it was a hammer and not a heavy branch? If it was a branch, we could be looking at a rather more spontaneous attack. Our
maniac – and I use the word advisedly – stumbles on a sleeping couple in the wood, renders them unconscious, ties them up and then bludgeons them to death before absconding with their
money. Could it have happened like that?’
    ‘Not with a branch,’ said Dr Clarke amiably. ‘Whatever made that neat hole in the woman’s skull was cleanly and symmetrically shaped, very hard and heavy, and
was probably at right angles to its shaft to penetrate so deeply. I wouldn’t put my life on a sledgehammer, but I’d certainly put my savings on it.’
    The third policeman, Detective Sergeant Sean Fraser, who was leaning against the wall by the open window, stirred into life. ‘With respect, Guv’nor,’ he said to
Maddocks, ‘if it had been a spontaneous killing, we’d have found a car somewhere. A guy who buys his clothes at Harrods isn’t going to hitch a lift to Ardingly Woods for a snooze
with his bird.’ He crossed his arms and tapped his fingers against his leather jacket sleeve. ‘It’s interesting listening to the doctor’s description of how it happened.
Pick any war you like, and you’ll have seen film footage of victims kneeling in front of open graves before they’re dispatched with a shot in the back of the head to topple forward into
the pit. I’d say it’s a fair bet these two were executed.’
    The others digested this in silence for a moment.
    ‘What sort of execution are we talking about?’ asked Superintendent Cheever finally. ‘If it was a professional contract killing, we’d be looking at X-rays of
bullet holes. You said yourself, a shot in the back of the head. I can’t see a pro using a sledgehammer.’
    ‘I’ve known gangs take each other apart with baseball bats, sir,’ said Fraser, ‘but, looking at what we’ve got, a man and a woman, mid-thirties to
forties, I’d say it’s a jealous husband we should be after. An execution of passion, that’s my guess.’
    Cheever punted the idea about his head. ‘I still don’t understand why no one’s reported them missing. Well-dressed people don’t vanish for two weeks without
anyone noticing.’
    ‘Unless it’s their families who’ve done away with them,’ said Maddocks. ‘Perhaps we’ve got a Menendez situation on our hands – wealthy
parents slaughtered by teenage sons out of greed for money or revenge for prolonged sexual abuse, depending on who you believe. It happens far too often for comfort. There was Jeremy Bamber –
remember him? – did away with his entire family for the house and money and then tried to blame it all on his dead sister. Makes you wonder why any of us bothers to lumber ourselves with the
next generation.’
    Dr Clarke consulted his watch and stood up. ‘Well, unlike you