The Skeleton Room by Kate Ellis Read Free Book Online Page B

by his untimely death from a heart attack, she had reverted to the days of
     her lost youth. Drink, parties and the occasional unsuitable man – it was as though Della was making up for lost time. And
     it was Pam with her teaching career and young family who had become cast in the role of responsible adult.
    After he had called next door to fetch Michael from their neighbours, a retired couple with four grandchildren of their own
     who could be relied on to help out in an emergency, Wesley placed the tired toddler in his playpen and made for the kitchen.
     He found a frozen shepherd’s pie and put it in the microwave, but when he took the meal to Pam, he found her slumped on the
     sofa staring into space as Michael whinged with tiredness in his wooden prison.
    He handed her the plate and sat down beside her. ‘Hard day?’ He tried to sound sympathetic.
    ‘You could say that. Thank God it’s the end of term. What about you?’
    ‘A lorry hijacking and we’ve identified the body that was found floating in the sea near Millicombe. And did I mention that
     someone found a skeleton walled up in a secret room yesterday?’
    Pam looked up from her shepherd’s pie, interested. ‘No. Where was this?’
    ‘At a big old house over at Chadleigh. It’s being done up and made into some sort of hotel and leisure complex – some builders
     found a skeleton tied to a chair in a bricked-up room . . . just like in all the best ghost stories, only this one was for
     real. The hall’s near where Neil’s working on that shipwreck.’
    Pam looked away. She and Neil had gone out together at university but it hadn’t lasted long. To Neil Watson relation ships
     came a poor second to archaeology, and she had soon become aware of Neil’s flatmate, Wesley’s, many attractions.
    ‘Chadleigh Cove, you mean? He’s told me all about it. He rang while you were out the other day.’
    ‘You never said.’
    ‘I forgot. I’ve got a lot on my plate, you know,’ she said with more than a hint of reproach. ‘If it’s not school it’s Michael
     and if it’s not Michael it’s my bloody mother breaking her ankle when she’s rolling out of some pub.’
    Pam put her head in her hands and Wesley put a comforting arm around her shoulder. This was real life: kids, work and exhaustion.
     Not much time for the fun they used to have; not much opportunity for social life, leisure or refined cultural activities.
     A simple trip to the theatre required the organisational genius of an expert in military strategy, so nowadays they didn’t
     bother and slumped in front of the TV set instead.
    Maybe when the kids were off their hands. Maybe when they were Della’s age they could spread their wings again. Suddenly Wesley
     looked upon Della’s activities with a whole new understanding.
    ‘So where did you say this skeleton was found?’ she asked after a few moments.
    ‘Place called Chadleigh Hall.’
    Pam’s eyes lit up with sudden interest. ‘It used to be a girls’ boarding school. My mother was at school there.’
    Wesley looked at her, surprised. ‘I didn’t know.’
    ‘Her family weren’t badly off and my grandfather worked abroad for a while so she boarded at Chadleigh Hall. Being locked
     away with all those poor little rich girls probably accounts for Della’s left-wing politics.’ She grinned. ‘Do you think the
     skeleton was a pupil who pushed the staff too far? In which case I’m surprised it wasn’t my mother.’
    Wesley gave her hand an affectionate squeeze. ‘We’re keeping an open mind at the moment. How long’s Della going to be in hospital?’
    ‘They said she’d be out soon but she’s going to have to take it easy.’ She hesitated, as if she was about to say something
     else but had thought better of it. She forced herself to smile. ‘She’ll be fine. What about the body in the sea? Was it a
     swimming accident or . . .?’
    ‘We don’t know yet. The post-mortem’s tomorrow.’ He didn’t feel inclined to