The Half Truth(45)

‘I shouldn’t worry about whispering now,’ said John. ‘I think we’ve ruined the element of surprise. Here, hold the torch for me.’

John gripped the pine frame of the mirror. It wasn’t as heavy as he anticipated and it slid easily to the left, following the track already cleared through the dust. It was obvious the mirror had been slid in the same direction recently.

A hole in the wall, about a metre high, was revealed. It was just big enough for someone to squeeze through at a crouch. A small draught filtered through the gap, refreshing the arid air in Tina’s side of the loft. Several shafts of light streamed through gaps in the roof left by long-since missing tiles on Mr Cooper’s side.

John took the torch back from Tina and shone the light into Mr Cooper’s loft.

John could taste the mustiness in his mouth as he ran his tongue over his teeth. This was the tricky bit; going into another room that was dark and a space where you had no idea what, or who, was on the other side. Not a situation he liked to be in. If anyone was waiting on the other side for him, as soon as he poked his head through he was easy pickings.

John turned to Tina and put his finger to his lips and held his other hand up, indicating that she should stay exactly where she was. Tina nodded her understanding. He held his breath, listening hard for any tell-tale noises of someone on the other side. Anything, from a slight scuffle, weight being transferred from one foot to another, a creak in the joists or even heavy breathing. He closed his eyes. An old trick Neil had once taught him, to hone the senses, in particular the sixth sense, of being aware of the presence of someone else. Okay, it wasn’t scientific or anything they taught you at police training but, nevertheless, John hadn’t dismissed it, especially since it had got him out of trouble when playing cat and mouse with a particular nasty drug dealer who had waited for John behind a partition wall and with a scaffold bar. John had sensed the man on the other side of the wall and had taken him out, ankle height with his police baton. Rolling around screaming in agony over a broken ankle meant the scaffold pole was no longer a threat.

John rested for a few more seconds. No sixth sense, no tingling of the senses this time. He looked back at Tina, who let out the breath she must have been holding. He indicated that he was going in and she was still to remain where she was.

Still not taking any chances, John slowly extended his arm through the gap, shining the torch all around the opening. He could see the bricks that were once the wall stacked to one side and noted that this side of the loft space wasn’t boarded out at all. At a crouch, he stepped through, placing his feet on the joists. He took a careful look around, until he was satisfied there was no one else up there.

‘It’s okay, you can come through,’ he called back to Tina. ‘Watch your step. Keep your feet on the joists.’

Tina climbed through, but remained just inside, choosing to watch John rather than take up the challenge of shuffling along the joists without much light.

John knelt down at the loft hatch to Mr Cooper’s landing. Something shiny caught his attention and he picked it up.

‘What’s that?’ said Tina.

‘A knife,’ said John. He ran his hands around the wooden plinth to the hatch, coming to stop at a rough edge, where the knife had gouged a small indent. ‘I was wondering how our visitor opened the loft hatch from the inside. He digs the knife in here and flips the hatch up. As the knife is on Mr Cooper’s side, we can assume that he last exited this side.’

Tina gave a small gasp. ‘Do you think he’s in Mr Cooper’s now?’

‘Maybe. Although I’m not suggesting we drop down the hatch and find out. Best we go round to Mr Cooper’s the conventional way.’

‘What about if he comes up here while we’re down there? We could be chasing him backwards and forwards.’

‘Which is exactly why I’m going to put some of those house bricks on the loft hatch. He may be able to lift it if he pushes hard enough, but we will certainly hear it.’ John edged back towards her. ‘Pass some bricks over.’

After a few minutes a significant stack of bricks had been placed on top of the hatch.

‘What about the hole in the wall?’ Tina shuffled back through to her side of the roof space.

‘Shouldn’t we fix that up?’

‘No point if he can’t get up here,’ said John. ‘Today I’ll get a catch and padlock to put on your side of the hatch. That way, even if he does get up there, he won’t be coming into yours that way.’

They made their way down the ladder and onto the landing. John put his hands on Tina’s shoulders and turned her round to face him. She was doing a pretty good job of keeping it all together, but not good enough that he couldn’t see the angst in her eyes. ‘Don’t worry, you’re safe. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you or Dimitri.’