Page 45 of First Blood

He’d taken the words right out of her mouth.

The structure was grand and imposing stretching up over three stories.

Kim’s research in the car told her that the house originated in the thirteenth century.

The driveway led to a moat and bridge that appeared to be newer than the rest of the property.

She got out of the car and surveyed the building with a mixture of wonder and sadness.

Once it would have been a grand property. Two front wings branching off a turreted central entrance, an archway below a double row of windows. There was no pane that hadn’t been broken.

The tiles had been nicked leaving the roof beams exposed and three brick structures that would have supported the massive chimneys. Unchecked ivy and moss covered the walls and crept in through the windows.

‘Damn shame,’ Bryant observed, as Kim took a step forward. ‘Guv, I thought you said…’

‘I’ll just be a minute. Stay here if you like,’ she said, heading for the bridge.

From what she could understand the National Trust had attempted to secure the site numerous times with fencing and each time the fencing got nicked too. It looked to her like they’d decided to make do with the ‘Danger’ and ‘No Entry’ signs nailed into the front wall of the building. She already noted that the perimeter of the property that she could see was tree-lined and not fenced or walled, making it impossible to secure and protect.

She guessed that Bryant’s hesitation in joining her was due to some kind of decision-making process going on in his mind. A dynamic risk assessment. She wasn’t all that surprised when she heard his footsteps behind her.

‘Jesus, even the door’s gone,’ he remarked as they stepped into the building that was little more than a shell.

Daylight shone in from the roofless structure through gaps where the floorboards had either been removed, stolen or had rotted away. Rubble and stones littered the ground, where the floor tiles had been removed.

Kim couldn’t help feeling relieved that the previous owners never got to see it in this condition.

The staircase swept out of what would once have been a grand hallway where the lord and lady of the manor would have greeted their guests and where staff took coats and hats.

Greene had said the body had been found beneath the staircase. She could see where two wooden panels had been removed by the tatters and how the body had been discovered.

She stepped to the side of the staircase.

‘It’d be useful if we had…’ her words trailed away as the spotlight landed on the area.

The beam came from Bryant’s hand.

‘A torch,’ she finished.

‘Yeah, nifty little things to keep in your boot.’

Ah, so he hadn’t been considering whether or not to follow her. He’d been sourcing much needed equipment.

For some unfathomable reason that pleased her.

‘To the left a bit,’ she said.

‘Now to the right.’

‘Down a bit.’

‘What’s this,The Golden Shot?’ he asked.

‘The what?’

‘Clearly a TV programme that was before your time.’

‘Bryant, I don’t get this,’ she said, stepping back. ‘Take a look.’