The Burlington Manor Affair

“What’s the matter now?”

The lights flickered off and back on again.

Carmen was so het up she didn’t seem to notice.

Rex put his fingers to his lips. With his arm around her shoulders he directed her back toward the front door. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he gave her instructions. “Call the police, tell them we just arrived and we’ve found the property open with no staff around.”

“They’ll be in the kitchens. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I hope you’re right. I’ll go and check. Now make the call and don’t move from this spot.” He paused. “If you hear anything unusual, head that way, fast.” He nodded his head outside.

“What the hell do you mean?”

“Anything unusual, run, as fast as you can. Promise me.”

Her eyes widened. “Rex, you’re really scaring me.”

“Good. Now make that call.”

She nodded and went for her shoulder bag.

Once he saw her open it up and withdraw her phone, he touched her gently on the shoulder, then turned and made his way across the hallway toward the kitchens at the back of the house. Still he heard nothing.

The corridor that ran along to the kitchens was in darkness and he left it that way. When he reached the kitchen, it was empty, though everything appeared to be normal. Then he noticed the back door into the adjacent lobby was ajar. Stepping closer, he peeped into the lobby and saw the back door there was wide open.

Turning on his heel, he headed back.

When he reached the reception hallway he found it empty.

Carmen had gone.

The front door still stood open and he broke into a jog, assuming she’d gone outside. There was no sign of her anywhere on the lawns or pathways and he couldn’t hear footsteps on gravel. Turning back, he jogged quickly up the stairs, wanting badly to find her on the way into her room, having ignored his instructions. There was no sign of her. He made his way back downstairs, eyes scanning the hallway.

As he reached the bottom of the staircase, he saw her phone in its electric-blue case lying near the doormat. Rex could barely stop himself screaming out her name, but instinct told him that if there was an intruder, silence and stealth were his friends.

Frantic, Rex scanned the hallway again. He hadn’t been gone long. Thirty seconds maybe, less than a minute. The doors to the reception rooms at the front of the building were open and at first glance those rooms seemed empty. There was only one answer; she was still in the hallway, but he just couldn’t see her—oldest magician’s trick in the book. She claimed his words had frightened her, though, and perhaps that was it; she’d been scared and had hidden somewhere. Rex hoped that was the case, but he couldn’t take the risk by calling out her name.

Had she even had time to make the call? He was on his way to pick the phone up when he noticed something on the far side of the door, neatly positioned behind it. It was the pot of walking sticks that Mrs. Amery had dug out the week before. She’d obviously left it there in case Carmen needed one on arrival. As usual, Mrs. Amery had thought of everything. Instead of reaching for the phone, Rex reached into the pot and pulled out the most brutish-looking walking stick he could find.

Facing the hallway, he asked himself: Where would I hide?

He’d played hide-and-seek in this house as a child when his friends came to visit, and quite often with the staff, too.

Under the stairs. There, beneath the massive crescent-shaped staircase was a dark corner. If she was there, though, she’d have seen him looking for her. Heart thumping, he made his way over. When he rounded the corner and squinted into the dark shadows under the staircase, he saw her there.

A man stood at her back. He had his hand over her mouth.

“Back off,” the man warned gruffly.

Carmen’s eyes widened when she saw Rex. Then her gaze shifted, and he saw that she was trying to indicate something. Before he had a chance to get any closer, she moved and whacked her assailant in the groin. When she broke free, Rex pulled her to one side.

The bloke straightened up and tried to make a run for it.

Rex used the stick. The man slumped to the floor, out cold.

Rex dropped his weapon, grabbed Carmen into his arms and kissed her head. “That was some move. Remind me never to hold you against your will.”

“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I’ve told you that. I’ve had self-defense training.”