A Room Full of Killers. Michael Wood

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       TEN

      Oliver Byron was sitting in an uncomfortable wooden chair, gripping the arms firmly, his knuckles almost white. His unruly mound of salt-and-pepper hair seemed to have greyed more in the few hours Matilda and her team had been at Starling House.

      ‘Mr Byron, I know you’ve had a shock this morning, but I’d like you to talk me through everything that happened,’ Matilda began.

      DC Scott Andrews was sitting next to her, pen poised and hovering over his notepad. Kate Moloney had asked if they wanted to be alone, but Oliver had requested she stay.

      ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, shaking his head, ‘it really has been a massive shock. I’ve never seen anything so … ’

      ‘It’s OK, Oliver. Do we have to do this now?’ Kate asked Matilda.

      ‘It would be best if it was sooner rather than later.’

      ‘It’s OK, Kate.’ Oliver took a deep breath. ‘Well, as usual the doors were unlocked at seven o’clock, and the boys were to get ready and come down for breakfast. Ryan Asher didn’t so I went to look for him.’

      ‘Why you?’

      ‘Sorry?’

      ‘Why did you go and look for him? You’re head of the other officers, aren’t you? Surely you’d have sent one of them.’

      Oliver looked to Kate then back at Matilda. ‘I don’t know. I didn’t really think. I noticed Ryan wasn’t there so thought I’d go and find him.’

      ‘OK. So you went straight to his room?’

      ‘I did. It was unlocked and I went inside. His bed hadn’t been made but the room was empty.’

      ‘Who unlocked the room?’

      ‘The locks are on a timer. They’re automatically unlocked at seven o’clock.’

      ‘OK. What did you think when you saw his room empty?’

      ‘Nothing. I thought maybe he’d taken a wrong turn on his way to the dining room or decided to have a shower first.’

      ‘So where did you go first to look for him?’

      ‘The bathroom.’

      ‘Then?’

      ‘Then the recreation room.’

      Matilda looked down at the plan of Starling House she had on her lap. The bedrooms of the inmates were on the first floor; the recreation room was on the ground floor. There were other places upstairs he could have looked before going down. So why didn’t he? ‘Why there?’

      ‘Sorry?’

      ‘After the bathroom, why did you go to the recreation room?’

      ‘I don’t know. I just did,’ he replied.

      ‘What did you find?’

      ‘Well, the door was locked so I unlocked it and went inside. Ryan was … ’ He choked on his words and had to swallow hard. ‘He was … ’

      ‘In your own time, Mr Byron.’

      ‘You know what I’m going to say. You saw it yourself. He was on the pool table. Dead,’ he snapped.

      ‘Did you know he was dead?’

      ‘Yes.’

      ‘How?’

      ‘He wasn’t breathing.’

      ‘How far into the room did you go?’

      ‘Not far. Just a few steps.’

      ‘The pool table is right at the other end of the room from the door. How could you tell he was dead from just inside the doorway?’

      ‘Judging by how much blood there was. It was obvious he was dead.’

      ‘So you didn’t interfere with the crime scene or try to administer first aid?’

      ‘No. I didn’t do anything like that. I know I probably should have. We’re taught first aid, but I panicked. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I didn’t know what to do. I closed the door behind me and went to fetch Kate.’

      ‘Who else has a key to that room?’

      ‘We all do,’ Kate said. ‘All the staff have keys to the communal rooms. There’s no reason for them not to.’

      ‘The only other way into the recreation room is from the patio doors. Is that correct?’

      ‘That’s right,’ Kate said. ‘They’re double-locked, and there is an alarm on the doors which will sound if they are interfered with in any way.’

      ‘Is the alarm working?’

      ‘It is tested every two days. Yes, it’s working.’

      ‘What about the windows?’

      ‘They are all locked and on separate alarms to the door. And before you ask, they are also tested every two days and are working perfectly.’

      ‘So we have a murdered young man in a sealed room and the only people who have a key are members of your staff, Ms Moloney.’

      ‘If you think one of my staff is capable of that then you’re very much mistaken. All the staff are vetted many times before being employed here. I know all of their employment and personal history. None of them have a history of violence and all are capable and credible,’ she said with strong determination.

      ‘It would appear, on the face of it, one of them has slipped through the cracks. The only person who could have committed the crime had to have a key to the recreation room. Have any been lost or stolen recently?’

      ‘Not that I have been made aware of,’ she looked over to Oliver who quickly shook his head.

      ‘Then it would appear you have a killer on the loose here, Mrs Moloney.’

      ‘The whole place is full of bloody killers. Take your pick, Inspector.’