Chapter 5

“There’s some evidence that former owners might have had a daybed or two in the folly—with those oak trees shading it, it would have been a cool spot for a summer nap back before the days of air-conditioning.”

They followed Carlton through the door into the little folly and looked around the space. There was an identical door on the opposite wall.

“This is a nice big empty space,” Eric said. He pointed at a set of stairs. “What’s up there?”

“Follow me,” Carlton said.

The three men went up the stairs, stepped into a large empty room, and Eric was immediately hit by a wave of cold air.

“Damn,” Eric said. “It’s like stepping into a freezer up here.”

“Yeah,” Carlton said. “I noticed that the other day when I was prowling around the premises.”

Eric was looking up at one corner of the room. “There’s a trapdoor in the ceiling in that corner, and a ladder built into the wall.”

“That leads up to the former dovecote,” Carlton said.