At 8.00am on Sunday, Reginald noted in his log about “Anna” returning to her flat. She was in a hurry and did not even look at him, so he said nothing.
Anna’s flat felt charged with tension, sadness, emptiness; it was hard to define. A distinct metallic stink emanated from the bathroom.
The full horror of what Star had done lay in the white face and the dark red coating over the rest of the body and sides of the bath. The water had drained away through a poorly sealed drain plug, allowing the congealed blood to coat the surfaces as the level dropped. The smell was overpowering, reaching deep into Star’s stomach, making her want to vomit. The extract fan was not coping with the air change either. Leaving the door ajar and a window open helped dilute the stench with London air.
Star phoned Max to tell him what she had found. She needed his help.
“Max, Anna has topped herself. She cut her wrist in the bath, and it’s filled with blood!” She sobbed, as she whispered her discovery. “What the fuck can I do?”
Max thought for a moment. Star could not tell the police, she would be questioned, and the trail would lead back to him. She was a prime suspect, effectively impersonating the victim and the last person to see her alive. In a macabre way, he thought, this had worked out perfectly for Star, provided she continued to impersonate Anna.
Max had never been to Anna’s flat. Without a real understanding of the scene and the security of the flat complex, he needed pictures and a face-to-face discussion with Star. Far too much had already been said over the phone.
“Take photos of the bathroom, the flat and areas leading to it. If possible, include video of the security area and foyer, with the phone recording while you hold it to your ear as though speaking. Just pan around as you walk. Then come home and we’ll talk.” Max tried to lighten his tone, in case the phone was tapped, but the damage had been done.
“Ooh, thanks Max. See you soon.”
An hour later, Star walked in and told him what she had seen, speaking in whispers, because of the thin walls to their room. She kept sobbing and Max tried to console her with a hug and a cup of tea.
When he saw the photos, he turned pale with shock. The contrast between the girl’s porcelain white face and the thick, congealed blood looked like hell. The video through the building foyer was jerky, but he could see there was no way to sneak out a body. Star had also included the underground garage in the video, accessed through the foyer. After much discussion, he summed up their predicament.
“First, the poor girl is dead and there’s nothing we can do to change it. Her remains cannot even be used for organ donation. Knowing about the tragic circumstances of her death will haunt the family and friends for a long time, whereas if Anna had just lost contact, it would be less painful for them. It looks like the best option is to keep quiet about the tragedy, and you take over her life.
“Apart from the problem of getting her body out of the building, it is terribly difficult to get rid of one. If you bury it, it has to be deep, or some dog or fox will dig it up. Even the discovery of a few bones after forty years would be a big problem for you, Star – you will only be in your sixties. So what can we do with the body to ensure it is never found? More to the point, how can we get it out of the flat, past security?”
“I agree, Max. There’s nothing to be gained by involving the police. I believe I can take over her identity for a month or so until you pull off your plan, whatever it is. Then we can vanish.
“We can rent a storage unit and arrange for a removal firm to collect the new ottoman she ordered. The flat smells pretty bad already, so she can’t stay there. We take it from the flat to some storage area with the body inside. I can say it is filled with books to explain its weight. A few days later, as soon as we’ve decided where and how to dispose of the body, I can hire a van and collect the ottoman. I’m sure the store staff will put it in the van for me. We can smash up the box and dump it later. It must never be found because there will be traces of Anna inside it.” Star suggested, helpfully.
“Sounds like a plan. In the meantime, you will have to wash and bleach the body, scour out the drains with chemical and wrap her up airtight. Next, we can remove the body and decide on the disposal site. We cannot afford for anyone to notice smells from decomposition, or evidence left in the drain. Suppose you vacate the flat, some plumber replaces the sanitary ware during a makeover, and finds old blood in the joints. There will be a hunt for the girl straightaway.
“Unfortunately, you will have to do all the cleaning and sealing her in the ottoman on your own. Do you think you can do that? She was your friend, and handling her will be harrowing for you.”
“I hadn’t thought about the possibility of chance discovery. That’s how crimes come to light years later, isn’t it? You hear about it on the news all the time.”
Something was nagging at the back of Max’s mind. The girl’s death was a stroke of luck for Star, but she was now surprisingly calm and matter-of-fact about their dire situation. “I suppose you are hardened for life after you have already killed people who hurt you,” he thought.
A chill ran through Max. Could she-. did she-. plan the murder of this girl?
“I believe I can manage it as long as you stick by me Max, I need you now more than ever.” She sniffled and hugged Max theatrically.
“We need to assume we have a way to dispose of the body, so let’s plan how to clean up. You will need at least two large containers of bleach. Wash the body and bath with the body in it, and then turn her if you can, to clean the remaining areas. If you use cold water as you go, it should be reasonably easy.
“She will be in rigor by now and she will not be straight, like in bed, but bent to follow the bath shape. So handling her will be extremely difficult when you need to turn her in the bath and wrap her out on the floor.
“Strong scented soap with a feminine fragrance will help dilute the smell of bleach. I know-. bleach the kitchen sink in case someone calls. You can always say that is where the smell is coming from. The scented soap might help you with handling the body as well, as bad smells are most upsetting.
“You’ll need about six large polythene dust sheets from a D.I.Y. store. They are very thin, but do the job well. Lay out the first sheet with one side up and over the rim of the bath, so when you lift her out, any blood-stained water does not run into invisible crevices and become evidence later. Lay her on her back and wrap her, using the bit over the rim first. This will keep the water inside the wrap. Use the side on the floor to cover her. Make sure you have plenty of polythene at her head and feet, twist it like the ends of a sweet paper and fold it in on the body.
“That wrap was just to keep things together, not to be a perfect seal, which will be done with the next two sheets.
“Lay the next sheet on the floor, right up to the body and roll the girl on her side, so the first wrap continues to envelop her, and keep rolling. Squeeze out trapped air as you go, so there is space for gases later. Twist and tuck in the ends.
“Now do the same for the final sheet. By now, the wrap will be well sealed. The other three sheets will come in handy later.
“Put any cleaning cloths into a bowl of bleach, wring them out and seal them in plastic bin bags. Two should do it, the inner bag rolled tight, inside the other.
“Put a large towel under the wrapped body and drag it out to the second bedroom. You don’t want the thin plastic to be torn or liquids overlooked if the wrap leaks.
“Put a plastic dust sheet inside the ottoman so it just lines the box. You don’t need to fully unfold it, keep as many layers as possible. Now carefully lift the girl and the towel, into the box, with her head and torso at the bottom. The legs will have to stick out for now, until rigor passes. She will probably fold in nicely by Tuesday.
“Fold the polythene in on top of her and use parcel tape to carefully seal the opening. The body will start producing a foul gas by now, so this must stay inside the outer wrap, even if it blows up like a balloon.
“The final stage is to wrap the outside of the ottoman. Seal all joints with parcel tape, including the bottom, and put it into its original cardboard box. Again, seal all joints and tears. Now it’s ready for collection.
“Clean the drains to all the appliances with the drain cleaner, not just the bath, because they all run into the same system and there may be backwash in the pipes.
“Clean and polish all the surfaces in the house, keep the heating off and the windows open.”
“Sounds like you have done this before Max,” remarked Star.
“I can assure you I haven’t. Well, not in this life, anyway. Perhaps I did this sort of thing in my past. Maybe I was trained for this. I just don’t know.”
Star went out and bought the things Max had suggested. To avoid suspicion with the security guard, she put the items in bags she had kept from clothing stores, so her purchases appeared as Anna’s usual shopping excesses.
Star set to work cleaning up as Max had directed and stayed overnight. Provided she fully focused on cleaning the flat and did not go into the second bedroom, the eerie feelings went away.