Free Steps to Heaven: A Sgt Major Crane Novel by Wendy Cartmell Page B

do,” was Crane’s firm reply and he left the office to find the Sergeant’s Mess, where he had been booked in for the night.
    Housed in the prison, or to use its correct term, the Military Corrective Training Centre, the Mess had recently been extended to provide further bed sitting rooms and it was in one of these vacant rooms that Crane found himself. Looking around, he decided he may as well be in the room of a national hotel chain anywhere in England. Once again the banality of the room echoed across the new garrison and Crane wistfully remembered the old Sergeants’ Mess in the centre of Colchester. A fine brick building built in 1875, with tall windows and high ceilings, standing as proud as a Georgian terrace in Bath. Whilst he realised the modern army had to have modern, practical barracks, he fervently hoped that its history, tradition and architecturally unique buildings would not be lost in the process.
    Once settled in, he gave Tina a quick call. He was conscious of the spectre of the ‘great decision’ still lying between them. During the past few weeks they hadn’t made much progress towards reaching a point where they were both in favour of trying for a family. He almost expected her to be cool towards him, having rushed off at short notice, but to his surprise she seemed happy and relaxed.
    “I’m going to have a bit of quality ‘me’ time,” she giggled. “You know a lovely relaxing bath, do my nails, that sort of stuff.”
    “Good for you,” enthused Crane, sitting at the small desk in the corner of the room, surrounded by his papers. “You deserve a bit of pampering. I do love you, you know,” he said. “It’s just that….”
    As if understanding he couldn’t finish the sentence, Tina cut in, “And I love you too, so just do what you have to do and I’ll see you when you get back. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. If you’re not back tomorrow, a couple of the girls from work are going to see the latest rom com, so I’ll probably go with them. I know how you hate that sort of thing anyway.”
    “Yes, definitely not my scene at all,” agreed Crane, laughing. “You do that, love. I’ll keep in touch and let you know when I’ll be back. Now off you go and have your bath.”
    After he ended the call, Crane moved to lie on the bed and closed his eyes, a picture of Tina in his mind in her bubble bath. He could almost smell the fragrance of jasmine scented candles strategically placed around the bathroom. As he began to imagine parts of his wife’s naked body peeking above the level of the creamy water, half hidden by wisps of steam, his phone rang, dispelling the image and bringing him back to reality.
    It was a message to say that Sergeant Major Brown had been as good as his word and there was a full copy of the file on John Sergeant waiting for him. As Crane collected it from the young corporal waiting at the front desk, he decided to eat before going over the file, while he still had the stomach for food.
     

 
    Chapter Twelve
     
    The next day saw Crane standing outside the Sergeant family home, steeling himself to go in. The house was still a protected crime scene, with tape all around it. The attractive modern semi complete with garage, bound up. Sealing its secrets inside. In his hand he held large crime scene photographs, to help him place the bodies in their exact location in the bedrooms, the Sergeant family having been taken to the mortuary for autopsy days ago. Brown had offered to accompany him, but Crane preferred to be alone, to absorb the atmosphere without any distractions.
    The downstairs of the three bedroom semi-detached house was untouched by the murders. He toured the rooms anyway, trying to get a feel for the family. His first impression was that the house was immaculate. The downstairs toilet still smelled of bleach. In the lounge he could see the linear marks of a vacuum cleaner in the thick beige carpet. All the surfaces gleam. The sofa was a work of art