Scotty waved at her, and she found her mouth had gone dry. She looked at the young man and then thought of the bundled baby. Scotty couldn’t be Angela’s son, could he? Her mind was going a mile a minute. God, she hoped not and that her imagination was on crack and getting carried away with itself.
She opened the door and smiled at him. ‘Thanks, lucky you were nearby.’
He shrugged. ‘I was hanging around in the area in case Cain needed me. Is he okay? He must be frantic with worry.’
‘Not really, he’s scared something terrible has happened to her.’ She stared him straight in the eyes waiting for his response.
‘I bet he is. Is he sure she’s not with another guy? You know it’s happened to the best of us. He wouldn’t be the first copper with a partner who got fed up of them working long hours.’
‘He’s adamant everything was fine between them, and I have no reason to disbelieve him. They are so good together. It doesn’t make any sense.’
Scotty glanced at the journal. ‘What’s that?’
Morgan paused. ‘Angela’s diary. Have you got an evidence bag I can pop it in?’
‘Should be some in a box in the back of the van, between the seats.’
Morgan turned and saw the box; there were an assortment of plastic and paper bags stuffed into it. She leaned across to grab one, snatched the first one her fingers brushed and turned back around.
Scotty touched her arm, and Morgan screeched. He physically jumped so much he left the seat for a second. ‘Jesus, what the hell? You gave me a fucking heart attack, Morgan. You’ve got a white feather stuck to your jacket.’ He was holding a small, fluffy feather in the air. ‘Your guardian angel is nearby.’
She took it from him then looked at him. ‘Sorry, I’m a little jumpy.’
‘You don’t say.’
‘My guardian angel?’
His cheeks turned bright red. ‘Lisa is into all that stuff. She’s a born-again witch or so she keeps telling me. I’m not sure if it’s a threat or a statement to be fair. She loves all the witchy stuff and is obsessed with your aunt Ettie. She’s met her a couple of times at the farmers market and talks about her a lot.’
Morgan felt bad, as she hadn’t been in touch with Ettie for too long and she needed to remedy that as soon as she got a moment.
‘She is? I’d never have known that. How cool, do you not mind?’
‘What’s to mind? It makes her happy and if she’s happy, so am I. I guess her little sayings are rubbing off on me. She even makes me blow cinnamon through our front door on the first of every month to bring in abundance. I’m not sure how that works but like I said she believes it, so who am I to argue with her, and I have no idea why I’m telling you this because you’re going to think I’m a lunatic, but that’s why a white feather indicates your guardian angel is nearby or something similar. Lisa would kill me if I got that totally wrong by the way, so don’t tell her I told you. I think she’s still in the closet about her witch stuff.’
Morgan’s shoulders dropped as she laughed. ‘I don’t think that at all, and I make Ben do the cinnamon too, but don’t tell him I told you. He finds it a lot more painful than you seem to.’
‘I won’t say a word. Maybe we should start a witchy woman’s partner support group to help us cope with all the weird stuff. Do you moon bathe under the full moon? Last time, because it was a supermoon, we had a little bonfire and made moon water. Christ, why am I blurting all of this out to you?’
Morgan smiled. ‘Because I have that kind of face, it makes everyone want to tell me their darkest secrets. Have you met Angela at all?’ She was trying not to stare too intently at him, but it was hard. She was trying to see if there were any giveaway specs of anger in his eyes, any emotion that could indicate he knew what had happened to her.
‘A couple of times, she seems nice. Only to say hi to, that kind of thing on the odd time I’ve given Cain a lift home or driven him into work. She’s older than him, and I sometimes wonder if having an older partner is harder or easier.’
Morgan smiled, that sounded like Cain grabbing free rides from patrol vehicles so he didn’t have to walk or use his own car.
‘Well, from my experience it’s easier. Ben is far more mature than guys my age.’
‘I hope Angela turns up soon; I’ve never known Cain to lose his cool before. Well, not over a woman. I mean, he’s punched a fair few criminals in his time but only when they deserved it. I’ll never forget the time he punched some creep who had assaulted his daughter, it was an awful call out. Cain helped him into the back of the van, and he fell on the way in, ended up with a black eye and broken nose. Don’t tell Cain I told you that either, but you know, you work with him a lot.’
‘Are you saying he’s violent, Scotty? That he could be violent towards Angela?’
He shook his head. ‘God, no. He’s not a wife beater; I’m not saying that at all. I mean his ex-wife was a complete bitch to him, took all his money, left him for some guy and tried to get the house off him and his pension.’ He stopped talking. ‘I’m not trying to get him in trouble, Morgan, it’s just I’ve known him a lot longer than you, that’s all, and I’m genuinely worried for Angela, as must he be.’
Morgan wasn’t sure what he was getting at. Was he trying to draw attention away from himself by divulging all this personal stuff about Cain, or was he just gossiping because he could? She tucked the journal inside of an evidence bag and kept tight hold of it. She was going to read through it the moment she got a chance and see what Angela’s thoughts and secrets were, and if there was any mention of the baby that would lead her to his identity.
FORTY-FIVE
‘Do you want me to take that back to the station for you? I can book it into evidence or pop it on your desk; I’m heading back now for my bait.’ Scotty was pointing at Angela’s journal.
