‘Should I clean it?’
‘No, best not for the time being, if that’s okay. Are you going to let the owner know what’s happening?’
‘Yes, I’ll do that. I’m waiting for the support team to get back to me, too, so I can let them know.’
‘When they do can you ask them for any information on Janey that you can pass on to us, or get me a name and contact details for someone I can speak to directly regarding this, so I don’t have to wait days?’
‘Yes, no problem. Thank you, Amber.’ She smiled at her and then Brett.
‘Hopefully there was some kind of emergency that she had to rush home for and forgot to pack her stuff. Fingers crossed she gets in touch soon but in the meantime leave it with us.’
They left the tiny, converted cottage and Amber locked the door after them, pocketing the keys.
Sandra began to walk down the path.
‘Sandra, are you in a car?’ Amber called after her. Sandra shook her head. ‘Jump in the van, we’ll drop you off.’
Sandra looked shocked. ‘Are you sure, I don’t want to put you out?’
‘Positive and you’re not putting us out at all, well as long as you don’t live in Barrow.’
Sandra laughed. ‘No, I don’t. I live in the council flats down by Riverside Way.’
All three of them got into the van, and Amber felt a little bit better than she had when she’d left Scarlett’s house. Her brief stint working alongside Cain and the team in CID had made her realise that it was nice to be nice and not a stuck-up bitch all of the time, well some of the time – she wasn’t perfect.
EIGHTEEN
Morgan had found the only neighbour to the summer camp in a three-mile radius by sheer luck. The small track that led to her cottage had been a few feet away from where she’d stopped the car. She was using Google Maps because she didn’t trust the satnav to take her out here without making her drive off the end of the fell. It happened and she had a love-hate relationship with the satnav in the div cars.
Turning down the narrow, bumpy track she did wonder if she should have left the car and walked, but it was too cold and she felt so weary. It had been a long night. No idea what time it was, she glanced at the clock on the dashboard and realised she’d missed breakfast, and it was now almost lunchtime. Ettie’s tea and biscuits had been good, but she needed something a bit more substantial.
The white house came into view and Morgan sighed; it was so pretty. The sash windows and wooden door were all the warmest sunshine yellow. It made her smile. The garden was a little overgrown, but it hadn’t really been gardening weather. The front, as she got nearer, wasn’t as fresh as she’d thought. It was peeling in some parts and needed a new coat of paint. Morgan knocked on the door, expecting a dog to bark, but wasgreeted by silence instead. She waited a couple of minutes before knocking again, a little louder this time. She heard shuffling sounds coming towards her from inside and was glad someone was home. She heard a safety chain sliding across as the door was opened a little and two of the bluest eyes she’d seen stared at her through the crack.
‘Hello, I’m Morgan Brookes, a detective with Rydal Falls police. Can I speak to you for a couple of minutes?’
‘What about?’
‘A serious incident in the grounds of the old summer camp.’
The door closed, and Morgan heard the chain slide off. The woman staring at her had a head of tight, white curls, she was wearing a onesie that had theStranger Thingslogo on the front. When she turned to lead the way Morgan realised it had a hood in the shape of a Demogorgon’s head, and she had the most irresistible urge to laugh. Not to be rude, but because it was the least item of attire she’d ever expected to see an old woman wearing, especially one who literally lived in the middle of nowhere.
‘I loveStranger Things,’ Morgan said to the Demogorgon.
‘Me too, best thing I’ve ever watched on Netflix. My grandson bought me this for my birthday. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and instead thought I’d embrace it. I mean nobody usually comes here, so who was going to see me in it? Well, until you knocked. That was why I took some time to answer the door. I was a little bit embarrassed, but then I peeped out of the curtain and saw you looking anxious and figured my embarrassment was worth it to check what you wanted.’
‘You have a cool grandson.’
‘I think so, he’s almost fifty though, so you know.’
Morgan laughed. ‘No shame in that. I’m desperate to watch the new series, but I’m also scared because I don’t want it to end.’
‘Ah, me too. I started at the beginning again, so that I’m up to speed when I get to it. At my age my memory isn’t as good as it used to be. Would you like a hot drink? You look half frozen.’
‘I would love one. I am half frozen. It’s been a long night.’
‘Let me see, I think you drink coffee, milky no sugar.’
‘I do, thank you.’
