Madds grunted. ‘Be my guest, he’s over in the old recreation hall where they found the girl.’
He pointed in the distance, and Ben began walking that way. The fog was starting to lift a little, and Morgan could make out the steep pitched roof of the wooden building.
She followed behind, not that she could see his outline very clearly, but she had this sinking feeling deep inside of her gut that something awful may have happened.
FOUR
Morgan was glad to step out of the cold, damp mist and into the ancient wooden building despite the gaps in the roof and the cold draughts that seeped throughout the entire structure. Amber was talking to a huge guy with a bit of a stooped back which made him look as if he was looming over her. His eyes were wide, glaring at Amber as she asked him questions. Sitting on the floor next to his feet was a Labrador that was going grey around the mouth. It looked at Morgan with its big brown eyes, and its tail began to swish on the floor. She couldn’t help herself, she walked straight over to it and began to pat its head, scratching gently behind its ears.
‘You’re honoured; he likes you.’
She smiled at the man. ‘I like him, he’s adorable.’
The man shrugged. ‘He’s good company and loyal, well most of the time. He’s been in to see the girl and then came back out to check on me.’
She held out her hand. ‘Morgan Brookes, I’m a detective.’
‘Amos Watson, caretaker of this godforsaken place, and that’s Shep.’ He smiled at her and suddenly he didn’t look quite as scary as her first impression had been now that he wasn’t glaring. Morgan wondered if Amber had wound him up thewrong way as she so often did with people; her social skills were somewhat lacking at times.
Ben nodded at him. ‘Could you tell us what happened?’
Amos arched an eyebrow at Morgan, as if to saynot again, but he nodded.
‘As I told this police lady here, I thought I heard a girl scream. It was loud enough that even Shep heard it and he’s deaf most of the time, well except for when I open the cheese packet and then he’s not. I phoned you guys and then I came out to have a look. It was Shep who found her. He led me straight here, gave me the fright of my life, and she screamed again when she saw me. Shep managed to calm her down. He sat next to her, almost in front of her, to let her know he would protect her. I waited outside for the officers to get here; I didn’t want to scare her any more than she already was.’
Morgan felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes and she leaned down and stroked Shep’s head. ‘You’re a good boy.’
Amos nodded. ‘He is, always has been. I told her the police were on the way. She was almost blue she was shivering so bad, so I took off my coat and placed it over her. She was terrified. I don’t know what she was doing out here, but something bad happened.’
‘Did you see anyone else out here?’
Amos shook his head. ‘Shep didn’t sense anyone else either, and he usually does. I don’t know if she was confused because of the cold, or what the heck is happening.’
‘Do you think you could show us around the site, so we can search?’ Morgan asked gently.
‘I wouldn’t recommend it in this weather, but yeah, I can show you. Although, I’m not the fastest.’
‘That’s okay, we can go at your pace.’ She smiled at him, and he nodded.
He turned towards the door, dragging his left leg behind him slightly. She had a torch that she’d grabbed out of the glove compartment of Ben’s car, and Ben followed. Morgan wasn’t surprised that Amber and Brett stayed behind, although she didn’t blame them. She wasn’t annoyed though; her priority was checking to see if Tori’s friends were out here and needed their help.
‘What do you think they were doing out here in this?’ she asked Amos.
‘Same as the rest of all those daft teenagers. Hunting for ghosts, they all do it and have done for years. Those stories about this place being haunted have been doing the rounds for as long as I can remember.’
‘Is it haunted?’
He stopped walking and turned to look her straight in the eyes. ‘Everywhere is haunted by someone or something. It’s usually memories of unhappy times that cause the memories that haunt us all.’
Morgan had not, would never have, expected an answer so deep from the guy who looked as spiritual as Ben on first glance.
Amos chuckled and carried on walking. ‘That’s not what you meant though, was it?’
‘No, but that’s a poignant answer and a good way to explain it.’
‘You think so, hmm, I’ll take that. You mean is it haunted by the ghosts of the girls who drowned in the lake, don’t you? That age-old urban legend that gets passed down through families. This place back in the day was the UK’s very first holiday camp, it was thriving back when it first opened in the late 1900s. Then those poor girls, well they were young women, came here as part of their Sunday school trip, went out on a boat on the lake. They were inexperienced and the weather turned in the blink of an eye, as it so often does around here. The fog rolled in a bit liketonight and they panicked, crashed the wooden rowing boat they were in, and it capsized. All five of them fell into the water. Not one of them could swim, and they all drowned, weighted down by their heavy dresses.’
‘Oh, that’s so sad. I had no idea it was a true story, I mean I used to hear the tales in school about the ghost girls in the lake that haunted this place, but I just assumed it was made up.’
