‘Stuck in Buttermere with the team from hell. Remind me never to complain about you lot again.’
‘Hahaha, good. Look, I think we missed something, it’s being playing on my mind all morning. I think either Amos washiding something or maybe Joyce was, but they are literally the only people out on that fell, they must know something. I want to go back and speak to them again, but I think Ben is about to ground me. Could you maybe come with me and cover for me if he asks what we’re doing?’
‘You are going against the boss’s orders?’
‘What’s new? Come get me?’
‘I can’t, I shared the van here and they’re all still faffing around. Honestly, I’ve never known anyone take so long to do house-to-house enquiries. It’s not like it’s a city; they’re milking it because it’s an easy way to fill the rest of their shift in.’
‘How many vans are there?’
‘Two and a car the PCSOs arrived in an hour ago.’
‘I bet Tina and Sam will give you the keys if you ask nicely.’
Cain laughed. ‘I bet they would and I think you’re right, the woman from the pub I spoke to told me to look closer to home. We should go speak with Amos again and while you’re waiting for me to come rescue you from the tower you’re locked inside of, can you search for a Gerald Grant on our systems? He was a bit of a weirdo, always hanging around where the wild swimmers were getting changed. He’s left the area apparently, but I don’t recognise the name at all. Have you heard of him?’
‘No, I can’t say I have. I’ll check him. You go steal a car.’
Cain laughed and hung up. Getting out of the van, he headed towards the two PCSOs who were chatting to a couple of local residents.
‘Morning, ladies, how are you both this fine day?’
Tina rolled her eyes at Sam. ‘What do you need, Cain?’
‘What makes you think I need something, T?’
She crossed her arms, and Sam laughed. ‘She’s psychic, didn’t you know?’
He shook his head and stared at her. ‘Are you really? Can you speak with dead people?’
Sam cupped a hand over her mouth. ‘Oh, no. I was joking, I’m sorry, Cain, that was really thoughtless.’
He grinned at her. ‘So was I, and actually I was wondering if you’d let me take your car. I need to get back to the station, but I don’t want the boss to know that I’ve gone. Where is he anyway?’
Tina pointed to the church. ‘Boring the vicar to death inside of there, but at least he’s leaving us alone while he’s doing it.’
She unhooked a set of car keys from her radio antenna and passed them to him. ‘You better leave fast before he catches you. We will plead ignorance until it’s time to leave and head back, then we’ll remember we lent you our car.’
Cain took the keys, leaned forward and pecked first Tina and then Sam on the cheek. ‘Coffees are on me next time we’re on shift together. Thank you, I owe you.’
They both laughed, and he jogged over to the car before Marc came back out of the church and stopped him from leaving. He had stuff to do, and he wasn’t getting anywhere wandering around this village, as beautiful as it was.
FIFTY-ONE
Morgan found a couple of intel reports for a Gerald Grant. A complaint from the leader of a wild swimming group. Apparently he was always hanging around whenever they were getting changed, but because it was in a public area, with paths leading all around it with a public right of way, there was little the police could do about it. The officer had advised them to ring it in if they caught him loitering at the time so he could be spoken to. The woman had said there was no lewd behaviour, he was just creeping them out. There was no photograph of him because he’d never been arrested.
Next she went onto Facebook and typed his name in; a few guys’ pictures loaded but none of them were local to the area. He was pretty much a ghost, which either proved his innocence or made him guilty. What was he hiding? Very few people had no social media presence, although there were more guys who didn’t bother with it than girls, she knew that. Ben had a Facebook account that was so out of date she didn’t know why he didn’t delete it. He wasn’t interested in it at all, whereas Cain, on the other hand, spent most of his spare time posting on Facebook and Instagram when he wasn’t working, or at least he had until Angela’s awful death.
Next, she looked him up on the quick address system to see if she could find some addresses for him. She did a double take. There was a Gerald Grant listed as living at the same address as Joyce Black. Morgan sat back and stared at the computer screen, no, surely not. Her heart began to race. Joyce had mentioned a grandson that lovedStranger Thingsand spoiled her, but she’d said he lived in Carlisle and was called Daley. She closed her eyes and tried to think what it meant: what if he didn’t live in Carlisle but lived with her and she didn’t want to get him into any trouble? Or what if this was her husband? Brother? But Joyce was lovely, so kind and there was no mention of him being there when Morgan was there. She thought about the cold mug of tea that had been in the living room. Joyce had been sipping at a cup in the kitchen, had he run out of the back when she’d knocked on the door? Her heart was racing and she knew the feeling all too well; she was onto something. She stood up, looking for Ben, but he wasn’t in the office. Her phone began to vibrate in her pocket and she took it out. Cain was outside, he’d messaged her as well.
She sprinted down the back stairs, almost wiping Madds out.
‘Watch it, is there a fire?’
‘Sorry, no.’ Then she was running through the locker room to get out of the back door to where Cain was waiting for her with the engine running. She got in the car and slammed the door shut.
‘Drive, get out of here.’
