‘Is he going to be okay?’
Morgan couldn’t answer that. Amos looked as if he had lost a lot of blood and he didn’t look very well, but he was still breathing so that was good.
‘Hopefully.’
Footsteps running along the tunnel towards them made them both turn to stare and see a paramedic, with a huge green bag, followed by another.
Morgan sighed. She squeezed Amos’s hand. ‘You’re going to be okay, Amos, hang on, Shep needs you, but don’t worry about him, we’ll take care of him until you’re better.’
She gently coaxed Shep away from his owner so the paramedics could work on him. He was reluctant to leave but he knew that these two men were here to help, so he let Morgan lead him by the collar along the tunnel.
Scarlett was in front, clutching her side, and Morgan could see the blood soaking through the dirty cream sweater that was tied around her waist.
‘Keep going, Scarlett, you’re almost there.’
As light from the trap door filled the tunnel, Scarlett fell to her knees.
‘Cain, Ben,’ Morgan shouted, and they both appeared.
Cain came down into the tunnel and scooped the girl up into his arms, then over his shoulder in a clumsy fireman’s lift. He climbed the ladder to where Ben was waiting to help him up. They lay her onto the floor. She was semi-conscious but breathing.
Two more paramedics arrived and began working on her, making Morgan feel much better. She looked around to see Joyce still handcuffed to the chair. Janey Moore was glaring at the woman.
Morgan finally made eye contact with Ben, expecting him to lose his shit with her; instead he hugged her fiercely and whispered, ‘I love you.’ Then let her go, back to being the boss just as Marc and Claire arrived.
Morgan walked outside. Amber and Brett were marching Ernie down to their van. He would have to go to hospital for the pepper spray and the dog bite, but she hoped it got infected. Then it hit her, how was she going to tell Ettie? The guy who had been wining and dining her was a cold-blooded killer.
A loud caw from above the cottage made her look up, and she could swear Max was perched on the roof along with another raven, both of them watching what was happening.
‘Max,’ Morgan called out, and he took off into the air, soaring towards her. He landed on the windowsill nearest to her, and she knew it was him. ‘Who is going to tell Ettie? I wish you could speak, bird.’
He let out a loud caw and took off again, his new mate following behind, back to her aunt’s. Who knew, maybe he would be able to tell her what a creep Ernie really was and how lucky she’d been to have escaped him.
Morgan called Ettie to be sure she was okay and that Ernie hadn’t hurt her, holding her breath until she heard Ettie’s voice.
‘Oh, Ettie.’
‘Morgan, what’s going on? Where is Ernest, is he okay?’
‘He’s okay but he’s not a good man, Ettie, he’s been arrested.’
The sound of Ettie’s soft tears as she ended the call would haunt Morgan, but she knew that her aunt would be okay in time, which was more than could be said for Dawson and Lizzie.
EPILOGUE
Morgan had left Ben to go visit Amos who was out of hospital. Ben was taking Shep back to his master and he had been pretty down about it. To her surprise he had loved fussing over the elderly dog and taking him on walks. She was glad Amos had recovered enough to go home.
Everyone’s life was getting back on track and now there was one final thing to do. Morgan walked her aunt Ettie through the gates of HMP Manchester with a heaviness inside of her chest that wouldn’t ease. She had been here before, too many times. She had met her now dead biological father, Gary, here, and her murderous brother, Taylor, who was currently incarcerated here. How fitting that now she could add Ettie’s friend, Gerald Grant, to the list. Ettie had been devastated to learn of the double life he had lived, the innocent lives he had taken, but she had kept her chin up, determined not to be brought down by his actions and that had made Morgan so proud of her. None of this was Ettie’s fault, and she could quite easily have given up and wallowed in self-pity, believing that it was.
They had arrived thirty minutes early to go through the security process before they were finally shown to the visitors’ café. It was empty – because Morgan was a copper, their visithad been arranged at a time when there were no other prisoners around. It was too dangerous for her and Ettie if the prisoners found out who she was. She reached out and squeezed Ettie’s fingers, just before she heard the shuffling of feet as Gerald Grant was led into the room flanked by two prison guards, his feet and hands in cuffs.
He sat down opposite them and smiled at Ettie, ignoring Morgan.
‘Good to see you, Ettie, you look well.’
Ettie swallowed then nodded. ‘I can’t say that it’s good to see you, Ernest, or is it Gerald now?’
Morgan watched his every move. He looked a little thinner in the face, but his eyes still sparkled, and she wondered how many years of being inside a jail cell it would take to dim them.
