Page 70 of Her Lips Are Sealed

‘I hope not. He hasn’t harmed any of the other cats, Joe, so don’t beat yourself up about it. Would you have given the cat to him, Carl?’

‘Yes, in a heartbeat. Last thing we needed at that crime scene was a bloody cat getting in the way and trying to keep it inside was a pain.’

Morgan shrugged. ‘See, I would have as well probably.’

She logged off the computer and left Joe and Carl to it.

FORTY-FOUR

Lucy strode into the office, disappointment written all over her face. ‘No dogs in the whole bloody area. Lancs were sorry but they have two missing kids, and every available source is at that scene in Blackpool.’

‘That’s understandable, thanks for trying though.’ Ben couldn’t keep the disappointment off his face either and Morgan felt bad for being a bit sharp with him earlier. She’d make it up to him. She thought how little thanks they got for the stress and responsibility they carried on their shoulders, the sleepless nights, but she wouldn’t change it for a thing. They had to be close to finding him, he couldn’t be far away, the net was closing in, and she wanted so badly to be the one to bring him down when it did.

‘Let’s call it a night, back in bright and early. I’ve updated the suspect’s description on the top wanted list, especially the mole on the nose and, if it’s okay with you, I’ll be on call; I’ve told Control to ring me first if anything comes in then I’ll ring you if I need you. Is that okay, Ben?’

‘Only if you’re sure.’

She nodded. ‘Positive.’

On the drive home, Morgan stopped at the Co-op. ‘Just going to run in and get Wendy some bits. I’ll drop you off then go see if she’s okay, she sounded awful. If you want, you could maybe start cooking.’ She hoped he would say yes because she was hungry, but not in the mood and she didn’t think eating pizza or Chinese for a third night running was going to be very good for either of them.

‘I’ll try, have we got anything in to cook?’

‘Hang fire, I’ll be right back, Gordon Ramsay.’

Ben chuckled at her, and she darted inside to grab some bits, opting for some fresh pasta, sauce and a garlic bread out of the fridge, nothing too hard because she knew how exhausted Ben was. For Wendy she picked up some ginger biscuits, rich tea, a couple of magazines, bottled water and some boiled sweets. It had been years since she’d had a sickness bug, so she wasn’t sure whether she’d feel like eating much. She picked up a bunch of white roses too.

Ben smiled at her as she got into the car.

‘I’ll drive you to Wendy’s.’

She shook her head. ‘No, you put the pasta on to boil, and I’ll be home by the time it’s baking in the oven. I’m okay, I promise not to speak to any strangers.’

‘Pinkie promise.’

‘Pinkie promise.’

They swapped seats and Morgan dropped Ben off with the food, waved him goodbye and drove to Wendy’s who lived ten minutes away.

Wendy’s street was a small street, there was nowhere to park, so she left the car on the double yellows at the end and walked down. Sitting on Wendy’s windowsill was what she assumed was the offending cat from next door that had been driving Wendy mad. It watched Morgan as she opened the gate and walked up the tiny path to the front door. She held her hand out to stroke it, and it took one look at her and jumped off, slinking away into the garden next door. Morgan didn’t knock; it was too late. Instead, she put the bag and flowers on the windowsill where the cat had been and phoned Wendy.

‘Hi.’ Wendy’s voice was hoarse.

‘Hey, it’s me. I’m outside with some stuff for you; I’ve left it on your windowsill. Sorry, I don’t want to come in and catch anything.’

Wendy laughed.

‘I wouldn’t give this to Marc and that’s saying something. Aw, Morgan, you’re a sweetie underneath those Doc Marten boots.’

‘Hahaha, thanks. If you need anything else message me, okay.’

‘I will, thank you so much. How’s it going, have you caught him yet?’

‘I wish, but we’re close.’

‘You will, you always do.’

‘Oh, just to cheer you up I had to go back into a crime scene that Carl and Joe were working. Carl nearly had a heart attack, he’s not got the strength or the patience you have.’