Page 81 of Her Lips Are Sealed

He nodded. ‘For sure.’

Wendy’s hands were shaking, she felt so bad and still not a hundred per cent. ‘Would you like a cup of tea and some biscuits? I think I need one to calm my nerves.’

‘I’d love one, thank you for asking.’

She turned around to make the tea and didn’t see his eyes nervously darting around the room, looking for something. Instead, she was rooting through her cupboards looking for the teapot she’d bought three years ago and never had cause to bring out and use it. She wanted to impress the vet. Without turning around she asked him, ‘I’m so sorry, I didn’t tell you my name. I’m Wendy.’

‘Don’t be sorry, Wendy, I’m Jaxon. It’s nice to finally meet you. I see you going in and out a lot, but I’ve never had the chance to come say hi before.’

This made her heart do a little skip a beat thing and she was glad she wasn’t looking at him because she was grinning like a crazy woman to herself.

FIFTY-ONE

Morgan’s phone vibrated.

Hey, just found the old lady next door dead. I’m okay in case you hear it get shouted over the radio.

Oh no, Wendy, are you okay?

Morgan texted back and waited for her to reply, turning her phone up in case she rang her. They were almost at The View with task force officers to break down the door and go search it. Response officers and a search team had taken over the ground search around Ulverston, but they had come to the conclusion that Jaxon had got away by having a car nearby or they would have found him by now. The dog, drone and entire area was flooded with so many yellow uniforms it would be impossible to hide out anywhere in broad daylight. Morgan was a spare part really. Ben had told her she had to wait in the car until it had been cleared, so she might as well be doing something else. She rang Ben.

‘Wendy’s found her elderly neighbour dead. Do you want me to go check on her and deal with it? I don’t think you need me here.’

He paused for a moment.

‘Okay, is it natural circumstances?’

‘I’m assuming so, she didn’t say otherwise.’

‘You go there then; I’d rather you be out of this area anyway. Are you safe to drive though?’

‘I’m fine, feel okay apart from a slight headache.’

She hung up before he could reply then clambered over into the driver’s seat, glad to see the keys were still in the ignition.

When Morgan arrived, there was a police car parked outside Wendy’s house. The neighbour’s door was wide open and Morgan shouted, ‘Hello.’

The youngest police officer Morgan had ever seen stepped into the hallway.

‘DC Brookes.’

‘Oh, hi. I was hoping you were next of kin. I’m Sian, this is my first week on independent patrol and my first dead body on my own.’

Morgan tried not to look surprised at that statement, but she knew all too well the feeling of dealing with the first dead body when you were out on your own for the first time.

‘It’s hard, but you’ll be fine.’

She shrugged. ‘I’m on my own because everyone is in Ulverston or Coniston. Are you the one that got injured?’

‘Yeah, I’m good. That’s why my boss let me come here, to keep myself out of trouble.’

Sian grinned at her. ‘Blimey, well poor Mrs Foster won’t give you much trouble, she’s dead quiet.’

Morgan laughed out loud, too loud and shook her head at the young woman.

‘Have you got any spare gloves? I’m out of them.’

Sian pulled some out of her body armour and passed them across to her. She tugged them on and followed her inside. The sickly sweet, foul smell of decomposition tainted the air and she tried not to inhale through her nose.