Page 2 of Gone in the Night (Detective Morgan Brookes #16)

TWO

Joss Graham had been farming the land around here since he could walk.

His father had taken over from his grandfather, it was truly a family affair.

Although it was getting harder now, and he was struggling the older he was getting.

His son didn’t want to be a farmer, he hated it and had trained in computers, which Joss didn’t understand.

What was the attraction of being cooped up inside when he could be out here in the beautiful Lake District, working the fells and fields?

The arguments that decision had caused. Until his wife, Ann, told him to let it go, because he was pushing him even further away and it was breaking her heart.

He loved Ann more than anything and had stopped immediately, realising that all good things must come to an end.

Who was he to dictate to their son what to do with his life?

Maybe it was time for them to think about selling the farm, retiring and taking it easy.

That was why he had gone up to the most desolate parcel of land he owned last week; he wanted time on his own to think about their future.

He spotted the Land Rover was still parked near to the entrance gate.

He’d been shocked by the pure purpleness of it against the backdrop of the greenery of the fields and the beauty of the Skiddaw mountain range when he’d spoken to the woman, who wasn’t some kid like he’d been expecting.

She’d looked older; maybe in her thirties.

She was friendly and had asked his permission to park near to the entrance to the field that was edged by Skiddaw Forest. He hadn’t had a problem with her pitching there.

Lucky for her, by the time he’d reached the field he had been in a grand mood and he’d agreed she could park there for one night.

He had decided he was retiring, it was time to let someone else take over the farm, and tomorrow they were going down to Wales to visit his new baby grandson, and he couldn’t wait to tell his son his plans.

He usually told those wild campers no, to find somewhere else, but the woman had looked tired, a little sad and he’d been feeling a bit on the soft side, so he’d said yes.

He didn’t use this field much, it was too high up, too rocky and not much good for anything other than the beautiful views it gave of Blencathra mountain and the very tip of the forest. How she’d discovered this was beyond him.

It was way off the beaten track, but she had been so grateful to him and had promised not to leave any trace she’d ever been here.

That was a week ago. After a wonderful time with his family, he’d come home and gone straight to bed with the flu; it had taken him off his feet and wiped him out.

When he finally felt better, he remembered about the woman and hoped she’d moved on without leaving rubbish strewn everywhere.

This morning, he had come to check if she had been true to her word and was mildly annoyed to find her Land Rover still here.

As he drove the quad bike nearer, he realised he was more than annoyed; his fingers were clenched around the handlebars, and he was angry because she’d taken advantage of his good nature.

He revved the quad bike to alert her to his presence and waited for her to come out of the tent, but there was no sign of any movement.

Turning off the engine he strode towards the 4x4.

‘Hey, hello, are you there?’

There were no sounds coming from the direction of the vehicle, and he wondered if she’d taken ill or had an accident of some kind.

He had a sinking feeling in his stomach as he stood within touching distance of the narrow metal ladder that led up to the tent.

It was making him queasy. He checked around the car to see if she’d left a note on the windscreen – maybe she’d broken down.

There was no way any vehicle except a 4x4 could get up here to rescue her.

What if she’d been waiting for him to turn up?

Joss went through a whole host of questions in his mind, unsure what to do.

He stared up at the tent then reached forward and knocked on the passenger window as hard as he could. ‘Hey, are you up there?’

His voice fell flat as he waited for a reply, and it was then, as a breeze blew in his direction, that he caught a whiff of something dead.

He’d dealt with death all of his farming life, cows and sheep getting caught up in fencing, their sometimes diseased and rotting bodies decomposing.

He knew he should take a look inside the tent, but he also knew that smell.

The girl was beyond any help he could offer, and he didn’t want to touch anything and get himself in trouble.

Damn it, woman, if you came up here to end your life that’s mighty sad and I am never going to forgive myself for leaving you to do it.

Joss took his baseball cap off his head and swiped a hand across his forehead. Taking out his phone, he doubted he would have a signal, and he was right. Nothing. Pushing his mobile back into the pocket of his checked shirt, he whispered, ‘I’m going to get you some help, be back as soon as I can.’

He backed away, got on his quad bike and sped back to the farmhouse to call the police.