Page 7 of Gone in the Night (Detective Morgan Brookes #16)

SEVEN

‘Where’s Cain?’ Ben asked.

‘Taking the farmer’s statement, isn’t he?’ Morgan replied.

‘Yes, sorry. Brain dead. Can you ring him and tell him we’re going to need him?

I’m thinking that we’re going to have to get that tent off the roof of the car in order to move the body.

It’s going to be really awkward trying to get it out of there, and we’re probably going to need mountain rescue to get it down the fell to a waiting hearse. ’

Declan was standing with his arms crossed. ‘You could drive the jeep down with her still inside of it. Get Wendy to process inside the driver’s side, and Morgan could drive it down.’

Morgan knew her mouth had fallen open; this was by far the most extreme suggestion she’d ever heard. ‘Won’t she roll around in there and ruin the forensics?’

‘I think it will be okay. There’s not a lot of room to manoeuvre in there, and she’s pretty secure in that sleeping bag. Once she’s out of the tent, the car can be driven down to the road ready for her body to be lifted.’

Ben looked as horrified as she did. ‘I don’t think the boss is going to go for that, but it’s a good idea.’

She glared at him. ‘You’re not seriously thinking about that, are you? What if she falls out? It’s a bumpy track down there.’

‘We could tie some rope around her. Look, no matter what you do it’s going to be difficult. I’m just proposing the easiest option for you. I’m confident that it will be okay. She’s not going to fall out, especially if we zip the tent up and Morgan takes it easy.’

Ben was looking around for Marc and spotted him at the far end of the field in front of the car, pacing down towards the end.

He cupped his hands around his mouth. ‘Boss.’

Marc turned to look at him and waved, then carried on. All three of them watched him until he came to an abrupt stop and turned, walking back towards them.

‘Strange,’ whispered Declan.

‘Very,’ agreed Morgan.

‘Actually, I think he’s making sure there’s no way the killer could have gone that way. It could be an escape route.’

Marc was out of breath as he came towards them.

‘I didn’t realise how much of an incline there was coming back this way.

It’s a steep drop at the end, very rocky, not suitable for a vehicle except maybe a quad bike and even then it’s doubtful.

It looks like whoever did this either walked up here and took their chance, or maybe they were in a similar car to that. ’ He was pointing at the 4x4.

‘Wouldn’t Sharon have heard another vehicle approaching, even if she was asleep?

You must be able to hear everything through the thin tent fabric.

She looks as if she was completely caught off guard.

I think whoever did this walked up here.

I also think they knew she was here and that means it’s someone who knew her that she’d told her plans to or…

’ Morgan turned to stare at the purple Land Rover, it was so unusual and very photogenic.

‘Or?’ Ben prompted.

‘Or she posted her location on Instagram or Snapchat. I think she may have had a stalker.’

‘Why kill her up here if she had a stalker? Why not kill her at home?’

‘Why not? It’s perfect, well apart from the difficulty getting here.

There’s nobody around, no witnesses, nobody to hear any screams for help; she was so isolated and off the beaten track that whoever it was could take their time and know there was zero chance of them being disturbed.

When we find whoever did this, and we will, I wouldn’t be surprised if they have pictures of the crime scene. ’

Nobody said a word; they stared at the scene in front of them.

Morgan couldn’t get the image of Sharon’s decomposing face out of her mind.

The fear she must have felt would have been off the scale.

She thought she was safe, loving life and spending time doing what she enjoyed only for someone to come along and decide that it was time for Sharon Montgomery to die, and Morgan felt a blackness inside of her that was turning into a red mist of fury at the injustice of it all.

How dare someone do this to her. She hadn’t deserved this, nobody deserved to die all alone, terrified and in pain.

‘Boss, Declan suggested driving the car down to the main road so the body can be transferred directly to the hearse when the undertakers get here. We can shut the road in both directions so nobody sees what’s happening whilst we get her out of there, or we can call mountain rescue out to assist. That could take some time though, what do you think? ’

Morgan, Ben and Declan watched Marc screw his eyes up as he looked at the 4x4 with the roof tent up.

‘Can you drive with that thing up like that though? Won’t it blow off or fall off?’ asked Marc.

‘It’s quite weighted down,’ Ben replied.

Marc nodded. ‘Who’s driving?’

Declan and Ben both pointed in Morgan’s direction.

‘Are you happy to do this, Morgan?’

She sighed. ‘I’ll give it a go, but do not blame me if it falls off. Hang on, do we even have the keys?’

‘Damn it, they must be in the tent with Sharon. Where would you put them if you were sleeping in that?’

‘Well not in my pocket, they’d dig in. Under the pillow probably.’

‘Go have a look then, Morgan.’ Marc was being serious. ‘I mean you’ve already climbed the ladder and touched stuff; you’re going to be driving it down the side of the fell, so there’s no point me or Ben adding our DNA to everything as well as yours and Declan’s.’

Morgan felt as if she was in some bad dream that was going from ridiculous to worse and she’d wake up any moment now.

Declan leaned towards her and whispered into her ear, ‘Sorry.’

She couldn’t even look at him, she was so annoyed about this whole situation, and strode off along the metal plates, her Docs making them vibrate under the stomping of her boots until she reached the ladder.

Climbing up, she shone her torch around, trying hard not to stare at Sharon’s poor face, but finding it impossible not to.

Lifting the corner of the pillow, the beam glinted off a metal ring and she thanked the universe for making this easier than she’d imagined.

Reaching out her gloved hand, she plucked the key ring, losing her balance a little, and her hand brushed against Sharon’s face, making her squeal to herself as she leaned too far back, losing her balance.

She tried to stop herself, but it was too late, she was falling backwards to the sound of all three men shouting her name, and then landed with a loud thump on the metal plates that sent a shock all the way up from her backside up her spine.

Mortified, she jumped up. ‘I’m good.’

Declan arched an eyebrow in her direction. ‘I doubt that, you’re going to have a bruise the size of England on your bottom. Would you like me to take a look at it for you?’

Not thinking her cheeks could burn any brighter, at his suggestion they absolutely did because they were positively glowing, and she shook her head. Ben was standing there shaking his head.

Marc walked towards her. ‘Blimey, Morgan, are you sure you’re okay? That must have hurt.’

‘I’m good,’ she growled at him, and he stepped back. ‘Let’s get this over with, shall we? Because if that tent falls off and sends the victim sprawling, I am not taking any responsibility, is that understood?’

All three men nodded.

‘Good. This is ridiculous, but I’ll meet you at the bottom of the track; the recovery vehicle can take it from there.’

She strode to the telescopic ladders, fiddling with them until she managed to push them up enough so she could drive without ripping them and the tent off the roof of the car.

Opening the driver’s door, she took a quick look inside to ensure there was no obvious evidence, and then she got in and slammed the door shut.

‘She’s pissed,’ Declan said to Ben.

Ben nodded. ‘Can’t say I blame her. What the hell are we doing here? This was your suggestion, it had nothing to do with me.’

They watched as the engine roared into life and Morgan began to slowly navigate the Land Rover until it was facing the right way.

Ben held up a hand to her and shouted, ‘I’ll go in front; Marc will walk behind and keep an eye on it.’

Then they slowly made their way down the steep side of the fell, the strangest procession that had ever made its way down there in possibly hundreds of years, when the old coffin road was in use by the locals who lived in this remote area, to carry their dead down to the church.