‘What happened to them?’
‘There was a group of them out walking to a cave that used to be on the far side of the fell, and it had been raining. That heavy rain that we are so prone to get around here that can wash away the side of a mountain under the right conditions and cause utter chaos. They reached the cave but there was a terrible storm. They took shelter inside of it and were okay until the rain stopped. As they all crawled out of it there was a landslide, mud and rocks came cascading down at some speed and the last man out was crushed to death underneath it all.’
‘Oh my God, that’s awful.’
Ettie nodded. ‘This is hearsay, I can’t say for sure that it happened, but Amos said that the cave was practically filled in with the landslide. They pulled his mangled body out of the mess, sealed the cave up and never took anyone there ever again.’
Morgan shuddered at the thought of being crushed in a dark cave under a landslide. ‘Poor guy. You said that was the first death?’
Ettie nodded. ‘Then there were the five Sunday school teachers who drowned on the lake, on a summer camping trip. They were out in a boat with no experienced oarsman or woman to guide them. The rain came down again, they panicked, capsized the boat… they didn’t stand a chance really becausetheir heavy dresses and petticoats dragged them all under the surface of the lake. Every single one of them drowned while onlookers watched, helpless to save them.’
‘Jesus, that’s horrific.’
‘It was. That was in the 1920s, I think.’
‘Did the camp close after that?’
‘Surprisingly no, it was ruled a dreadful accident and brought in the rule that all boaters had to wear a life vest out on the lake. It didn’t shut down until a couple of years later when two kids, sisters, also drowned in the lake. This time it was a calm summer’s day, but the water can be deceiving. It might look calm and weather might be roasting hot, but it can be colder than you could ever imagine. They were nine or ten, they were racing each other and went too far trying to swim out to the boulder where the boat capsized. Of course, they probably didn’t know that or realise quite how far out it was. The coldness was too much for the younger girl and she went under, and her sister died trying to find her.’
Morgan shuddered, she knew exactly how cold that water was. She had almost suffered the same fate, and this sat heavy on her heart. ‘Those poor kids and the women too, that’s beyond horrific.’
‘Yes, awful. Imagine watching your children having fun and in the blink of an eye both of them were drowning and nobody realised until it was too late and neither of them could be seen. That was the final nail in the coffin, excuse that awful expression. The camp shut its doors after that, no more campers. Just local kids who loved to tell ghost stories and scare the crap out of each other, sneaking in there after dark, searching for the ghosts. This is most likely why your teenagers were there last night. That mist wasn’t forecast, it just came out of nowhere, and once more that land has claimed innocent lives. There is also the legend of the watcher, a nine-foot tall pale man who appearswhen it’s misty and the conditions are right. People have heard footsteps walking behind them, and there have been a couple of sightings of a tall figure in the mist, like really tall. Legend is if he walks behind you or you cross his path then your time is up.’
‘That’s terrifying, where does this stuff come from? How did it get cursed, Ettie?’
‘No idea, Morgan, but it clearly is. There is too much tragedy that has happened there for it to be a coincidence.’
‘All those deaths were accidental though, weren’t they? Nobody purposely drowned those women on the boat, or the kids who swam out too far. The guy that got crushed to death, nobody did that to him. All tragic accidents due to the weather conditions. And don’t all remote places have lore attached to them? This tall man could be their own shadows that would look much longer under the right weather conditions.’
‘No, but it all happened right there on that fell. It’s a bad place, Morgan, and you would do well to steer clear of it. Can you investigate from afar? You said yourself you almost drowned in that lake; you could have died. As for the watcher, I’m not going to argue with you about him, it’s just what I’ve heard over the years and, for what it’s worth, you wouldn’t catch me out on that fell when there is low lying ground mist rising up.’
‘A teenage boy died and his friend is still missing.’
‘Which is why you were probably saved, as it already had its victims. We need to figure out who cursed the land and how to break that curse, or if it’s the watcher we need to find out what he wants.’
‘We do? You’re serious, Ettie?’
‘Deadly.’
‘What have all those tragic deaths got to do with last night? How do we break a curse we know nothing about? Or find this watcher who only comes out in the mist?’
‘The land has claimed more victims. Whoever killed that boy and put him in the lake might not have been in full control of himself. He could well be a victim himself if it’s used him as a vessel. Have you spoken to Amos today? Does he seem normal? I worry that it could be using him to do its bidding.’
This time the shudder that racked Morgan’s body made her spill her now cold tea all down herself. Either Ettie was losing the plot big time, or there was more to this than a straightforward murder. How the hell was she going to get Ben and Marc to listen to her? This would blow their minds big time.
SEVENTEEN
Amber and her student officer, Brett, had left Scarlett’s distraught family with the FLO, Jennifer, who had arrived from Barrow. Amber wasn’t going to lie, she had been relieved. Scarlett’s dad, Johnny, had got straight in his car and told them all to fuck off, he was going up to the summer camp to help look for his daughter. She didn’t blame him. If she had kids and one was missing, there was no way she’d be able to sit at home and leave the cops to find them. As they’d got into the van her number had been called over the airwaves and she rolled her eyes in Brett’s direction.
‘Go ahead.’
‘2022 can you go speak to Sandra Pierce; she’s one of the cleaning operatives at the station. She’s at an Airbnb on Rydall Road, number 33a, and is reporting the guests as missing.’
‘For fuck’s sake.’ Amber was careful not to say this over the radio, then pressed the button and replied to the control room operator. ‘On our way.’
Brett was smiling at her, which annoyed her even more.
‘Why are you so happy? Do you know how much paper work this is going to be? Getting info out of Airbnb is going to be a nightmare, it’s all bloody data protection.’
