All of them stood silently hunched around Wendy’s monitor, watching Lizzie’s and Janey’s last moments before they were attacked, and somehow it was even worse this time because Morgan already knew what was going to happen, and she was holding her breath without even realising it.
‘Jesus, that’s horrific,’ muttered Marc as it ended.
Ben was staring at the screen; he scrubbed his hand across his chin then grimaced as it pressed against his bruised jawline. He looked at Morgan. ‘They were talking about the watcher. You mentioned that both Ettie and the neighbour talked about this watcher. Is it some kind of urban myth? Because I’ve never heard of it.’
Marc had tears in his eyes, and he blinked a couple of times. ‘Those kids; this happened to them too. That’s horrific, I can’t even think of a word bad enough to describe it. So, where are Scarlett and Janey, because the whole area has been searched. We’ve searched Amos’s buildings twice and didn’t find them.’
Morgan swallowed the lump in the back of her throat and gave a little cough to clear it. ‘I think whoever that is, has taken them, so that means he lives nearby or he had transport because even though Janey and Scarlett are of average build, it would still take a lot of strength to carry them or drag them to wherever he was going, or to a vehicle. How did Amos not hear this happening? He heard Tori screaming but not this?’
‘It sounded windy on the footage, maybe he was asleep or not home,’ said Ben. ‘We need to show this to Claire, is she in the office still?’
Marc shrugged. ‘Probably, I’ll go get her.’
When Marc left, Ben put his hand on top of Morgan’s. ‘You did good, I’m going to say I approve of what you did, and under the circumstances this was the best course of action. I’ll defend that all the way.’
She smiled at him. ‘Thank you, but I don’t need you to do that. I’ll gladly take whatever consequences come my way. Just don’t get Wendy involved. I kind of blackmailed her, so it’s not her fault.’
‘I didn’t need you to blackmail me, Morgan, I did what we had to do. Sometimes it’s not always possible to follow the rules a hundred per cent. I’ll take whatever consequences too.’ Wendy had walked back in, and she smiled at Morgan and shrugged. ‘We could get a mobile coffee van and park up on Bowness pier near to the ice-cream van. I bet we’d make a killing.’
Cain rolled his eyes. ‘You two are so dramatic, stop it. Your actions may have helped to solve this case; nobody is going to fire you for that. The worst you’re going to get is a slapped hand, and if we can figure out where the hell he has taken them then you might also have saved their lives and you can’t put a price on that. You’re both bloody heroes. Thank the Lord you don’t always play by the rules, Morgan, time is of the essence and we’re running out of it.’
Marc walked back in with Claire. She nodded at Morgan. ‘You found crucial evidence, even if it was a little unethical. Well done, I am not, for one, going to reprimand you for using your initiative.’
Morgan couldn’t watch the video a third time, and she smiled at her and walked back to the office. She needed to sit down and think, clear her head and figure out where the hell Janey and Scarlett were being held captive, because there was no doubt about it in her mind that they were being held somewhere. If they were dead, they would have found their bodies, like they had found Lizzie’s and Dawson’s, and they hadn’t so that had to be hopeful, didn’t it?
THIRTY-EIGHT
Everyone filed back into the office, and Morgan glanced at the ancient clock on the wall above Cain’s desk; it was almost nine p.m. The dark circles under Ben’s eyes made him look as if he was ten years older than he was, and she felt as weary as he looked.
‘As much as I want to get out there and search, we really have no idea where to start and that terrain, as you all know by now, is very dangerous. I’ve just checked the weather reports and there is ground fog creeping in, which puts us in a difficult position.’
‘Then he’s going to be out there again, looking for more victims, if he only comes out when it’s misty.’ Morgan was staring at Ben.
‘What we are going to do is station officers at the entrance to the two roads that lead up to the fell, and they will close the roads, take details of any vehicles that try to gain access to it, or leave. Technically, the only people needing to go up there are the local farmer if there’s an emergency, Amos and the neighbour; what’s her name again?’
‘Mrs Black,’ Morgan replied.
‘Right, she’s elderly. Does she have carers or anyone checking in on her that we need to be aware of?’
‘Just her grandson, but Joyce said he doesn’t visit very often, Christmas and birthdays.’
‘So, he has access to her house and the area. Have we searched her house; and did we look into him?’
A sense of dread overwhelmed Morgan, and she shook her head. ‘No, well I did have a quick look around, and didn’t see anything. Joyce said he doesn’t live locally.’
‘I don’t care where he lives, can we get his details and do a thorough search on the system to see if he’s got previous for anything?’
‘Yes, I’ll do that, and I’ll go and search her house.’
‘You’re not going up there on your own in this weather, Morgan. Cain, can you go with her?’
‘Yes, boss. I thought you just said we weren’t doing this tonight though. Not that I mind babysitting Brookes, but it might be dangerous.’
Claire shook her head. ‘We’re kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. Where are those uniformed officers that were here earlier helping? Can’t all four of you go up there? Didn’t one of them have a taser? Get the details for the grandson, have a look around and then get the hell out of there. If you find anything then get urgent assistance and we’ll be on standby.’
Ben was nodding. ‘Did she seem like a threat to you, Morgan?’
‘No, she was lovely, she made me a sandwich. No threat at all, I don’t need an armed escort. I’m happy to go there on my own.’
