Page 6 of Their Burning Graves
This was the question that Ben usually asked her. He turned to her, a sad smile on his face.
‘It’s just too…’
She knew exactly what he was thinking. ‘It’s too much, too sick, too evil, too unnecessary, too sad, too shocking.’
He nodded. ‘All of that, plus more.’
She reached out, entwining her fingers in his and squeezing them gently.
‘We owe it to Sally to find whoever did this and fast, we owe it to Tim and to David. I get it if it’s too hard for you, Ben, you could ask Will to take over.’
He held up his hand. ‘No, not again. I’m not getting pushed off my own investigation again. I like Will, he’s a good bloke and a bloody good detective, but this is my town, my case and I’m going to solve it.’ He paused, squeezing her fingers tight. ‘We’re going to solve it.’
‘And we will because we’re also bloody good detectives.’
‘We are.’
The gate opened and a white-clad figure stepped through.
‘Well look what we have here, if it isn’t my favourite crime scene trespassers in the world.’
Morgan smiled. ‘Evening, Wendy, we didn’t touch anything.’
‘Oh, thank you. I’m so grateful to you both for being so considerate. I’m not going to lie it’s a nightmare anyway with the mess at the front of the house.’
Another figure followed her through, and she pointed to him. ‘This is Nigel Adams, he’s the fire investigator.’
Nigel gave them a thumbs up, and then the pair of them walked towards the doors. Morgan didn’t give Wendy her usual warning about how bad it was, but she watched her step inside and heard her exclaim, ‘Dear Lord, where are their hands?’
Morgan and Ben exchanged glances; they knew exactly what she was thinking. Standing up they watched as the pair of them began to document the scene.
‘Should we go and speak to Mrs Wilkes?’
‘Would you? I want to see if Wendy finds anything.’
She nodded, leaving Ben staring at the bodies and hoping he was going to be okay.
Mrs Wilkes opened the door before Morgan had even had the chance to knock.
‘You must be the police, come on in.’
Morgan followed her into the modern bungalow. These really were exceptionally well built, beautiful houses. It occurred to Morgan how, despite everything that was happening outside, this woman had opened her door to her and invited her into her home, because she’d assumed she was a police officer, without asking for any ID. Morgan glanced at her reflection in the large hall mirror, she didn’t look like a conventional copper, is that how the killer had gained access to the Lawsons’ home? Had they knocked on the door and said they were from the police? People were always so shocked to have a copper knocking on their door, and it didn’t matter if they were in uniform or not, they always assumed they were the good guys, but Morgan knew better: it wasn’t always the case. She was taken into a lounge where there was a pot of tea on the coffee table next to a stack ofGood Housekeepingmagazines.
‘Please take a seat, I don’t know what’s going on but it looks just terrible. Poor Sally is going to be devastated, please tell her they are welcome to come here. I suppose they’ll have gone to a hotel or to Luke and Heather’s house, they’re very good friends. Where are they? I saw Sally arrive home, but I haven’t seen her, David or Tim since. I’ve been looking out for them, to offer them a warm place to keep safe. They must be in a complete state of shock. I can’t imagine how upset they’ll be.’
Morgan knew that the woman opposite her was lovely and full of good intentions, but she was also as bright as a button and didn’t miss a trick, which probably irritated her neighbours and would explain Luke’s eye roll when he mentioned her.
‘I’m Morgan Brookes by the way, a detective with Rydal Falls.’
‘I know who you are, dear, everyone knows that. It’s a pleasure to have you sitting on my sofa.’
Morgan’s cheeks began to burn, of course this woman knew her, the amount of times Morgan’s detective work had made it to the papers recently, she probably knew more about her life than she did herself.
‘Now, where are Sally, David and Tim? I’m worried about them.’ Her tone was forceful this time, demanding, and Morgan realised that there was no point not telling her the awful truth, because in a few hours the Lawsons would be wheeled out of there in body bags and put into waiting private ambulances with blacked out windows, and she had no doubt that Mrs Wilkes would be there watching from her front window seat.
‘I have some bad news for you, Mrs Wilkes, I’m afraid they all died.’
The woman gasped so loud that it hurt her eardrums. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she looked genuinely shocked. ‘No, I don’t understand.’ Tears filled her pale blue eyes. Morgan noticed they were crinkled around the edges with laughter lines, or maybe they were worry lines the furrows were that deep.
