Page 2 of Gone in the Night
As she walked back along the footpath that reached the campsite, she saw the other tent that had been pitched had now gone. The couple who had been camping had been so lovely and had shared their burgers with her last night, after she’d commented how good they smelled. They’d started following her on Instagram, and she had followed them, so they could keep in touch, which was very sweet, and they’d even asked her if she wanted to move on to the next campsite with them. Lydia had declined; she really did love her own company even if it did get a little spooky at night sometimes. Having this place to herself was worth the eeriness of being completely alone in a remote place.
Barney was in heaven. He’d never left her side since she’d gone home and packed their stuff, after she’d told Justin to shove his job. She lay reading, her eyes getting heavy. She was tired, as she’d walked miles this afternoon, contemplating what she was going to do with her life now she was a free woman.
Suddenly she heard the crunching of tyres crawling along the gravel track that led to the site. It was late. Whoever it was they were going to have to pitch their tent in the dark, unless they had a roof tent too. Her roof tent was amazing; within minutes she had a warm, cosy place to sleep without any of the usual hassle of pitching and struggling against the wind to get the pegs in the ground and secure it before it blew away. She thought about offering to help the person, but Barney was snoring next to her, and she was warm and cosy. It wasn’t up to her, for all they knew she might be asleep.
Snapping a quick photo of herself and Barney tucked up in her sleeping bag, she tried to post it to Instagram, but the signal wasn’t too good up here. Putting her phone under her pillow, she closed her eyes, pulling the hood of the sleeping bag over her head to muffle any noise her new neighbours might make, and began to breathe deeply in through her nose and out through her mouth, listening to the calming sound of the wind fluttering leaves in the trees in the distance.
She always used this little meditation to help her fall asleep and it did the trick. Before long she was drifting off unaware of anything that was happening around her. She didn’t pick up on the fact that whoever had arrived in their car hadn’t even got out of it. There were no sounds for the next hour except Lydia’s and Barney’s gentle snores that seemed to be in complete synchronicity with each other. They masked the sound of the footsteps getting closer to her tent and creeping around in the dark.
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.
THREE
Detective Morgan Brookes hadn’t stopped smiling since returning from New York. It was her first day back in work, but just thinking about how amazing the break had been made her heart so happy. She and Ben had wandered around Times Square, marvelling at the sights. They’d strolled across the Brooklyn Bridge, gone to the very top of the observation decks on both the Empire State Building and the Rockefeller Centre, drank cocktails on rooftop bars and shopped on Fifth Avenue. Saks had been amazing, but she’d preferred spending more time in the huge Barnes & Noble. She’d also visited as many small, independent bookshops as she could in the little time they had on the five-day trip. When they had stepped off the boat at Liberty Island and stared up at the Statue of Liberty, Morgan had tears in her eyes. It had been everything she had dreamed of and more. Rydal Falls was beautiful, but New York City had opened her eyes to a different way of life, and she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Ben had been called into Marc’s office before they’d even taken two steps out of the lift, and she’d left him to it. As she walked into their office, she grinned at Amy who was smiling back at her, nodding her head in the direction of Des’s old desk.Morgan glanced that way and stopped in her tracks. Sitting there was a guy in his late thirties, if she had to guess. He was chatting on the phone, so not paying her any attention, but he was pretty hot, his collar-length, dark brown hair looked as if it had been freshly styled by a hairdresser, and his tanned, stubbled face was handsome. She turned back to Amy and fanned her hand in front of her face, which made Amy spit the mouthful of Diet Coke she’d just taken all down the front of her shirt. Amy stood up, and grabbing Morgan’s arm, practically dragged her out of the office down to the ladies’ loos.
‘Who is that?’
‘My replacement.’
‘What? Where are you going?’
Amy laughed and pointed to her rather swollen stomach. ‘I have a date with this dude in four weeks. As much as I’d love to give birth on Ben’s desk and carry on working, it’s not happening. I have high blood pressure, and the doctor said I need to take my maternity leave now because of the nature of our job, and the fact that I got abducted and stabbed someone in my third trimester didn’t help matters at all.’
Morgan couldn’t help it and snorted with laughter. ‘Oh, Lord. Yes, you did. Are you okay? Is high blood pressure dangerous for the baby? And how are you going to give birth in only four weeks? It’s come around so fast.’
‘So many questions, Morgan, slow down. It’s part of the deal, you know, when you get pregnant you have to actually have the baby when it’s due. And high blood pressure can be dangerous, which is why I’m finishing tomorrow and why Marc brought in a replacement.’
‘Oh, I never thought this day would come. I’m going to miss you, Amy.’
‘You liar, you think he’s hot. I saw that look on your face.’
‘I do not, I’m happily settled with Ben. But he is a bit though; there’s no harm in admiring what’s in front of your eyes even if you’re not interested, which I’m definitely not. What did Cain say about him arriving?’
‘Spat his dummy out. I don’t know whether he’s a bit jealous or whether he’s worried he’ll replace him too.’
