Page 68 of Gone in the Night
FORTY-FOUR
Lancashire police had sent a van for Justin because the police station was literally two minutes away from the office building. The two officers had searched his pockets before putting him in the van. The echo of the doors slamming shut had given Morgan a deep sense of satisfaction, knowing that Justin was inside and he wasn’t going quietly. He was thumping against the side of the van with either his fist or his head. It didn’t matter to her; she didn’t care one little bit. One of the officers was already in the van, the other came to talk to them.
‘Do you want him detained in our cells or are you taking him back with you? It doesn’t matter to us either way, although we’re a bit full. It’s been like a shoplifting convention this morning. All the usual suspects were out in force, Lush and Primark were hammered. It’s a shame they’re so crap at it really. I honestly don’t know why they bother when they can’t even walk in a straight line.’
Ben smiled at her. ‘Ah, I remember those days too well. Would it be a bother to you if you escorted him to Rydal Falls for us to interview him there?’
She grinned back at him. ‘Absolutely not, I’d love a scenic drive to the Lakes. Make a change from these gridlocked streets of hell.’
Morgan was smiling. ‘The scenery is beautiful; the workload is horrendous.’
‘Ah, yes. I heard about the two murders and the suicide of one of your own. It’s been a tough few days for you all.’
‘It’s been busy.’
‘We’ll get him taken to yours then, and booked in. After that, do you need anything from us?’
‘Depending upon what comes out in interview, we might need his house searching, but we’ll liaise with your control room and see who is best to conduct that. If you can just get him booked in, we would deeply appreciate it.’
‘No problem, I’m Lisa by the way and you’re…let me guess. Morgan, I know because I’ve seen you on social media. Are you Morgan’s boss Ben?’
Ben looked mildly worried that Lisa knew who they were. Morgan laughed.
‘Infamous for all the wrong reasons, it sucks.’
‘I bet it does. We won’t hang around for you to get there, if that’s okay, once we’ve booked him in. Our sarge will be having a heart attack that we’re having to take a van out of the area.’
Ben snapped out of the daze he was in and nodded. ‘That’s amazing, we really appreciate it.’
‘Cool, nice meeting you.’
More thumping and shouting came from inside of the cage. Lisa smiled. ‘He’s going to have a headache by the time we reach Rydal Falls.’
Morgan thought that was good. It was the least he deserved. They watched the van drive away before going back to their car.
‘That turned out a bit different to what I was expecting.’ Ben was already getting into the passenger seat. ‘Can you drive? I have a headache.’
‘Are you okay? Do you need some paracetamol or to go home?’ Morgan asked.
‘What I need is a day off with you lying in my arms and not a single thought about murder investigations, and if you ask me, you need that too.’
‘Oh, I do. It sounds like heaven, coffee and toast in bed, wild hot sex and nothing to do but admire how handsome you are.’
‘Flattery will get you everywhere, and a couple of painkillers. Seriously, do you think we’ve made a mistake here?’
‘How, he was going to attack me?’ Morgan replied. ‘Why is he so angry? On the surface it looks as if he’s hiding something. It’s not going to hurt to formally interview him. Why are you doubting yourself?’
‘It’s the whole Jack thing; it really doesn’t fit.’
‘No, it doesn’t. I want to spend some time trying to see if Jack knew Lydia Williams, if that’s okay. I think we’re missing something on their social media accounts. I think the killer has been using them to monitor what both victims were up to. They were both very active on there, so it makes sense that he’s been stalking them that way; and I don’t want to burst the slimeball Justin bubble, but if he’s not been on there or doesn’t follow them, I don’t hold out much hope for him as the killer. A creep and an arsehole yes, no doubt about that. I’ll take a look at his accounts and see if he links to either of the other victims, too.’
Ben let out a groan. ‘I’m getting too old for this. I must have spent twenty years working shed break-ins, burglaries, domestics, and the occasional murder but they were few and far between. I wish things would go back to that slow flowing non too serious cases so we can both catch a break.’
Morgan reached out and squeezed his fingers gently. ‘I wonder how Amy is getting on? Are we still going to look into Stefan Montgomery too?’
‘We need a team of ten, maybe twelve to follow up on all these enquiries. Especially now that Cain isn’t here to help. Right now, I think it’s important for you to look at all the victims’ social media accounts, to see if you can find anything that links them. Are you friends with Jack on any of them?’
‘I think so, I don’t really use it to be honest, but I accept friend requests and followers if I know them personally, so it’s likely.’
