Page 16 of Gone in the Night
‘We’re detectives, is it okay to come in and speak to you?’ Before she’d even spoken, she’d run through a list of words that were suitable,chatandtalkdidn’t give off how serious their visit was.
The guy she assumed was Sharon’s dad arched an eyebrow at her, a bit like Ben did at times when he was winding her up.
‘Am I in trouble? Did I drive too fast through the village? Was my music too loud when we were out sailing on the lake? Don’t tell me the neighbours have complained about the noise from the barbeque we had at the weekend.’ His smile was infectious, and his brilliant white teeth were perfect, definitely not Turkey teeth. These were expensive veneers. He was wearing faded denim jeans and a black linen shirt.
Morgan liked him and this made her feel even worse for what she was about to do.
‘I’m afraid not, can we come inside?’
‘Oh, this is serious then. Yes, of course, come in.’
Marie stepped backwards to let them in, and he turned to walk down the huge, long entrance. He pushed open a door which led into a stunning home office, which made her feel more than a little envious of the lifestyle the Montgomerys led. The bookshelves were floor to ceiling and the desk filled an entire wall. There was a huge black suede sofa, and he pointed to it.
‘Please, take a seat. Can I get you guys a drink?’
Morgan shook her head. ‘No, thanks. Is Mrs Montgomery here? It would be best if we could speak to you both at the same time.’
He smiled at her, turned around and said, ‘Just a moment.’ He took out his phone and dialled his wife, who answered immediately.
‘Make your own lunch or better still get Marie to do something useful for once.’
‘The police are here; they want to talk to us both.’
There was a slight pause.
‘Oh, okay I’ll be right in.’
The line went dead.
‘She’s out in the garden; it’s her baby. She spends all her spare time out there, won’t have a gardener for love or money. She reckons it keeps her fit and busy.’
‘Yes, it does, and it saves money too.’ The voice was clearly a lot less well-spoken than her husband’s. Mrs Montgomery was wearing a pair of khaki cargo pants, a white T-shirt that had mud stains on the front and a belt around her waist with an assortment of gardening tools tucked into it. She stood next to her husband and looked at them on the sofa.
‘Are we in trouble?’ She reached out her hand and shook both Morgan’s then Cain’s. ‘I’m Beth Montgomery and the funny guy is Stefan, my husband and part-time comedy act.’
Morgan shook her head. ‘Absolutely not. Are you Sharon Montgomery’s parents?’
The woman glanced at Stefan, a quick side eye, then she looked at Morgan. ‘Yes, we are. Is Sharon in trouble?’
Morgan wished an alien spacecraft would hover above the house and send a beam of light down to whisk her away from this uncomfortable situation.
‘I’m afraid we have some terrible news for you. I’m so sorry to have to tell you this.’
Beth held up a hand to stop her from speaking. ‘Don’t say it, if you don’t say it out loud then it isn’t true.’
Stefan’s arm had snaked around Beth’s waist, and he was holding her tight. He nodded at Morgan to continue.
‘A body was discovered this morning in a roof tent that was parked up on the top of the narrow coffin road that leads up to Southern Fell, did Sharon mention she may be doing this?’
Beth was shaking her head. ‘She never mentioned it.’
Morgan took out her phone and showed Beth a picture of the Land Rover.
‘Is this Sharon’s?’
‘Yes, it is. I don’t understand why you’re here though.’
Morgan tried to keep her voice gentle. ‘We believe the body we found inside of the tent is Sharon. I’m so, so sorry.’
