Page 4 of Gone in the Night
‘Come on, we have to go. Have you got the details of the location for the crime scene?’
He waved a piece of A4 paper in the air. ‘Even better, I printed out the log.’
‘Great.’
She unhooked a set of keys off the board and threw her handbag onto her desk. Striding towards the stairs, a little shocked that a log had come in so soon, she was walking so fast Tristan had to hurry to keep up with her.
FOUR
Ben had managed to get keys for one of the off-road vehicles owned by the force. The farmer had made it clear when he’d phoned in that they wouldn’t get up to the scene without one. As they’d driven towards the location, Marc had done nothing but talk about how good this new detective was he’d brought in from up west. Apparently, his track record was unblemished. Ben knew he was trying to defuse the situation because he’d arranged Amy’s replacement without even consulting him, which pissed him off big time. Marc should have waited to speak to him first. He’d only been off work for a week and what a crappy start to their first day back. He was deep breathing and doing his best to keep calm, but it was a lot harder than he anticipated.
‘So, are you okay with Tristan coming in then? I thought it would be best to get him introduced whilst Amy is still here, and you know how busy the team has been the last couple of months. I didn’t want to leave you a woman down.’
‘I have no choice but to be okay with him. It’s not as if you consulted me first.’
‘I guess we all thought Amy would carry on working until she went into labour.’
Ben had to give it to him, they had been so overwhelmed with the number of cases that he had let his duty to Amy slip in more ways than one, and he was going to feel bad about that forever. In all fairness to Amy, she had proved herself even tougher than she came across. She could have gone sick after the trauma of being held hostage by Gordon Wells, but she hadn’t. She’d taken a couple of days off and then strolled back into work, as if she hadn’t just been through the most traumatic experience of her life. He wasn’t sure what he’d done to have such an amazing team of detectives working for him, who also happened to be the loveliest of human beings too.
‘It’s fine, it really is. Just a bit of a surprise that’s all. As long as he’s going to fit in and not cause major problems, that’s all I’m concerned about.’
‘He’s a great guy, very sincere, not full of himself. I don’t know how much experience he’s had with murder cases, but I guess what he’s lacking on that front he’ll soon make up for because you know what this place is like.’
The narrow lane that led to the old coffin road was bumpy; Ben wasn’t sure that Morgan would get this far in a normal div car.
There was a quad bike parked a little further along the road, with a guy on it who waved at them.
‘Must be the farmer who rang it in.’
Ben had to stop his eyes from rolling in Marc’s direction. It was obviously the guy who’d rung it in. He gave himself a shake; he needed to get his act together and stop acting like a sulky sixteen-year-old; he knew he wasn’t being the most professional. Ben stopped the 4x4 and jumped out. As he got closer to the quad bike, he noticed that the guy was completely grey, and his weathered skin was tanned; he had the look of someone who had spent his entire life working outdoors. As he walked to meet Ben, he estimated that the guy must be at least in his late sixties.
‘DS Ben Matthews and DI Marc Howard.’
The guy held out his huge, calloused hand. ‘Joss Graham, sorry to have to call you out like this.’
Ben shook his hand; Marc did the same.
‘It said on the log you didn’t see a body, but think there is one. Can you explain that a little more?’ asked Ben.
‘I’m a fourth-generation farmer, was born on a farm and spend just about every day on it, except for the holiday we just had to visit our new grandson. I know the smell of death, when something is decomposing, and before you ask, no I don’t have experience with dead bodies, but a lot of dead animals over the years. It’s that sickly sweet rotting smell that you can’t get out of your sinuses no matter how hard you inhale on a Vicks cold and flu stick.’
Ben smiled at him; the guy wasn’t wrong. ‘Is it far?’
He shook his head. ‘Half a mile further up, but the road gets bumpy. Glad you brought a suitable vehicle, or you’d be walking up there.’
‘I just need to hang on for my colleague who shouldn’t be too—’ He didn’t finish his sentence because the white Ford Focus Morgan was driving rounded the bend. He waved at her, while looking intently at the guy in the passenger seat. Both of them got out of the car.
Ben didn’t know Tristan, had never worked with him, but he felt a twinge of something deep inside his gut at just how good-looking the guy was. He looked as if he’d just stepped out of a magazine photoshoot. He put Marc to shame. Ben couldn’t help glancing at Morgan, wondering if she was overly impressed.
Marc nodded at them.
‘Jump in, you’re not going to be able to get up there in that.’
‘Yes, boss,’ said Tristan, and he smiled at Ben.
Ben smiled back.
‘Tristan, this is Ben, your new DS, we’ll do some proper introductions later.’
