Page 8 of Gone in the Night
They both straightened up, and Declan smiled at him. ‘Just getting ready. My, he’s tetchy today, isn’t he? Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?’
‘First day back, I’m jet-lagged and wasn’t expecting this.’
Declan clapped his hands. ‘Of course, how was New York? Did you love it, did anything exciting happen?’
Ben’s eyebrows were scrunched up that tight Declan grimaced. ‘Never mind, you two can fill me in on everything later.’
Ben’s phone began vibrating in his pocket, and he answered it as Declan lifted up Morgan’s left hand to feel her ring finger underneath her gloves. She wondered what he was doing and then as his eyes went wide she realised: he was looking for a ring. She shook her head at him, and it was his turn to scowl. Shaking his head, he rolled his eyes in Ben’s direction and then walkedalong the metal foot plates that Wendy had placed to give him a direct route to the vehicle without compromising any possible evidence.
Everyone had stopped to watch Declan who was at the foot of the small ladder. He was almost tall enough to peer into the tent without climbing it and only had to step on the first rung. As he unzipped the tent, Morgan watched as he took in the sight before him. He didn’t flinch.
‘Morgan, I’m going to need you to pass me some things from my case.’
She hurried along the temporary path towards him, still thinking about Declan’s reaction to Ben not giving her a ring. She hadn’t even thought about getting married. They were happy as they were, weren’t they? She didn’t need a ring from Ben to prove he loved her. She knew he did without that kind of commitment.
‘Paper bags for her hands, please, and elastic bands. I want to preserve them in case she managed to put up a fight and get me some lovely DNA.’
Declan’s voice stirred her out of her thoughts and into action as she prayed that the victim had. Ben was watching. There was nobody around, the whole area was silent except for the occasional bleating of sheep in the field behind the Land Rover. There were no crowds, no onlookers and Morgan thought that at least it was peaceful. The farmer had been sent home, and Cain had gone to take his statement. She envied Cain, no doubt he’d managed to get himself a cup of tea and was sat in a cosy farmhouse kitchen whilst she was dealing with the horrors of what had happened here.
‘We have a possible ID for her,’ Ben’s voice called out. ‘The car is registered to a Sharon Montgomery. Can you see if there’s anything in the tent with her ID on, Declan?’
Declan was busy collecting samples of maggots and pupae that were left on her face. He passed the collection pots to Morgan, who wrote on them before putting them into his case. Ben wouldn’t normally be shouting out private details about victims, but they were so remote there wasn’t anybody to hear. While she waited on Declan’s next pot, she watched as Ben began talking to Stan who was nodding his head a little bit too emphatically, and then Stan turned and began to walk down the narrow track. She turned back to see that Declan was watching him go.
‘Well, if your new boy didn’t just get a gift from the Gods. Why didn’t Ben send you to follow up on enquiries and let him do the donkey work?’
‘Because I trust Morgan with my life, and I have no idea what Stan the man is capable of. I’ve sent him to go and check the isolated houses that are dotted around the roads up to this point, to see if they have any doorbell cameras or CCTV.’
Declan had the decency to look embarrassed, and Morgan felt bad for him.
‘You need to stop creeping up on us today, Ben, you’re freaking me out and at some point you might overhear stuff that wasn’t for your ears.’
‘I can hardly creep up on you, we’re on the side of a fell, out in the open.’
He lowered his voice. ‘Morgan, it’s not that I want to make you do all the work, you know that, don’t you?’
She nodded, she did know that and despite the horrors that her job often brought, she wouldn’t change it for the world, because nobody would work harder than she would, and she was good at finding the sick killers who thought they were invincible and bringing them to justice.
SEVEN
‘Where’s Cain?’ Ben asked.
‘Taking the farmer’s statement, isn’t he?’ Morgan replied.
‘Yes, sorry. Brain dead. Can you ring him and tell him we’re going to need him? I’m thinking that we’re going to have to get that tent off the roof of the car in order to move the body. It’s going to be really awkward trying to get it out of there, and we’re probably going to need mountain rescue to get it down the fell to a waiting hearse.’
Declan was standing with his arms crossed. ‘You could drive the jeep down with her still inside of it. Get Wendy to process inside the driver’s side, and Morgan could drive it down.’
Morgan knew her mouth had fallen open; this was by far the most extreme suggestion she’d ever heard. ‘Won’t she roll around in there and ruin the forensics?’
‘I think it will be okay. There’s not a lot of room to manoeuvre in there, and she’s pretty secure in that sleeping bag. Once she’s out of the tent, the car can be driven down to the road ready for her body to be lifted.’
Ben looked as horrified as she did. ‘I don’t think the boss is going to go for that, but it’s a good idea.’
She glared at him. ‘You’re not seriously thinking about that, are you? What if she falls out? It’s a bumpy track down there.’
‘We could tie some rope around her. Look, no matter what you do it’s going to be difficult. I’m just proposing the easiest option for you. I’m confident that it will be okay. She’s not going to fall out, especially if we zip the tent up and Morgan takes it easy.’
Ben was looking around for Marc and spotted him at the far end of the field in front of the car, pacing down towards the end.
