Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
Ben had already left. The office was empty.
The lingering smell of lemon furniture polish combined with Cain’s aftershave were the only things left to suggest anyone had ever been there.
Morgan grabbed the last set of keys off the whiteboard and hurried outside to the car park, hoping to catch Ben but he was long gone. She rang him.
‘Morgan.’
‘Where did you go so fast?’
‘On our way to the scene.’
‘Without me? You could have dropped me off at the neighbours.’
‘Sorry, not thinking straight. I’m tired and my head is a shed. Should I get Cain to turn around and come back for you?’
‘It’s okay, I’m good. Listen, I had a thought.’
Cain groaned loudly, and she realised she was on loudspeaker.
‘Go on.’
‘What if Scarlett did this? What if she killed Dawson in a fit of rage or jealousy or whatever teenage angst there was going on, and ran. There was clearly some rivalry between Tori and Scarlett for Dawson’s attention, what if it all came to a head out there and she lost it.’
She could hear Ben breathing; finally he answered.
‘I suppose she could have. Where did she go though? If they were in Dawson’s car, how did she manage to get off that fell in that awful weather?’
‘I’m not saying it’s a foolproof theory. I’m just saying that we should consider the friends as suspects too. Maybe she did this and ran away, maybe got herself in a bit of trouble out there and that’s why we can’t find her. It’s worth thinking about, just in case.’
‘It is, thanks. I’ll bear it in mind. Are you sure you don’t need us to come get you?’
She hung up. They had no intention of turning back for her; she knew Ben was doing his best to keep her away from the scene. Well screw him and Cain. She’d go speak to the neighbour then drive herself there.
She thought about Ettie, what she had said about the darkness of the land that the summer camp had been built on.
Ettie lived in the opposite direction, but…
There was no way an elderly woman who lived at least a mile away from the scene heard or saw anything last night.
If she had, she would have rung the police.
She made up her mind to visit Ettie first, then go speak to the neighbour.
Ettie could have some valuable information about Amos and the area that they needed to take into account – there was something she had been holding back.
The mist had finally cleared as the harsh winter sun had burned through it, and despite how cold it was it was a beautiful morning. Covel Wood car park was empty, except for Ettie’s small white van that she used to take her teas and potions to the farmers markets in Kendal and Keswick.
Morgan spied Max, Ettie’s pet raven, perched on a low branch of the tree next to the van, and she smiled. Careful not to slam the car door shut and scare him, she saluted him. ‘Good morning, Max, how are you?’
The bird’s shiny black eyes seemed to look her up and down before it gave her a curt nod, then he took off leading the way through the forest. Although Morgan knew the shortcut now, it was nice to have him for company.
He flew slower than normal but still faster than she could keep up with, stopping off on various branches to give her chance to catch up.
Her cheeks were flushed with the exertion of trying to keep pace with a bird, and she was no longer bone chillingly cold.
It felt good. Not good enough to make her want to take up a new exercise regime, though, because she was too lazy for that, but it was nice to feel the heat radiating through her body again.
Before she knew it Ettie’s tiny stone cottage was in sight, her purple front door and gate to her beautiful, carefully curated herb garden letting everyone know who passed she was a witch.
Morgan supposed it was the witchy equivalent of a gay pride flag.
Ettie was loud and proud about her heritage and way of life, and she couldn’t love that more.
Max was watching her from atop the purple gate as if to say finally, and she grinned at him. ‘Hey, you’re better than any personal trainer. Thank you for the company.’ He began to chatter before taking off once more and soaring high above the trees this time.
Ettie’s front door opened and Morgan rushed through the gate and up the path to scoop her beautiful aunt into her arms and hug her tight, forgetting about the stresses of the morning, if just for a moment.