Chapter 43
FORTY-THREE
Morgan didn’t even get down the fire escape before her phone was ringing. It was Ettie again.
‘Morgan, Ernest said it’s too hard to describe over the phone. He’s offered to take you there and show you.’
‘He will, when?’
‘As soon as you’re ready.’
‘Does he need picking up?’
‘No, he said to meet him halfway up the fell. There is a stile with a signpost that takes you a circular walk around it. He said to meet him there, he’s setting off now.’
‘Thank you, Ettie, I’ll be there. You’re the best, sorry to ruin your brunch date.’ She blew her aunt a kiss down the phone and heard her laugh before ending the call.
Morgan could see a gaggle of officers all standing around in the report writing room.
Marc was standing in front of them telling them who to contact and what areas of the map they’d completed searching.
She slipped out before he noticed she was missing.
Despite the fact that Ernest would be with her, she made a quick stop at her locker to take out her radio, cuffs and CS gas just in case.
As the huge gates slid open and she drove through them, she saw Cain standing outside the front of the station, his phone against his ear.
He turned to stare at her, and she grinned at him and waved.
He mouthed, ‘Where you going?’ She pointed to the mountains in the distance but carried on driving, his eyebrows scrunched up in total confusion.
She felt a bit bad but if he came with her then Marc would notice the two of them were missing.
She put her foot down and sped off. Glancing in her rear-view mirror he’d already turned away from her and was still talking on the phone.
That was good, he was otherwise occupied so he might not realise she had gone rogue.
She didn’t want to get him into any trouble, he was under enough stress as it was.
There was no police van blocking the road leading up to the fell, and Morgan was relieved.
It wasn’t needed now the sun was up, the weather was dry and it looked as if for a change that the bitter cold snap they’d been having might be warming a little.
She drove up the winding road, looking out for the signpost that Ettie had mentioned.
She saw a small red car in the distance and sped up a little.
Leaning on the front of the red Fiat 500 was a tall man, tanned.
He was waving at her. She waved back and parked behind his car, half on the grass verge so she wasn’t completely blocking the road if anyone needed to get past.
‘Morgan?’
‘Yes, thank you so much for doing this, Ernest.’
‘My pleasure, call me Ernie though. Ettie prefers Ernest, which is fine by me because she’s a classy lady, but I’m more of an Ernie.’
Morgan smiled at him, she liked him. He had a warm, friendly smile.
His face was crinkled and weathered with lines, the kind of look you got from spending a lot of time in the outdoors, but he was still good-looking with the bluest eyes that complemented his thick head of salt-and-pepper short hair.
‘Did she tell you why I need to find the caves so urgently?’
‘She mentioned it was to look for some missing women. I promised I wouldn’t say a word to anyone else. This is between us.’
‘Thank you, I appreciate that. Ettie told me you used to volunteer for the Mountain Rescue team. Do all the volunteers and core team know the location of these caves?’ It had occurred to Morgan that this could give her a list of suspects.
Someone who knew this area like the back of their hand would be able to find their way around in bad weather without getting lost or disorientated.
Even if they didn’t find the girls in the caves, these people could still be worth looking into.
‘Maybe a couple of the older guys? They really are hard to find and the last time we looked at them, the entrance wasn’t accessible.
At the Mountain Rescue base, we have a whole filing cabinet drawer full of old ordinance survey maps and even hand-drawn ones of the area with the cave on them, and lots of other places that have been missed off the modern maps purely because of the safety aspect, I imagine.
It’s not a place that anyone goes to or knows about, which I suppose is surprising considering all these would-be explorers that are always getting themselves in trouble to get likes on the internet. Are you ready?’
He glanced down at her Doc Martens and smiled. ‘They might get muddy; do you have any walking boots in your car?’
She shook her head. ‘No, it’s okay. They scrub up well; I don’t go anywhere without them. How far is it from here?’
‘Not too far maybe a mile.’
‘Let’s go then.’
He climbed the stile, and she followed him.
He walked fast, and she had to hurry to keep up with him, but she could do this even though she hated exercise with a passion.
He didn’t speak much, just walked ahead of her slightly, and she was grateful because there was no way she could make polite conversation and walk at this pace without needing an oxygen tank.
Her lungs and thighs were burning after ten minutes.
He slowed down and turned to her. ‘Sorry, I forget not everyone can keep my pace. Are you okay, should I slow down?’
Morgan laughed. ‘No, I’m good.’
He turned away and she sucked in a deep breath of air.
She was getting a stitch in her side, but she kept pace with him.
They reached a small, wooded area. The trees were bare, but so close together that it was hard to see through them.
She wanted to ask him about Ettie, how he felt about her, almost to the point of what his intentions were towards her aunt, but she was so out of breath she couldn’t, which was probably just as well because the pair of them were old enough to make their own decisions regarding their love life.
‘We have to go through there, it’s a bit overgrown.’
She nodded and followed him as he picked a way through. When they reached the other side, he reached out to grab Morgan’s arm, stopping her from walking any further, and she realised there was a steep drop down the side of the fell.
‘Careful, it’s a leg breaker for sure if you go off this edge.’
‘Thanks, I didn’t expect that.’
‘It’s hidden pretty good. There’s a bit of a climb down, but can you see those rocks, they go lower, a little steep but it’s safe. I’ve climbed it a few times looking for lost dogs, sheep and the odd walker, in all weathers, so follow my lead and try to step where I step.’
‘Okay.’
Ernest lowered himself down, then held out his hand for her and she took it.
He was smiling encouragingly at her, and she didn’t want to appear rude by not taking it.
As she tried to take the steep step down towards him it occurred to her that he could easily tug her down and let her fall.
She paused, realising she was putting her life in the hands of a man she didn’t know.
But she trusted Ettie’s instincts. Then she was standing next to him and hadn’t been thrown to her death.
Her heart that had been racing slowed down.
‘Well, done, that one’s the hardest, the rest are a breeze compared to it.’
‘Good, because that was scary. I had visions of falling and crushing you on the way down.’
He laughed. ‘You could never crush me.’ He patted his stomach. ‘Your lovely aunt Ettie has been feeding me way too good; I’m surprised I managed to get down here without falling. It’s been a while since I’ve done this. I thought my Mountain Rescue days were over with.’
Morgan felt a little better, hearing that, but all her past experiences with dangerous men and women meant that she knew more than anyone how things could take a sudden turn.
Another eight steps down and scrambling across the last two uneven stones to get to the little ledge below made her realise that if Scarlett and Janey had been brought here then the person carrying them or leading them had to have been strong.
She wouldn’t risk going down this path in the dark, when the rocks were slippery with the damp mist swirling around, and had a sinking feeling she had been completely wrong about this, but at least she’d checked them out and would know one way or the other if they had been here.
She might be too reckless and stupid for her own good, but nobody could say she wasn’t thorough.