Chapter 44
FORTY-FOUR
The tiny village of Buttermere was a place of picturesque, secluded beauty. It was much more peaceful than Windermere, which was a tourist haven and always packed full of visitors.
Cain had jumped in the van with the response officers and a couple of PCSOs instead of the one with Marc, Claire, Amber and Brett.
He stared at his view of the village through the window and thought he could live here.
There was the lake to swim in on a warm summer’s day; there were wild swimmers out there now, he could see their heads bobbing about even though it was freezing.
That was dedication for you. He would only get in the icy water if he was burning to death on the hottest day of the year.
They had driven past a pub and parked opposite a café, which made his stomach groan loudly just thinking about a sausage and egg muffin.
St James’s church stood on a little rocky outcrop that looked down onto the village.
It was beautiful if not compact. He’d only been inside it once with Angela when they’d come to walk around the lake on a warm summer’s evening last year.
His heart ached for her and he felt tears prick at his eyes.
They had gone inside to see the memorial to the author Alfred Wainwright, who had loved this area so much his ashes had been scattered on nearby Haystacks.
Angela had announced that she’d like to do the Wainwrights this year, and he’d agreed because he wanted to make her happy, not because he liked walking.
Everyone jumped out of the van except for him; he needed a minute to get himself together.
They were doing house-to-house enquiries in the village because the teenagers had spent time here hanging around and they wanted to check if anyone had seen them recently.
When he got out and slammed the door, the noise echoed around the valley and everyone turned to stare at him.
He smiled, it looked as if the village had been invaded by a giant swarm of fluorescent bees with all the cops and PCSOs standing around in a semi-circle, waiting to be given their orders from Marc, who was loving it.
He was wearing a high-vis jacket over his suit, and Cain wished Morgan was here so he could tell her what a dick Marc looked.
He realised that Morgan was supposed to be here and scanned everyone to see if she was.
Where had she snuck off to, the sneaky bugger?
She hadn’t told him she wasn’t coming with them, and he took out his phone to ring her but saw that he had no signal and sighed.
Beautiful it might be, but getting a phone or internet signal was no easy task, and he didn’t know if he could live without either of those two things in his life, or an actual late-night takeaway either; and just like that, his dream of an idyllic life was burst with a huge bang.
He strolled as close as he could tolerate listening to Marc’s voice again.
He was loving being in charge, strutting around like a peacock, and he wondered if he was trying to impress Claire.
Cain wished Ben had argued a little more about coming here instead of agreeing to stay in the office.
He pulled his phone out and messaged Morgan, hoping that somehow by the grace of God it would get through to her.
Hey, you little sneak. Where the hell are you and why did you not take me with you? I’m stuck listening to the boss drone on in the middle of the village with no signal or you to keep me company. You’re selfish Brookes! Xx
He was staring at his phone, waiting for the message to show it had been delivered.
‘Cain, are you listening or playing Candy Crush?’ Marc’s voice grated on his last nerve and he looked up.
‘Playing Candy Crush, boss.’
Everyone sniggered, and Marc looked pissed. ‘Can you go speak to the staff at the café and pub, please?’
He nodded. ‘On my own?’
‘Do you need company for that particular line of enquiries?’
‘No, I’m saying I’m quite capable of going on my own.
As are the rest of you, they’re all grown-ups, they can do house to house without holding each other’s hands.
We’re not in the middle of The Bronx, we’re in a picturesque village, and the quicker we do this, the quicker we can get back.
’ Cain’s gaze met Marc’s and he wished he’d captured his current expression on camera to send to Morgan, to prove how much he’d just annoyed their boss without even trying.
‘Yes, rightly so,’ answered Claire, who began handing out flyers with photos of Scarlett and Janey on them. ‘Let’s split up and we can, as Cain just suggested, cover the whole area a lot faster.’
‘Are we asking if they know about the watcher?’ asked Cain as he took a flyer from Claire. He dared not look at Marc in case he decided to throttle him in public.
‘I don’t know, what do you think, Claire?’ Marc’s voice was calm, but Cain knew he was furious with him. He didn’t care.
‘I think we could ask if they know of any local legends, maybe don’t ask about him specifically, and see if anyone volunteers that information or reacts oddly.’ She smiled at Cain, and he shrugged.
Before anyone continued speaking, he strolled off in the direction of The Inn, clutching his sheet of paper. He knocked on the door. It opened and he smiled at the woman who had a mop in one hand.
‘We’re not open yet.’
‘I know, I’m with the police.’ He pointed towards the vans.
‘Oh, is there a problem?’
‘Yes, we’re searching for two missing women.’
‘Is this to do with the awful murder near to the old summer camp and the missing girls?’
‘Yes, what do you know about it?’
‘Just what I’ve read and watched on the news and read on the internet.’
‘You have internet?’ The minute he said that, he realised he shouldn’t have. It wasn’t relevant and made him sound like a dweeb.
‘Sometimes, depending on the weather or if the internet providers think we deserve to know who Sharon on Facebook has fallen out with this week.’
He smiled. ‘Have you seen either of the two women in the area?’ He thrust the paper towards her.
She shook her head. ‘I thought they were missing?’
‘They are, but we’re covering all bases. What about the teenagers who went up to the camp.’
‘No, I haven’t seen either of them. You mean Dawson and those two girls. I know his mum; it’s so sad. It’s really scary that all this has happened so close to here. That old summer camp needs tearing down. It’s nothing but bad luck.’
‘Is it?’
‘Come in and I’ll tell you about it. Can I get you a hot drink?’
Cain silently prayed to the coffee gods; he had struck gold on the first strike and would be forever grateful. ‘That would be great, thank you.’
He followed her inside the pub, which was cosy inside with lots of wood panelling, the smell of stale beer lingering in the air. She pointed to the bar, and he sat on one of the high stools.
‘Latte, cappuccino, Americano? Before you ask, we also have a coffee machine. We might be in the middle of nowhere, but we do move with the times.’
Cain laughed loudly. ‘A cappuccino would be like heaven, thank you.’
She nodded and busied herself making him his coffee, which he took and savoured with great pleasure when she passed it to him. As he sipped his hot drink, he realised she was much older than he’d first thought.
‘This is incredible, thank you.’
She smiled. ‘You’re welcome. Don’t tell your friends, I’m not spending my morning making free drinks. They can go to the café and give them their business.’
‘I wouldn’t dream of it and yes, they can. So, I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name.’
‘Deana and I didn’t tell you it.’
He liked Deana, she had just the right amount of attitude. Morgan would like her too. He wondered again where the hell she was.
‘Deana, what do you know about that old summer camp?’
‘Just that it’s always had a bad vibe kind of thing.
Bad stuff happened there the minute it opened.
We don’t talk about it much because, you know, it’s weird, but we get lots of people asking about it.
Some of them want to go visit it, there’s like a cult following of YouTubers who are always filming it.
I don’t know why Amos hasn’t torn it down. ’
‘You know Amos?’
She nodded. ‘He’s a good guy, too nice really, that’s why he hasn’t ever done anything with it.
I think he feels some kind of misguided loyalty to his mum who died.
It’s supposed to be haunted, I mean so many violent deaths up there and now that teenage boy, his friend is missing and another body dragged out of the lake.
It’s enough to give you nightmares, isn’t it? ’
‘Yeah, it really is. What about the watcher?’
‘Who’s that?’
He was glad Deana hadn’t heard of it. ‘Oh, nobody. I’m getting carried away. Is there anywhere or anyone who lives in the village that’s a bit strange?’
She laughed loudly then composed herself. ‘There’s a lot of strange people who live here, even stranger ones who visit. Can you be more specific than that?’
He smiled at her and took another sip of his coffee.
‘Let me rephrase that for you, what you’re really asking me is if there is anyone who could have done such an awful thing as killing people and kidnapping them?’
‘Yes, that’s exactly what I meant.’
‘The only person I can think of doesn’t live here anymore. He moved away a couple of years ago, but he was weird.’
‘How so?’
‘Well, he was an older guy who liked younger girls and would hang around whenever the local lasses were out with their friends, or if any of those wild swimmers were getting changed down by the lakeshore he’d hide in the bushes to watch them.’
‘What was he called? Did he ever get arrested?’
‘Gerald Grant, and not that I’m aware of. He was odd, but I don’t think he was dangerous. He’d run away if anyone challenged him. One of the lads from the farm had a go at him and he left not long after that, moved away, but I have no idea where to.’
Cain didn’t think a peeping Tom who was probably on the sex offenders list was going to be responsible for the brutal murders and kidnapping of two women, but he’d check him out all the same because a lead was a lead.
The name wasn’t familiar, though, and he’d already reviewed the sex offender’s list yesterday after Ben tasked him with it at the briefing.
Sometimes they started off with offences like that and moved on to much bigger things, but as far as he knew these murders weren’t sexually motivated.
There had been no indication they were, and forensics hadn’t confirmed it either.
They were downright violent, although what did the killer want with the two women that they were searching for?
He finished his coffee. ‘You don’t think anyone around here is keeping the two women hostages?’
She laughed. ‘Not in this village, you can’t even have an argument with your partner without everyone knowing about it, and that’s inside the privacy of your own home.
I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it would be risky.
Maybe somewhere more rural, one of the farms or cottages out on the fells would be more suitable than anywhere in the village.
Have you checked the buildings that are still standing on Amos’s property? ’
‘Yes, several times, and Mountain Rescue have been out searching too.’
She shrugged. ‘Then I can’t help you, I’m sorry and I wish that I could. I wouldn’t wish having to go through my daughter missing like that, it’s just horrible for the families. The not knowing would kill me.’
Cain nodded. ‘Me too, we just want to bring them home.’ He stood up. ‘Thank you for the coffee, Deana, it was amazing.’
‘You’re welcome. I like you, you’re not like other coppers.’
He laughed. ‘Ah, well, aren’t you glad I knocked on your door because my boss who is out there parading around like a peacock in mating season would have annoyed the hell out of you. Do me a favour, if he comes here, make sure you charge him for anything he has.’
Cain took ten pounds out of his wallet and placed it on the bar.
She picked it up and pushed it back into his hand. ‘Your money is no good here, like I said, you’re a good guy. You’re doing a tough job, and if I managed to make your morning a little better with a cup of coffee, that’s the least I can do. How will I know which one is your boss?’
‘He’s the only guy wearing a suit with a high-vis jacket on and looks like a dick.’
Deana snorted with laughter. ‘Got you, take care, Cain, I really hope you find those women soon.’
He smiled at her. ‘Me too.’
Then he walked out into the wintry sunlight and inhaled deeply. The warmth felt good on his face, the air smelled wonderful and he was ready to put an end to this and find those women.