Chapter 51
FIFTY-ONE
Morgan found a couple of intel reports for a Gerald Grant.
A complaint from the leader of a wild swimming group.
Apparently he was always hanging around whenever they were getting changed, but because it was in a public area, with paths leading all around it with a public right of way, there was little the police could do about it.
The officer had advised them to ring it in if they caught him loitering at the time so he could be spoken to.
The woman had said there was no lewd behaviour, he was just creeping them out.
There was no photograph of him because he’d never been arrested.
Next she went onto Facebook and typed his name in; a few guys’ pictures loaded but none of them were local to the area.
He was pretty much a ghost, which either proved his innocence or made him guilty.
What was he hiding? Very few people had no social media presence, although there were more guys who didn’t bother with it than girls, she knew that.
Ben had a Facebook account that was so out of date she didn’t know why he didn’t delete it.
He wasn’t interested in it at all, whereas Cain, on the other hand, spent most of his spare time posting on Facebook and Instagram when he wasn’t working, or at least he had until Angela’s awful death.
Next, she looked him up on the quick address system to see if she could find some addresses for him.
She did a double take. There was a Gerald Grant listed as living at the same address as Joyce Black.
Morgan sat back and stared at the computer screen, no, surely not.
Her heart began to race. Joyce had mentioned a grandson that loved Stranger Things and spoiled her, but she’d said he lived in Carlisle and was called Daley.
She closed her eyes and tried to think what it meant: what if he didn’t live in Carlisle but lived with her and she didn’t want to get him into any trouble?
Or what if this was her husband? Brother?
But Joyce was lovely, so kind and there was no mention of him being there when Morgan was there.
She thought about the cold mug of tea that had been in the living room.
Joyce had been sipping at a cup in the kitchen, had he run out of the back when she’d knocked on the door?
Her heart was racing and she knew the feeling all too well; she was onto something.
She stood up, looking for Ben, but he wasn’t in the office.
Her phone began to vibrate in her pocket and she took it out.
Cain was outside, he’d messaged her as well.
She sprinted down the back stairs, almost wiping Madds out.
‘Watch it, is there a fire?’
‘Sorry, no.’ Then she was running through the locker room to get out of the back door to where Cain was waiting for her with the engine running. She got in the car and slammed the door shut.
‘Drive, get out of here.’
‘What’s the rush?’
‘I think I know where the killer is or I should say who he is, and he’s not far from the camp site at all.’
‘For real?’
She nodded. ‘I think he lives with Joyce Black.’
‘No way.’
‘Yes, I searched for Gerald Grant and the only one that came up locally just happened to be registered at her address.’
‘You’re having me on?’
‘I’m not, I swear.’
‘Then we better tell Ben and get an arrest team to go in.’
She shook her head. ‘That will take ages, we don’t have the time.’
Cain groaned. ‘No, please tell me you’re not planning on us going in there and doing it without any kind of backup.’
‘Call Amber, she has a taser, and Brett could do with the experience of a high-profile arrest.’
‘Morgan, are you on any medication I should know about?’
‘No, I’m being serious, Cain. We don’t have time to mess around.’
‘This is so dangerous and we’re going to get a lot more than grounded when Ben finds out.’
‘We’ll let him know where we are when we get there, but I don’t want him to tell us to stay put and wait for them to get a warrant authorised and an arrest team.
That is not something we have the luxury of time for; I have a really bad feeling that time is running out if it hasn’t already for Scarlett and Janey.
Plus, I’m mad that she lied to me. I liked Joyce, she was so nice. ’
‘Maybe she has no idea about him, let’s give her the benefit of the doubt. I mean, she wouldn’t know about him being a weirdo, would she? You know I have a really bad feeling, too, that time is running out for you and me, Brookes.’
Morgan smiled at him. ‘Sorry, Cain, you can stop the car and get out. You don’t have to do this or be a part of this. I will go on my own.’
‘The hell you will, I’m not letting you get yourself killed on my watch.’
Morgan reached out and squeezed his knee; Cain patted her hand softly. ‘We’re in this together. You’re crazy but I trust you.’
She laughed. ‘Thanks for the vote of confidence.’
‘You always have my vote. What’s the plan when we get there?’
‘I’ll knock on the door and ask to go inside and speak to Joyce, maybe ask about her grandson, and you can go around the back, make sure he’s not sneaking out.
He has to have them hidden someplace around there; it’s the only thing that makes sense.
We missed something when we searched, I’m sure we did. ’
He nodded, put his foot down and sped towards Buttermere fell.