Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
The road was bumpy, narrow and at one point Morgan’s life flashed before her eyes when Declan almost ran them off it into a ditch.
Eventually they turned a corner and saw Cain, Stan and Scotty.
All three of them stared in their direction, raising their hands in unison.
Declan saluted them and whispered, ‘Oh, look, it’s the three wise monkeys. ’
Morgan sniggered. ‘Not sure about the wise, but you know.’
He stopped the car a safe distance from them and hopefully the crime scene. ‘Where is the body?’
‘I got you this far, you’re going to have to walk the rest of the way, but it’s okay, it’s just through those bushes on the other side.’
‘I thought control said she was inside a tent?’
‘She is, she’s been here some time because the vegetation has grown around her.’
‘Crikey, that’s sad.’
Morgan nodded. ‘This whole case is devastating. We think she’s the sister of two other victims, the woman found murdered yesterday at the empty hotel and Lydia Williams.’
Declan’s jaw fell open and he paused what he was doing, both feet inside of the white overalls. ‘Stop it.’
Morgan shook her head. ‘For real.’
‘All three women are related?’
‘Yes, if it’s her, that is. Although that’s her car parked along the trail, and she hasn’t been seen or heard from since Lydia’s death so it’s highly probable.’
‘Are there any more of them? If there are, have you got them into protective custody?’
‘No, just the three sisters. Parents died in a car accident a couple of years ago.’
‘Was that suspicious?’
‘I’m looking into it when I get back to the station. It looks as if someone wanted the entire family obliterated from this earth.’
‘Well, I’m not telling you how to do your job, but it looks as if that is some serious grudge.’
She smiled. ‘I agree with you; someone hated this family enough to kill them off.’
He whistled, then finished suiting and booting. Grabbing his case, he walked towards the narrow path through the overgrowth that had been walked through by them all. Morgan watched him until he disappeared. She turned to Scotty who looked on the verge of passing out.
‘I think you need to sit down, you’ve had a rough couple of days. In fact, do you want me to speak to Madds and take you home?’
He nodded. ‘I’m okay, just feel a bit light-headed.’ His knees buckled and he swayed backwards. Both Cain and Stan grabbed his arms, and Cain half carried, half dragged him to the car and managed to get him into the back seat.
Morgan phoned Ben who answered immediately.
‘Scotty isn’t well, he’s almost passed out. Should I get him home?’
‘Christ, is he okay? Yes, you better had. Can you manage?’
‘Yes, I’ll make sure he’s okay then I’ll get back here.’
‘No, you can go to the station and start looking at everything we have. Usually I’d ask Amy to do it. Someone should go through Lynsey’s social media. Can you do that for me? See if she has any weirdos stalking her page, talking crap that kind of thing.’
‘Yes.’
She looked at Cain. ‘I’ll take him home.’
‘Do you want a hand?’
Morgan shook her head. ‘I’ll be fine, I need to go back and start a deep dive through all of the stuff anyway.’
‘Ring me if you need me, okay?’
‘I will.’
He passed her the car keys, and she got into the driver’s seat, glancing at Scotty in the rear-view mirror. ‘Let me know if you’re going to be sick or anything, I’ll pull over.’
‘I’m okay, it’s just the shock.’
She nodded. ‘I can’t imagine how you’re feeling.’
Scotty didn’t answer and she didn’t push him to keep talking, but wondered how close he was to the Williams sisters.
As she drove into Rydal Falls, she asked, ‘Where do you live?’
As if waking him from a trance he looked out of the window. ‘Not here, out of my price range. I’m on the old council estate on the outskirts.’
Morgan laughed. ‘Sorry.’
He shrugged. ‘My fault, I didn’t even realise where we were.’ He gave her the address.
‘Do I need to type it in the satnav or can you direct me?’
‘I’ll tell you; it’s a bit awkward as it’s a narrow little street. You can drop me off at the top of it and I’ll walk down. The fresh air will do me good I think.’
She drove to the main road that led her back and followed Scotty’s directions until she finally reached the end of the road he lived on.
‘You can stop here, I’ll jump out.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, thank you.’
‘Will you be okay?’
He laughed. ‘I think so. How do you do it, Morgan? Honestly, I’ve never really had to think about it before but now that I have…’ He stopped talking.
‘I know what you mean, but I do it for the families and loved ones that get left behind.’
He nodded. ‘Thanks for the lift, at least I’m home to let the dog out.’ Then he walked away, shoulders slumped, head down, in full uniform, and she wondered if his neighbours knew he was a copper. If they didn’t, they would now.
She drove away, still feeling sorry for him but determined to find out why someone would want to kill an entire family, because the more she thought about the car accident that had taken the lives of Mr and Mrs Williams, the more she wondered if it had been the beginning of this reign of terror and if they had been killed on purpose.