by Helen Phifer
‘Should we lay him down?’
Morgan didn’t want to let him go. She wanted to protect him and felt better with her arms holding him up.
‘No, it’s okay. I think he’s better close to me so he can absorb my body heat. What the hell happened? Do you think he fell?’
Emily was shaking her head. ‘No, I heard a racket and thought someone was trying to steal one of our cars. I opened the front door and saw a man, dressed in black, running away. I didn’t even realise straight away Ben was there or was hurt.’
Morgan felt sick. Who had come here and attacked Ben? Did they know him? Or had they come to pay her a visit? The first person who came to mind was Fin: had he seen Ben leaving and attacked him? Or had it been the man responsible for killing Charlie and taking Macy? As she sat on the cold stone steps cradling Ben, she whispered to Emily, ‘Keep your phone ready. If you so much as see a shadow out there, ring 999.’
Emily’s face was pale, but she nodded and with a shaking hand she kept her phone in the air ready to dial 999 if she saw him again. The sound of sirens in the distance filled Morgan’s heart with joy; never had she been so glad to hear them. As she cradled Ben, she realised how he must have felt when she had been unconscious and bleeding: despite everything, they were bonded on a level far deeper than most friendships could ever reach.
The ambulance seemed to be gliding through the puddles in slow motion, the blue lights illuminating the inky sky like some strange disco. Behind it was a police van, and Morgan breathed a sigh of relief. She knew Ben was breathing, but his breaths were shallow as if he was struggling to take air into his lungs, and she was terrified in case he was injured far worse than he looked. One of the paramedics jumped out of the van, trudging through the water to get to them whilst the other kept on driving to get as close as possible.
‘What happened?’
‘I don’t know. He’s been attacked; we found him face down unconscious.’
Two officers came rushing towards them. Cain she knew, but she had no idea who the other one was. Cain looked at them and muttered, ‘Oh, shit, is he okay?’
‘I don’t know. Does he look it?’
Cain shook his head. ‘Dog handler is on the way; do you know who it was?’
‘No, but I have two possible suspects: Finley Palmer or…’
‘Or?’
‘Whoever killed the little girl and abducted the other is trying to stop him or us from getting too close.’
‘Jesus, this is like some movie. Madds is on his way, so are CSI. Which way did he go, did you see the direction of travel?’
Morgan pointed to the road. ‘He went that way?’
‘Oh, still, the dog handler might pick up his scent.’
The two paramedics lifted Ben onto a stretcher, and he let out a groan but his eyes didn’t open. They began to attach electrodes to his chest.
‘What’s his name?’
‘Ben Matthews.’
‘Ben, Ben, can you hear me?’ He was holding his eyelid up and shining a light into it.
‘Yeth.’
His speech was thick and slurred as if his tongue had grown twice its size, and Morgan wanted to high five the paramedic next to her.
‘It looks as if you’ve been ten rounds in the boxing ring, mate, but you’re okay now. Apart from the damage to your face is anything else hurting?’
‘My ribs, hurts when I breathe in.’
Morgan pushed closer to see his face. She bent down and whispered, ‘Did you see who it was?’
‘I’m sorry, Morgan.’ He began to cough and groaned, clutching his right side.
‘Did you recognise him?’
Ben closed his eyes. ‘No.’
The paramedics began to load him into the back of the ambulance.
‘Sorry, we need to get him to A&E before the roads flood too much, they are a nightmare. Are you coming with him?’
‘I’ll follow on. I need to get dressed and speak to the police.’
‘No worries, you know where to find us. We’re going to Westmorland General.’
She nodded. ‘Thank you.’
Turning to Cain and his student officer she beckoned them to her. ‘We can’t rule out Charlie’s killer. Whoever it is, he’s attacked Sergeant Matthews. We can’t rule out that he isn’t armed or still in the area.’
The student looked from Morgan to Cain, his eyes wide, and she felt bad. He looked terrified, but this wasn’t over. There was no way she was going to let him get away with this. Just what had he been doing here? Had he been looking for her? Did he want to hurt her but settled for Ben? Whatever it was she was going to do her best to find the bastard and put him where he belonged.
‘We need to get as many people here as possible. I want the area flooded with patrols to flush him out. Give me your radio.’
Cain unclipped the radio from the body armour he was wearing, and Morgan relayed everything over the airwaves, so the control room inspector was aware of the situation they were dealing with.
‘I’m going inside to get dressed. I won’t be long. Do you want to get a first account from Emily over there? She heard it and came out to chase him away.’
Cain nodded. ‘Jack, can you go and speak to the witness, please? Get her inside, it’s cold out here.’
Jack didn’t need to be told twice and headed towards Emily. Morgan didn’t blame him. He was probably wondering what the hell he’d got himself into and whether this was the job he’d dreamt of; colleagues getting beaten senseless and water up to your ankles to freeze in whilst on scene guard for hours wasn’t for the faint-hearted.
Thirty-Nine
By the time Morgan left to go to the hospital, the area looked as if it was a scene from a disaster movie. Madds had arrived to take command of the scene. Thanks to the rain, which had now turned into a sleety sludge, any evidence had been watered down and washed away. The dog handler had followed his trail across a field then lost it on the other side, where it was a busy pavement that led into Rydal Falls – a path which had been well trodden by school kids waiting for the bus to Queen Anne’s School, in Kendal. This wasn’t her investigation; she was a witness of sorts and it was too close to home. On the way to the hospital, she phoned Amy on speakerphone.
‘Ben has been attacked; he’s on his way to A&E.’
Amy didn’t speak for several moments.
‘What, where and by who?’
Morgan realised the consequences of having Ben stay at hers last night: they would now be the talk of the whole station, and nothing had even happened – or at least nothing memorable had happened that would have been worth the weeks of gossip this incident had just incurred. Her head was pounding, and her mouth felt dry; she’d never had a champagne hangover but thought that this could be the one, which was exactly what she didn’t need right now.
‘It’s a long story.’
‘Well, you better spill it, kid, because I’m not hanging up until I know what’s gone on.’
‘Do you want the full story or the shorter version?’
‘Morgan, first of all, is he okay?’
‘Yes, well his face is a mess, and he was knocked out, and he may have a couple of broken ribs but he’s as okay as he can be.’
Amy whistled down the phone.
‘This must be good then, full story, leave nothing out.’
‘He came to see me last night to tell me something, but I was drunk and had just thrown Fin out. I was in a bit of a state, so Ben came inside to calm me down.’
‘Oh, this is exactly the kind of phone call a woman wants this time in the morning before her morning caffeine. Hang on, I’m just going in the newsagents to get some milk. Do I need a bag of popcorn for the rest of it?’
Morgan smiled. ‘Probably.’
Amy let out a small squeak then the line went quiet. Morgan heard her thanking someone then her voice came on the phone once more.
‘Part two, you may continue but why had you thrown Fin the reporter out? Damn girl, you’re a quiet
one. They say quiet ones are the worst.’
‘The reporter who is also a major creep. Ben stayed over.’
‘Whoop, about time.’
‘Not like that, he slept on the sofa.’ Morgan was trying to save him any further embarrassment.
‘He slept on that chair, he absolutely did not, but go on.’
‘I was a drunken mess. He made me clean myself up and go to bed, alone. He left early without telling me, and the first thing I know was Emily from upstairs was hammering on my door, screaming for help. I followed her outside and.’
‘And?’
‘Amy, it was horrific; I thought he was dead. He was face down not moving. I’ve never been so scared. Thankfully he came around and the paramedics arrived to sort him out.’
‘Holy shit, Morgan.’
‘I know.’
‘No, you don’t know this. You’re on the front page of The Express along with a photo of Fin, your posh lover boy.’
Morgan had never wanted to scream and punch something, anything, so hard in her life, this was so unfair – all of it.
‘Did you know? I mean did you agree to it or is this the reason you threw him out?’
‘Yes, I mean no, I didn’t know anything and yes, that’s why. Ben found out and sent me a screenshot of the article. That was why he came to see me last night. It’s why I was drunk and once again my life is a disaster being played out in full public view, for everyone to gossip and scrutinise. Ben is paying the price for being my friend, so if I were you, I wouldn’t admit to being anything other than a colleague to me, because who knows what’s going to happen next. It’s so unfair and I’m tired of all this bullshit, Amy.’
She ended the call before her voice broke. She wasn’t letting Amy hear her cry tears of frustration, or anyone else for that matter. She wanted her life back, the way it was before she’d joined Ben’s team, when she was a fresh-faced copper who had no concept of just how evil humans could be. Back to the days when Stan was still alive and the only dad she knew, before she discovered her biological father was a rapist and a killer, before she’d almost died at the hands of another killer.
She abandoned her car at the hospital, scrubbed at her red eyes with the sleeve of her jumper, wiping away the tears, and grabbed the lanyard containing her warrant card out of the glove compartment. She needed to see Ben, make sure he was okay, and then she was going to find Macy. Once she knew Macy was safe, she was going after Charlie’s killer, and she wouldn’t tell a soul; this was her fight. She knew it was him, and they were getting close to finding him. He must be scared and he’d brought it to her. Now she had a score to settle, not only for her, but for Ben. She didn’t even care about the consequences of what would happen when she found him, and she would find him – after all, she was the daughter of a killer; she must have a little bit of him inside her, she just had to drag it up from the depths she’d hidden it. He’d brought the fight to her; she was taking it back to him, and there would only be one survivor.
Forty
Morgan took a seat in the waiting room; she wasn’t there long before the double doors which led into the department opened and a nurse called her name. She stood up, desperate to see Ben. The curtains were drawn across most of the bays, but she knew which one he was in because Cain was leaning against the wall, looking out of place.
‘Morgan.’
‘Cain, have you taken a statement yet?’
He shook his head. ‘Doctor is a right grump. She said I had to come back later and I wasn’t sure what to do, as I felt bad leaving him on his own, even though she wouldn’t let me go in with him. I don’t think she realises he’s one of us; she thinks I was bothering him.’
Morgan smiled. ‘It’s the uniform, some people love it, and for others it’s like a red flag to a bull. Maybe you gave her a ticket and she hasn’t forgotten your face.’
Cain’s cheeks turned red. ‘Oh, I hope not. She’d have to be a pretty rubbish driver for me to give her one. Only time I dish them out is when I have a pesky student.’
‘Shh, there are seriously ill people here. And you are?’
Morgan turned slowly to face the stern voice behind her. The woman wearing a pair of green scrubs was standing there, staring at the pair of them.
‘Sorry, I’m here to see Ben Matthews.’
‘And you are?’
Cain was listening.
‘His close friend; he was leaving my house when he was attacked.’
Morgan wasn’t about to disclose to her she was also a police officer, in case she decided not to let her in either. Morgan glanced down and was glad to see her lanyard had flipped around so she couldn’t read it.
‘I’m Doctor White, I’m looking after Ben. He’s had an X-ray and, apart from the cracked ribs and severe bruising around them, there’s no internal bleeding or damage.’
Morgan let out a sigh. ‘Thank you. Can I see him?’
‘On your own, yes, with him’ – she pointed a finger at Cain – ‘absolutely not. He’s a bit concussed and has vomited a couple of times. He’s in no fit state to give a statement at the moment, so I’m not sure why you’re still here to be honest.
‘What’s your name?’ she asked Morgan.
‘Morgan.’
Cain added. ‘My boss said I was to keep an eye on him and make sure he was okay.’
‘Well, you can tell your boss he will be better without worrying about giving a statement. Give the man a break. Come back in a couple of hours and we’ll review the situation.’
Cain nodded. ‘Yes, doctor.’ He glanced at Morgan, who shrugged, then began to walk towards the exit. The doctor pulled a curtain to the side and stepped into the cubicle.
‘Mr Matthews, you have a visitor: Morgan. Do you want to see her?’
‘Yes.’
She turned to Morgan and waved her in, then shut the curtain behind her. The blood had been cleaned from Ben’s face, but it was a myriad of purple and black bruises. His eyes were swollen and he was going to have two cracking black eyes, but he smiled at her and she felt a whole lot better.
‘You look.’ She didn’t know what to say, awful, a mess, wonderful.
He laughed at her. ‘Ouch, my ribs hurt the most, don’t say it, I can imagine how I look judging by how I feel, although the shot of morphine they gave me before has taken the edge off it.’
She pulled a plastic chair over to the bed. ‘I’m so sorry, Ben, I didn’t know or even hear.’
He reached out, grabbing her hand. ‘Stop it, Morgan, sorry for what exactly? This isn’t your fault.’
She lowered her head and swallowed the lump that had formed in the base of her throat.
‘It is. You were at my house because I was in a drunken state. Whoever it was is my problem, he was at my house, so he wasn’t even looking for you; he was looking for me. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he could have killed you.’
‘I could have taken him, you know. He caught me unaware, the sneaky bastard. He came at me from out of the shadows. I didn’t even hear him because the rain cushioned his footsteps. As soon as I can go, will you pick me up and take me to work? I can’t hang around here all day, we have to find Macy.’
‘You can’t go to work like this.’
‘I can’t drive, but I can sit in an office and supervise you lot, which is what I’m supposed to do anyway, only I don’t because I like being out and about, helping with investigations and spending time with you all. Can you find out what’s happening with the investigation? Have they started searching for Macy again?’
‘Yes, everyone is searching for your attacker. I think it might have been the person who took Charlie and Macy; either that or Brett Mosely. If it was Charlie’s killer, there must be a reason why. He must be feeling threatened. I think we’re closer to finding him than we realise.’
‘Good, I want every resource put into finding Macy. I think we have to face the possibility that she might not make it out of wherever she is alive, as it’
s been much longer than the time he had Charlie. I don’t think she’s in the woods either, not unless they’re looking for a body, but he didn’t hide Charlie, did he? So why do they think he’ll change his MO and hide Macy?’
‘Maybe because there are so many people out searching, he might think they’re looking for him and won’t feel as brave; but I think he’s getting scared that we’re closer than we realise.’
‘If everyone is out searching the woods then it’s the perfect opportunity for him to dispose of her body. I was thinking about it all night. If he’s a creature of habit, he’s going to repeat what worked for him the first time. I want you, Amy, Des and whoever else you can grab to concentrate on the immediate area surrounding both girls’ addresses and have a plain-clothed patrol parked up near to Piggy Lane just in case.’
Morgan nodded; this she could deal with. She liked that he was still up to organising them all and telling them what to do. She had a sneaky feeling he was trying to keep her busy and out of trouble, but she didn’t mind. She was grateful she could do what he asked and that his injuries weren’t any worse. ‘Got it, anything else you can think of?’
‘Not at the moment, Morgan, be careful. I don’t think he will have the courage to come after you again now he knows we are onto him. Now stop wasting time here and go and sort Amy and Des out. You might have to avoid Tom and Claire or they’ll draft you in to the search of the woods.’
‘Don’t worry, I will.’ She stood up, bent down and brushed her lips against the top of his shaved head.
‘Don’t go getting all soft on me, Brookes, you have a killer to apprehend and a missing girl to return to her mum.’
Morgan saluted him and slipped out through the curtain; thankfully, Doctor White was nowhere to be seen and she left the department, walking briskly out to her car. She had a plan, it was a bit crazy but it could just work; but if it didn’t, at least they had done everything they could.