quite the woman. I’ve asked Amy to concentrate on her for now. Was that what was so important? I mean yes, it’s very important but not window-smashing urgent.’
She shook her head. ‘No, when I went home I was looking at the cold case photos and the victims all had similar white cloths covering their faces. Also, the pictures taken inside of the house show there was a built-in wardrobe on the landing. I wondered if it was still there, I can’t remember. I think the killer could have hidden inside it and waited for them to come home.’
Ben logged onto his laptop and brought up the recent photographs. As he turned it around to face her, she could see the hall cupboard.
‘Did CSI check inside it?’
‘I would assume so.’
‘I need to go back to the house. I want to take a look inside it. The first set of crime scene photos are far worse than these ones. I want to see if there’s a possibility of any evidence inside that cupboard that we could have missed. Maybe even something from the first murders.’
‘Like what? It’s been, what? Forty-five years.’
‘I don’t know; a loft hatch to hide a weapon in. Carpet fibres, bloodstains, fingerprints.’
He picked up the phone. ‘Wendy, when you did a sweep of the house did you check inside the upstairs landing cupboard? Some new information has come to light.’
He listened to what she told him then put the phone down.
‘Photos were taken of the inside, nothing looked disturbed, so it was left.’ He shoved the remaining piece of his muffin into his mouth. ‘Come on then, let’s go. If we find anything I’ll get CSI to come back.’
He had his jacket on and opened the door for her. She followed him, glancing across at Amy, who made a swiping motion across her throat with her finger. Morgan shook her head, then chased after Ben, who was already on his way down the stairs.
The drive to Easdale Road was breathtaking. Morgan enjoyed looking out at the fells and lakes. A gentle breeze blew in through the open windows; neither of them spoke, but it wasn’t awkward. Morgan felt as if their relationship had moved more towards friends than colleagues and she was happy with that. It seemed like the pair of them were loners with a small social circle; maybe their working together was meant to be.
The house no longer had a PCSO guarding the scene, though the blue and white crime scene tape was still fastened across the drive.
‘Well if that isn’t a signal for every burglar in the area to come in and ransack the place while it’s empty, I don’t know what is.’
He stopped the car, got out, ripped it down and screwed it up, throwing it into the back seat.
Morgan spoke. ‘I thought it would still be under guard.’
‘So did I, but we’re short-staffed and it’s secluded so the DCI decided to take the scene guard away. Big mistake if you ask me, but what would I know?’
He parked outside the front and they got out. Morgan turned to take a look at the backdrop of the fells. The lush green hills and trees that covered them soothed her nerves. Helvellyn, the third highest mountain in England, stood majestically in the background. A river ran along the end of the garden and there was a densely wooded area on the opposite bank; it was beautiful.
She let out a screech and Ben turned to see what she was screaming at. Her heart racing almost as fast as she was running, she pelted towards the tree, horror etched across her face; this couldn’t be happening again. It was like she was stuck in some bad movie and she had no control over it whatsoever. Lying at the base of the same oak tree where she’d found Olivia Potter was the lifeless body of Harrison Wright.
She reached him in seconds, pressing two fingers to his neck and relief flooded over her: she could feel a pulse. There was a noose around his neck, but luckily for him the rope had snapped. She heard Ben’s breathless voice as he jogged towards her; he was on the radio calling for urgent assistance. He requested an ambulance and a patrol.
‘Harrison, Harrison, can you hear me?’ He didn’t stir. ‘He’s breathing, but unconscious.’
Ben relayed the information on to the control room operator. Taking his jacket off, he covered Harrison with it.
Morgan looked at Ben. ‘Do you think he did this himself or