herself out, she made sure the door closed behind her and couldn’t be opened again. Lana was alone in there and it would be awful if something happened to her as well. Although she had a feeling that Gregory Barker was the key to this whole thing: if he’d murdered the O’Briens, he wouldn’t have wanted that dredging up by Jamie Stone.
Back at the station, she sat in the almost empty car park trying to gather her thoughts. She wondered how Ben and Amy were getting on with Bronte. It still hurt that she hadn’t been asked to join them, but she told herself to stop acting like a spoiled child. Did she want to be there when they broke the news to the girl that her entire family were now dead? Not really; she didn’t wish that on anyone. She wrote a brief draft of her conversation with Lana on the board, then phoned Ben.
Amy answered.
‘He’s driving. I’ll put you on speaker.’
‘I’ve been to speak to staff at the Cumbrian News. Well, one staff member, Lana Wallis; we had quite an interesting conversation. She said she’d heard rumours of an affair between Olivia and Greg Barker. Also said that Stone and Barker disliked each other. She thinks Stone had been digging into the old newspaper reports of the O’Brien murders. When she went to look for them, though, they were missing and she thinks that’s why he came back that night. The killer must have known Stone was looking into it and taken them with him, and there’s only one person who wouldn’t want them dredging up.’
‘Barker. That’s great, thanks. So, if Taskforce turn up some newspaper clippings at Barker’s house that would be the miracle we need. I’ll get on to them now and see what they’re up to.’
Morgan was almost through the back doors when she saw the car drive through the secure gates with Amy and Ben. She waited for them and felt bad for him; his face looked grey. No need to ask how it went: she could tell by the grim expression.
They trailed into the office one after the other to see an even grimmer-faced DCI waiting for them.
‘What the hell is going on, Ben? We can’t keep Barker much longer unless you get an extension. Have you got enough for an extension?’
‘You saw the CCTV, he was clearly involved with Olivia Potter.’
‘Yes, I did and thanks to you I’ll see that for the rest of my life. It’s ingrained in my memories. Have we got anything that’s rock-solid evidence and not circumstantial or pornographic?’
Ben’s phone rang. ‘You’ve checked everything, the car, the attic?’ There was a slight pause. He ran his hand across the stubble on his face, something Morgan noticed he did when he was stressed. It couldn’t be good news. ‘That’s a shame. Thanks for trying.’
He ended the call and looked at Tom. ‘Nothing, house and car were clean.’
‘Then we have to bail him, you know the score.’
‘Do you want me to do it?’
Tom shook his head. ‘No, he’s going to be causing enough trouble for us as it is. You need to keep away from him. For the foreseeable future.’
Ben closed his eyes and Morgan wondered if he was counting to ten.
Tom left them to it.
Amy patted his arm.
‘We tried, boss, we’ll nail him. It’s just a matter of time. He knows we’re onto him, but he’s bound to slip up.’
In that small gesture of friendship between them Morgan realised how much she liked this team. She was glad Ben had taken a chance and let her come up here, even if was by default. Working alongside them, she knew she could make a difference.
‘Coffee?’
They both nodded.
She left them and decided this called for proper coffee and cake. A quick walk to the coffee shop on the high street would clear her mind and give them a chance to clear theirs.
Fifty-One
As she walked back into the station with the coffees, Barker was being escorted out of the side door. He saw her and smiled, nodding his head. The smile didn’t reach his glaring eyes and she knew he was trying to intimidate her. Morgan couldn’t help herself.
‘Have a lovely evening, Greg.’
She hurried inside; two could play that game. He didn’t scare her, despite Ben’s warnings. She took the coffees upstairs to where Ben was in his office watching Barker get into his car, ready to drive away.
‘Is he okay?’
Amy nodded. ‘Yeah, he will be.’ She opened the paper bags containing