‘Amy’s term has started this week, so she’s at college.’
‘She’ll be in Sheffield, then?’
‘Yes, settled into her student accommodation. And we’ve arranged for Josie to go and stay with Aunt Margaret and Uncle John.’
‘She won’t like that very much.’
‘It will only be for a week,’ said Matt. ‘And Margaret will make sure she gets to school in the mornings.’
There was obviously more. Ben waited, but it didn’t come.
‘So...?’
‘Well, I wondered if you might keep an eye on the house,’ said Matt, with an anxious frown. ‘And the dog.’
‘Jess?’
‘I don’t want to put her in kennels. She’s all right on her own most of the time, and Eric and George and their lads will be knocking about, but I want to make sure she’s fed and exercised properly.’
‘I’ll look after her,’ said Ben. ‘And the house will be fine.’
‘There’s a bit of a leak in the back porch. If it rains too hard—’
‘I’ll keep an eye out.’
‘And leave a light or two on. You know what it’s like with thieves coming round trying to nick equipment from the yard.’
‘Don’t worry about it. You two just enjoy yourselves. When do you go?’
‘This Saturday.’
‘So you were more than just thinking about it, then. It’s all booked.’
‘Seems so.’
‘Where are you going, by the way?’ asked Ben.
‘The Algarve.’
‘Portugal?’
‘I know,’ said Matt. ‘Europe. I’ve had to get a new passport. What’s the odds that air traffic control will be on strike?’
Matt heaved a deep sigh, as if the prospect of a holiday depressed him enormously.
‘So how’s it going with the new woman, anyway?’ he said.
‘Chloe? Fine. It’s going really well.’
Matt peered at him, trying to read his face. Ben had never been able to keep anything from his older brother. They understood each other too well, often without the need for any words.
But in this case Matt seemed reassured.
‘Good,’ he said. ‘When are you bringing her here to meet us?’
‘To Bridge End?’
‘Of course.’
‘What’s this? Meet the in-laws?’
‘Kate would like to get to know her,’ said Matt a little sheepishly. ‘And the girls too.’
‘I see.’
So Matt had been pestered by his wife and daughters to find out about the new woman in his brother’s life. Ben supposed it was inevitable. But would he want to put Chloe Young through that sort of scrutiny?
‘I’ll ask her if she’d like to come,’ he said.
‘That would be great.’ Matt looked relieved. He’d done his best, as instructed. ‘Kate and the girls will pitch in and cook something special. They’ll look forward to it.’
‘Wait. I haven’t said—’
Matt put a hand on his arm. ‘It’ll be fine,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry, Ben. It’ll all be fine this time.’
As Ben Cooper turned the Toyota in the farmyard and drove away from Bridge End Farm, it was his brother’s last phrase that kept repeating in his head. It’ll all be fine this time.
Those two words only served to emphasise what had happened last time. Perhaps that was why he was nervous about introducing Chloe to his family. Matt hadn’t meant to do it, but he’d put his finger on the most sensitive point of his brother’s feelings.
Ben put his foot down as he headed back towards Foolow. And Matt was right, of course. It would be fine this time. Wouldn’t it?
15
Tuesday
Next morning, DS Dev Sharma was waiting to brief Ben Cooper on the Danielle Atherton murder case as soon as he arrived in the office.
‘There are still a few loose ends to tie up, Dev,’ said Cooper when he’d reviewed Sharma’s file.
‘Of course. We’ve got a result, though.’
Cooper looked at his DS, saw the satisfaction on his face.
‘It still gives you a buzz when you know you’ve got the right person in custody, doesn’t it?’
Sharma nodded. ‘And there’s no doubt about this one.’
‘No doubt at all.’
As soon as he uttered the words, Cooper experienced a frisson of uncertainty. It always felt wrong to say that at such an early stage in an investigation. In his experience, fate had a habit of throwing a spanner in the works, even in the most watertight of inquiries.
But Sharma was looking confident, and Cooper didn’t want to dampen his enthusiasm.
‘Have you spoken to DS Fry at EMSOU?’ he asked. ‘She’s liaison with the Major Crime Unit, isn’t she?’
‘I tried,’ said Sharma. ‘But they told me to report directly to the senior investigating officer, DCI Mackenzie.’
Sharma’s expression was impassive now. Cooper wondered if his DS knew something he didn’t. He probably still had contacts in Derby, or even at headquarters in Ripley. He could ask, but he didn’t want to push the issue. It would only cause speculation.
‘OK, that’s fine,’ he said instead. ‘Carry on, Dev. You’re doing a great job.’
‘Thank you.’
Cooper watched him leave, torn between envy at Sharma’s confidence in what appeared to be a simple case he could help the MCU tie up and his own irresistible curiosity about what had happened to Faith Matthew on Kinder Scout. He needed to find out some answers for her. It might be hard, but somebody had to try. Nothing ever seemed to come easily.
It seemed to Cooper that he might usefully focus on what had happened before that walk on Kinder Scout. Did something occur that resulted in those fatal events? He could take the day before. What did the witness statements have to say about it?
Members of the New Trespassers Walking Club had met at the Roths’ house outside Hayfield the night before the walk. Trespass Lodge had a guest annexe with two bedrooms. Darius Roth had stopped the self-catering business run by the previous owners and had kept the accommodation free for his friends. If ‘friends’ was the right word.
He called in Luke Irvine.
‘So who stayed at Trespass Lodge the night before the walk?’ said Cooper. ‘Not all of them surely?’
Irvine consulted his notebook. ‘The two young women shared one of the rooms in the guest annexe. Millie Taylor and Karina Scott. They say Darius didn’t want them having to pay for a hotel.’
‘That’s good of him.’
‘Jonathan Matthew took the other room. But then there’s the Warburtons.’
‘That’s the older couple, the ones with the caravan?’
‘That’s right. They brought their caravan from Didsbury and berthed it at the site off Kinder Road. They were within a couple of minutes’ walk of Trespass Lodge.’
‘That’s quite a cosy grouping,’ said Cooper. ‘But what about the others? Sophie Pullen and Nick Haslam in particular?’
‘They had rooms at a B and B in Hayfield. So did Mr Sharpe.’
‘The same B and B?’
‘Yes. They use it every year, apparently.’
‘Go on.’
‘Well, that only leaves the two brothers, the Goulds. They live nearby, though.’
‘Oh, do they?’
Irvine flipped a page. ‘Chinley.’
‘About five miles south.’
‘But wait a minute. Nick Haslam — didn’t he say he lives in the area too?’
‘Er, yes. A place called Strines. I’ve never heard of it.’
‘There isn’t much of it to hear about,’ said Cooper. ‘It’s not far from New Mills. I’d say it’s no further from Hayfield than the Goulds’ place in Chinley. And Miss Pullen works in Buxton but lives in Chapel-en-le-Frith.’
‘So?’
‘So why did Miss Pullen and Mr Haslam choose to stay in a B and B no more than five miles from where they live?’