Free The Two Towns (The Lakeland Murders) by J. J. Salkeld

had never gone home.
    ‘I just kipped on Andy’s meeting table’ he said. ‘I like a firm mattress, me.’
    Jane smiled. ‘How about a coffee?’
    ‘Aye, thanks. But none of that decaff shit, please.’
    ‘Wouldn’t dream of it.’
    Jane switched her work phone on while she waited for the kettle to boil. There was a message from the front desk, timed at 11.38pm the evening before, saying that Sarah Walker had called, but had left no message. She had only left a phone number, which would be texted to Jane. She checked, and there it was. On any other day Jane would have phoned back immediately, but she knew that Sarah would have to wait. But she’d call before the day was out, come what may. But not now. Certainly not now.
     
    Mann said that Hall wouldn’t mind her working in his office, and she was concentrating so hard that she didn’t hear him come in, about quarter of an hour later. Ray Dixon had also arrived, to Ian Mann’s considerable and inexplicable mirth, and the two of them had already left.
    ‘How can I help?’ said Hall, taking off his jacket and sitting down next to her.
    ‘Shouldn’t I be asking you that?’
    ‘This is a team game, and you’re the one at the keyboard.’
    ‘Well, I’m not getting anywhere. I can’t see anything that helps. I’ve been through his whole search history for the last week, and I can’t see anything that would help us find him. Do you think I should go back further?’
    ‘No. And we’re confident there’s nothing of interest in his phone records, texts and emails?’
    ‘I’m afraid so. I’d remember, because I’ve been through the lot.’
    ‘Don’t be afraid. That’s good, and you’ve definitely made progress.’
    ‘How so?’
    ‘You’ve moved the job on, and that’s always valuable. Every line of enquiry that we close, because it’s been exhausted, frees us up to develop a new one. And there are always fresh lines of enquiry to explore, believe me. It just needs a bit of empathy and imagination. And there’s something else as well. Something that will help us. Let’s assume that you’re right, and he didn’t do any searches when he was choosing where to go, and deciding how to get there. What would that tell us?’
    ‘That he already knew? So he already knew where he was going. He didn’t need to search.’
    ‘Exactly. And if he also didn’t need any outside help, what does that tell us?’
    Jane thought about it.
    ‘Where he was going isn’t far away from Kendal.’ Hall nodded encouragingly. ‘And he was either alone or he knew who he’d be staying with. And that he didn’t need to contact them first either.’
    ‘Yes, exactly, and if it’s the latter then Ian and Ray will find him soon enough. But we need to work on the basis that they won’t. So let’s think laterally. Has he been anywhere locally recently, with mates, with school, whatever? Somewhere that might have stuck in his mind, or appealed to him for some reason. My guess is that he made a snap decision about where to run to, so what’s the very first idea that would have popped into his head?’
    ‘I don’t know. Let me look at his calendar again.’
    ‘You do that, and I’ll make us both a brew.’
     
    When Hall returned he didn’t look over Jane’s shoulder, or ask how she was doing, but simply sat at his desk and started to deal with his emails. There was no point in interrupting, and he had nothing useful to add. So they both worked on, in silence, until their tea cups were as cold as the tables they stood on. He was just about to crack and ask Jane how she was doing when she spoke.
    ‘Andy, look at this.’
    He got up quickly, sat down next to her and looked at the screen.
    ‘What is this? Geography homework?’
    ‘Yes, pretty much. It’s his write up of a visit the class made at the start of the term, to a damson farm in the Lyth valley. Is that nearby?’
    ‘Yes, it’s down towards Grange. Really lovely, in spring especially. So you’re thinking