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

he might be there? It’s a bit rural, to tell the truth. What would he do for food?’
    ‘That’s just it. Look at his pictures. He took this one of a roadside stall, selling damsons and all sorts of stuff. There’s just an honesty box for people to pay for what they take. Maybe he thinks he could live off that. His essay suggests that he loved the place. He writes like a real inner-city kid, Andy. It’s as if he’s never been to places like that before.’
    ‘He probably hasn’t. And I see what you mean. The enthusiasm comes through, doesn’t it? He’s a bright lad, we know that, but I don’t think he’s faking it, just writing what he thinks his teacher wants to read. All right, Jane, I’ll buy it. Let’s get out there and take a look. I’ll call and put the dog unit on stand-by as soon as they come on duty. We recovered some of the lad’s clothing, I assume?’
    ‘Yes. I’ve got it in an evidence bag by my desk.’
    ‘Good. Just leave it on top of your desk, will you? The dogs may be able to find almost anything but old Jack, the bloke who runs the team, couldn’t locate his arse with both hands.’
    ‘Are you going to get Ian and Ray involved?’
    ‘No, not at this stage. Let’s you and me go and find this farm, have a look around, chat to the locals. We can call the dog team straight in if we find anything. But I don’t want Ian and Ray distracted. Realistically they’re still the ones with the highest chance of finding the kid. Your idea is appealing, of course it is, but the reality of policing is that following the normal procedures is what usually brings results. Perspiration, not inspiration, usually wins the day.’
     
    Hall drove them in his old BMW. Jane noticed that it was making an odd noise, but she didn’t like to say anything. Hall asked her how she was settling in.
    ‘Fine, thanks, Andy. People have been so friendly.’
    ‘Really? I mean good. That’s good. How well do you know the area?’
    ‘Not well at all. We came here a few times when I was a kid. Me and my mum. But we only went to the tourist places, you know. But I like walking, and I’ve got an old uni friend living in Kendal now, so I’m hoping to get out with her a bit. She’s got young kids, but everyone needs a bit of down-time, don’t they?’
    ‘You’ll have loads of fun, I promise you. And don’t think you won’t be able to find peace and quiet, because you will. There are lots of amazing places around here where the tourists never go. It’s amazing really. And then there are all the events that the locals keep to themselves too. Fascinating, some of them. They just sort of live pretty much as they always have, while the tourists wash over the place like a tide, leaving their cash behind as jetsam. Me, I blame Wordsworth for making the place so popular.’
    ‘And Coleridge, surely?’
    ‘We’ll let him off, shall we? The man had a pretty serious laudanum habit, after all. We can’t really hold him accountable for the invasion of the gagoule brigade.’
    ‘I wouldn’t have had you down as a liberal on drugs policy.’
    Hall smiled. ‘In comparison with some of my colleagues I am, certainly. Although it has to be said that over the past few years more senior officers seem to be coming round to my way of thinking. No-one takes any notice of me of course, but I just don’t see addicts as criminals. They’re victims first, aren’t they?’
    ‘They commit some pretty nasty crimes though, Andy. I’d say more than half of the offences at my old nick had an addiction component.’
    ‘True enough. Anyway, Coleridge was a walker too, you know. One of the first people ever to climb Skiddaw, just for the fun of it. Maybe even the first. I’ve been up a couple of times myself, and can’t say I enjoyed it all that much.’
    ‘Bad weather?’
    ‘Bad fitness. That’s what comes of sitting behind a desk all day, and then eating too many pies at night.’
    Jane’s mother had told her not to say anything