The Gorge (Detective Louise Blackwell) by Matt Brolly

Author:Matt Brolly [Brolly, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2021-02-24T16:00:00+00:00

Thirty minutes later, Louise was back in Cheddar standing on the cliff pathway, gazing out towards the village and the alien-like reservoir.

She’d come here to clear her mind. Meeting Jodi Marshall that morning, and her subsequent conversation with Farrell, had been a distraction, albeit a necessary one. Now that Farrell had the information, she hoped he would run with it and that her involvement could be minimal. There was still a missing girl out there, she thought, trying not to be overwhelmed by the never-ending sight of the countryside stretching out in all directions.

As she stared out at the mound of land to the east where the commune was situated, a small flock of the brown-coated sheep skipped past her and drank from the pallets of rainwater next to the wooden fence. As Louise edged closer to the animals, they froze, poised to flee. Not for the first time, Louise wondered at the speed of the attacker. How was it possible for them to have snuck up on the sheep without being noticed, she thought, as the sheep fled.

What troubled her most was the lack of sightings of the girl. They’d set up a special hotline and received a number of calls, but nothing specific to Madison. The difference between Madison’s abduction and the other incidents was telling. Previously, the attacker had been careless, or at least unconcerned about leaving evidence of their actions. The sheep had been left where they’d been slaughtered and the attacker had retreated after slicing Tabart. If not exactly proud of their work, they’d been willing to display it. So why the different approach with Madison?

Louise battled down the rocky pathway towards Lynch Lane, losing her footing a number of times, wondering – like she had on that first day – if Madison had reached this far. On a couple of occasions she heard rustling sounds in the undergrowth and, rather than fleeing, chose to investigate. It felt like overkill but she had her baton ready as she moved into the dense foliage near a particularly steep drop. With her heightened pulse, she willed an imagined attacker to emerge from the shadows, but it was a foolish notion. She returned to the muddy path, a group of teenage boys, their white flat-soled trainers unsuitable for the walk ahead of them, greeting her as she walked past. Louise warned them to be careful, before moving down the incline.

She was exhausted by the time she reached the road, annoyed that her trip to the top of the gorge had been a waste of time. A man in biking leathers was dismantling his bike engine as she made her way towards the car-park. He nodded to her as if she was a tourist returning from a walk. Louise’s first instinct was to view the man with suspicion, but everyone in the local vicinity had already been interviewed. He looked away. She sensed despondency in the gesture, in the way his shoulders sagged. Madison’s disappearance had irrevocably changed the village and everyone in it.

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