‘We’re working on it.’
‘Contact Gwent Police. Let them know what’s happening. What’s Starkey driving?’
‘Black Renault Megane, ma’am. I’ll text you the number plate.’
When he’d rung off, Hawley spoke.
‘This Starkey, do you think he killed Rosie?’
‘I don’t know for sure, but probably, yes.’
Hawley nodded.
‘I can drop you off at the services,’ Anna said.
Hawley seemed not to hear. ‘I’ve wondered a lot about what I would do if I ever met the bloke who did all this. Partly because of what it did to me. But he’s done a lot worse to those kids, hasn’t he?’
‘Yes.’
Hawley’s face hardened. ‘Don’t waste any time dropping me off.’
Anna didn’t argue. He was right. There was no time to waste. At last three lanes opened up and she manoeuvred out to overtake the slower traffic.
It took her eighteen minutes to get to St Arvans. It took her another ten criss-crossing the access roads until, with Hawley’s help, they found the Megane parked discreetly off the road in one of the half-hidden car parks. She parked next to it and called Holder.
‘I’ve found the car. It’s a forestry car park a mile along the Devauden Road and half a mile in. I’ll send you a pin.’
‘I’ll do it,’ said Hawley. ‘What’s Holder’s number?’
Anna put Holder on speaker and he read off his number.
‘So, what now, Justin? He could be anywhere.’
‘I know, ma’am. Ryia’s got some ideas and we’re waiting for Trisha to get back to us. We’ve got some help coming from Gwent, too. They’re getting their chopper up.’
‘Good,’ Anna said. ‘But I’m not going to sit here like a lemon. If he’s here, I want to find him. Get back to me as soon as you hear anything.’ Anna got out of the car and walked around Starkey’s Renault, looking in through the windows. It was clean. Cleaner than any of her cars had ever been. Hawley got out too, looking around.
‘Have you ever been here before?’ Anna asked.
‘Never.’
It was a Friday, a warm summer’s early afternoon. The forest looked cool and inviting. But Anna shivered at the thought of what might be going on somewhere in amongst all this cover, under these silently watching trees. Frustration gnawed at her.
‘Come on, Trisha, come on,’ she muttered. When her phone rang twenty seconds later, it came as no surprise. She knew there was no telepathic link between her and the analyst sitting back in their office in Portishead. It merely felt that way sometimes.
‘Speak to me, Trisha.’
‘Ryia sent me some details of a gravestone, ma’am.’
‘She did?’ A hundred questions formed in Anna’s head.
‘Yes, ma’am. From the birth and death date, I’ve been able to find some burial records. It shows that this grave is in St Wystone’s. It’s in the Chepstow Woods, ma’am. I’m sending you a map and coordinates now.’
‘Trisha, you’re amazing.’
‘Be careful, ma’am.’
Anna waited while a PDF downloaded. She opened it onto a section of OS map. It took her a while to find the car park and Devauden Road. Hawley stood back, watching.
‘St Wystone’s chapel,’ she said, nodding in the direction of the surrounding forest. ‘In there. You stay here, tell whoever comes where I’ve gone.’
‘Can you read maps?’
‘Not my strongest point,’ Anna confessed. She kept looking towards the great sprawl of hillside and greenery, her sense of urgency now diamond-tipped.
‘Can I?’ He held out his hand.
She thrust her phone towards him. He opened his up and scrolled to the compass, turning in a full circle before facing the corner of the parking area where a trail disappeared into the foliage. ‘It’s east and then north.’ He pointed towards the trail head. ‘That’s our best bet.’
‘Our best bet?’
‘This place is a rat’s nest. Best to navigate by GPS. From your map, it doesn’t look like there’s an established trail.’
‘No. You stay here. We don’t know what Starkey’s capable of.’
‘What if he has Blair?’
His words caught her off guard. ‘What if he does?’
‘Then you might need me. I’m a medic, don’t forget.’
She wanted to object but his words struck home. He was right. God knew what was waiting for them along this trail, and Hawley’s skills might well be needed. She hurried back to her car, popped the boot and took out a canister of PAVA spray, a telescopic baton and cuffs, and stuffed them into a small rucksack before slinging it over her shoulders. She turned back to Hawley.
‘Right, let’s go. Gwent Police are sending some air support as well as bodies on the ground. But if this guy does have Blair and she’s alive, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if we didn’t move now.’
Forty-Eight
Anna took the lead. Though the foliage surrounding them afforded little or no view of their surroundings, it did appear that someone had been there before them. The nettles and ferns were not broken, but they leaned forwards, pushed there by something large that had passed that way. Twice Hawley called her back and made her backtrack, unhappy with the way she’d taken. They talked little, Anna preferring to listen for any extraneous sounds while Hawley concentrated, issuing instructions only where a turn was needed. The stillness struck her as almost supernatural. As if they’d walked into a place that was out of normal time and untouched by the elements. She wasn’t dressed for hiking; she’d dressed for visiting a Cheltenham hospital. Sweat made her white shirt cling to her back under her backpack, and her shoes were already pinching.
After twenty-five minutes along a winding trail, they emerged into a sunken track with the remnants of old walls dripping with moss either side. Anna waited for Hawley, who pointed to the map.
‘I think we’re here,’ he whispered. ‘The chapel is supposed to be over that ridge to our left.’
‘Who on earth would want to build a place of worship out here?’
Hawley shrugged. ‘I have no idea. But maybe it’s been dedicated to someone or something. And we’re in Wales, now, too. Sometimes, nonconformists had to meet in remote places before it became more acceptable to worship their form of Christianity.’
‘Worship? I’d call this place godforsaken.’
‘We’re looking for a path to our left.’ Hawley walked on. They found it after another 50 yards, ascending through the forest where it briefly emerged at the top of a rise before descending again quickly into a dell. Hawley pointed down towards the remnants of a wooden walkway leading to the overgrown building, and beyond that, a dark pond covered by green algae.
Everything was quiet. Nothing moved. It was warm as they emerged from under the canopy of trees but as they descended, the temperature began to drop. Even in summer, because of the height of the ridge, not much sun penetrated such a desolate spot.
When they reached the rotten walkway, half-submerged by rockfall, Anna called a halt.
‘Is that it?’ she asked.
‘According to the map, yes. Not much of it left, is there?’
‘Enough, I suspect.’
They were no more than fifty yards from the ruins. Anna checked her phone. One bar. The signal had slowly diminished with every few yards of descent along the ridge.
Anna grabbed Hawley’s arm. ‘Ben, you need to stay here. I’m going over to take a look but I need you to be here in case the chopper comes over. If Justin’s done what I’ve asked him to, all hell will be breaking loose soon. But they need to know where we are.’
‘Are you sure you don’t want me—’
‘Perfectly sure.’