Page 66 of Where We Belong

‘I don’t want to believe it, but I think you’re right.’ He glanced over her shoulder at his team. ‘What do you think we should do?’

‘I don’t know. Once everyone is clear from the estate, why don’t you all come up to the farmhouse? They won’t want to sleep here, and Ziggy wants to close the campsite as it’s too exposed. At least the farm and the house will be more secure, even if we have to re-pitch some of the tents in the yard tonight.’

‘It’ll be a bit of squeeze, we could probably extend the compound up at the site and move the camp up there,’ Cam suggested.

‘No!’ Hope surprised herself with the vehemence of her reaction. ‘I don’t want any of you out on the estate tonight.’ She took his hand and looked up into his eyes, which were full of compassion and concern. ‘Please.’

‘Whatever you want.’

She leaned forward to rest her forehead on his chest. ‘I want all this to go away.’

‘I know. Come here.’ Cam pulled her close and Hope let herself lean into the solid strength of him, just for a minute.

28

An hour later and apart from a couple of families who were ferrying the last of their stuff to their cars with the help of Scott and a few others, the campsite was empty. His team had packed up their tents and those would be going into the back of Hope’s Range Rover next. Hands on hips, Cam looked around them. The place was a mess of abandoned bits and pieces and rubbish. It would take a couple of hours to clear up what was left, but they could come back and do it later. He wanted the team down at the farmhouse for a break first.

He spotted something beneath one of the trees in the corner and wandered closer to investigate. As he got closer, he realised it was a small tent – the kind of thing you might get for kids to camp out in the back garden in. The front was zipped shut. Cam looked around, but the only people in sight were his team. He turned back to the tent. ‘Hello? Is anyone in there?’ Silence greeted him.

He waited a moment then nudged the tent with his foot and called out again. ‘I’m going to open the zip, let me know if there’s anyone there.’ Nothing. Moving cautiously, he tugged the zip down about halfway, but it was clear almost immediately it was empty. A strong smell of petrol hit him and he froze. Backing away from the tent, he pulled out his phone and dialled Hope’s number. She’d gone to speak to Ziggy to let him know they were about ready to leave.

‘I’m up by the trees,’ he said by way of introduction when she answered. ‘Near the far end. You’d better get up here and bring Ziggy with you.’

Five minutes later and they were staring at the contents of the abandoned tent. Alongside one of those small plastic jerrycans people used to refill their cars in an emergency, there was a dirty sleeping bag, several empty bottles of cheap booze and a few bits of clothing. Using a stick he’d picked up, Ziggy flipped over a dark blue polo shirt to show the embroidered logo on the front. It was a match to the one Hope was wearing, only the one in the tent looked as grubby as the sleeping bag.

‘Someone could’ve stolen it.’ Cam was clutching at straws, but he couldn’t bear the look of pain and shock etched on Hope’s face. One of their own had betrayed them.

‘I think we should leave this for the police,’ she said, when Ziggy crouched down and lifted the edge of the sleeping bag with the stick.

‘It’s definitely our man.’ Standing up, Ziggy stepped to one side so they could see what he’d uncovered.

It was a large screwdriver, the tip of it covered in flecks of burgundy paint Cam just bet would be a match for the paintwork on Willoughby’s car. Something red caught his eye in the shadowed corner of the tent and he craned his neck forward for a better look, making sure he didn’t touch anything as he did so. ‘Shit. That looks like Declan’s cash box.’ Cam sat back on his heels. ‘You definitely need to call the police.’

Ziggy nodded. ‘I’ll go and talk to the incident commander as well. He’ll want to know we’ve found petrol.’ His gaze drifted towards the still burning field. ‘No wonder it went up so quickly.’

Feeling useless, Cam walked beside Hope as they followed in her uncle’s wake. She looked as tired and as scared as he felt. If the culprit was willing to use petrol to start fires, they were lucky he hadn’t decided to target the actual campsite, or God forbid, the Hall or the farmhouse. Shuddering at the thought, Cam reached for her hand. ‘The police will find out who it is.’

‘I know who it is,’ she replied, grimly. ‘I recognise those bottles. They’re the same brand as the ones Rhys found hidden in the barn.’

Cam stopped in his tracks. ‘Keith? But I thought he was away in rehab.’

‘So did we all, but who the hell else can it be?’ Dropping his hand, she raised hers and began ticking off points on her fingers. ‘He knows the estate. He had uniform shirts like everyone else who worked here – and I bet Rhys never thought to ask for them back. He’s got a grudge because Rhys sacked him and then Ziggy got him barred from the pub. It has to be him.’ Her eyes widened. ‘I need to call Amelia and warn her.’ Cam watched as she grabbed for her phone and searched for the right number. It rang and it rang until finally switching to voicemail. ‘Amelia, it’s Hope. Please call me when you get this. I…’ Hope’s eyes met his and Cam shook his head. It wasn’t the sort of thing to say in a message. ‘I just wanted to see how you’re doing. Call me as soon as you can, please.’

‘Maybe she’s still at work?’ Cam suggested, though it was hard to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach.

‘You’re probably right. I’ll try her again later. Let’s go and talk to Ziggy.’

It was early evening by the time they’d got everyone off the estate who was leaving. The shopping area at The Old Stable Yard had been relatively quiet and boards had been posted at the entrance advising that the estate was closing, so Hope’s family had decided to let the shoppers already there conclude their visits rather than causing any more alarm. The police had shown rather more interest than last time and were still up at the campsite with Ziggy. The fire brigade had packed up and gone home, the blackened field barely smoking now the blaze had consumed the entirety of the wheat crop.

Cam’s team were real troopers about the upheaval and had set up camp in the yard outside the farmhouse back door without a murmur of complaint. They’d drawn up a roster for the various showers and bathrooms and those who were waiting were happy to sit outside with sandwiches and cups of coffee. The smell of smoke lingered, even after a shower and a change of clothes, and Cam wondered if he’d ever be free of it. Telling himself there was no time to be maudlin, he headed downstairs and called out the back door. ‘Main bathroom is free, who’s next?’

‘Oh, that’s me!’ Zoë hopped up from the bench by the wall, where she’d been sitting next to Adam. ‘But my clothes are still waiting for the washing machine.’

‘You can help yourself to whatever you need from my room,’ Hope assured her, coming up from behind Cam. ‘Come on, I’ll show you.’ There was the sound of a horn from the gate, which made them all jump as they’d locked up once everyone was inside.

Cam exchanged a look with Hope. ‘We’d better go and check who it is.’ He tried to keep his voice light. There was still no answer from Amelia. Rhys had gone down into the village to check on her, but he had a key to the gate so would surely just let himself in.

‘I’ll come with you,’ Adam said, jumping up, and before they knew it, they had half a dozen escorts as they approached the gate.

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