After Howard had left, Kay turned to me, looking troubled.

“What was all that about? Do you think Howard’s okay?” She asked.

“I don’t know.” Came my reply. Howard certainly hadn’t seemed himself. “Maybe he’s just a bit love-struck.” I suggested to Kay.

“What do you mean?” She wanted to know.

“Howard has been out all night. He said that he was with a woman.” I told Kay. She raised an eyebrow.

“Really? Do you know who?” She asked. I shook my head.

“I didn’t ask. It’s not really any of my business.” I replied.

“Looks like he’s got over his little crush on my sister then.” Kay smiled. I nodded, slowly.

“Yeah, it looks like he has.” I agreed. After that, we began to talk about other stuff whilst finishing off our breakfast. Once that was done, I did the washing up, whilst Kay wandered off into the living room. Not long after, I heard the front door-bell ring, and voices at the door.

“Lucas. Could you come here a minute?” Shouted Kay. I left the washing up and walked through the hallway to the front door, and that’s when our world really began to fall apart.

Stood at the front door was Detective Tom Grogan, together with another policeman who I’d not seen before. I nodded to them. Kay had a concerned look on her face.

“Is everything okay?” I asked her.

“We need to speak to your cousin, Howard.” Said Tom Grogan, before Kay had a chance to answer my question.

“What about?” I asked.

“It’s to do with Mister Whitehouse.” Said Kay. “They think…”

“Is Howard at home?” Interrupted the detective, with impatience in his voice.

“No, he’s not. He headed off out, about fifteen minutes ago… look, do you mind telling me what this is all about?” I repeated my question.

“I’m sorry to tell you this, Mister Trenton, but we’re here to arrest Howard on suspicion of the murder of Alfred Whitehouse.” Said Tom Grogan.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me?” I responded.

“Unfortunately not, sir. Now, would you mind telling me where Howard has gone?” The detective requested.

“You’ve got it wrong. Howard’s not a killer. You’ve met him. He’s not violent, or dangerous… he’s a good kid. I’m telling you, you’re barking up the wrong tree.” I argued. Tom Grogan ignored my defence of Howard.

“We need to know where your cousin has gone to. Now.” The detective ordered. I had no choice but to tell him, not realising that Howard hadn’t gone to Ruthley and the Breardon Hills at all. Instead, he’d abandoned his car down at a car-park near to the beach, and then walked back up into the residential area of Coldsleet, following Alex, Mary, Gary and Shark, up onto the Black Pathway Trail. In order to kill them.

***

Gary Ackley looked back down the Black Pathway Trail, towards the town of Coldsleet. Beyond the town was the ocean. Gary’s eyes scanned along the coastline, to the north, and the Baylin Peninsula. The four of us will have to go there, in the summer, thought Gary, there’s some brilliant stretches of beach over on Baylin… damn it, summer… it feels so fucking far away at the moment… Gary turned his attention back to Alex, Mary and Shark, who were walking up the first part of the trail, towards him.

“Come on, you bunch of slow-coaches!” Gary teased. Alex Crennell flicked him the middle finger.

“Fuck you, Gary.” He said. “We’re not rushing ourselves.”

“I can see that.” Replied Gary, sarcastically. The three others caught up with Gary, who was concerned to notice that Alex was already beginning to break out in a sweat.

“Okay, shall we take a break for a few minutes, look out at the view?” Suggested Gary, pointing back down the trail, towards Coldsleet, and the Irish sea. “I was just thinking that, in the summer, we should take a trip out to the Baylin Peninsula, visit the beaches there.” He suggested. “You can see the Peninsula from here. Look.” Said Gary, and he pointed past the town below, over to the horizon. None of his friends seemed interested in what he was saying. Alex took a bottle of water from out of his backpack and began drinking from it. Mary stood next to him, holding his hand. Shark wandered off the pathway, over to a thin, twisting brook that was running parallel to the trail. She stood on the edge of the stream, then knelt down and put her hands into the icy water.

Shark cupped some of the water in her hands, bringing it up to her mouth. She tasted the liquid.

“Fresh mountain water. Can’t beat it.” Said Shark. Gary Ackley came walking over to her.

“This is Sleet River. Well, it’s not quite a river here, obviously, but if you were to follow it back down the hill, and to the south for ten, eleven miles, this opens out into the Hingley Estuary. That’s another place worth visiting. There’s a nature reserve there, loads of wildlife to see, rare species, that sort of thing… do you enjoy stuff like that, Shark?” Asked Gary. Shark nodded her head.

“Yeah, love it. I grew up in a city, but I’d always been fascinated by the countryside, nature… that’s one of the things that appealed to me when I moved up here with Mike… Coldsleet was right on the edge of all that type of stuff. Problem is, I haven’t really had much of a chance to explore what’s outside Coldsleet, so far.” Said Shark. Gary smiled.

“Well, we’ll soon change all of that.” He told her.

Mary and Alex wandered over to the stream.

“Are you two ready to push on?” Asked Gary. Mary and Alex nodded their heads.

“Okay. Well, the good news is that, once we reach the brow of the hill up ahead, it’s all flatland for the next few miles, until we hit Coldsleet Moor, but even that isn’t anything too strenuous. The really hard work will come tomorrow, when we have to ascend Knighton Mountain.” Gary said, giving a knowing glance to Alex Crennell. Just the mention of Knighton Mountain sent a shudder down Alex’s spine, as he recalled how the climb, and subsequent descent, of the peak, felt, at the time, like it was slowly killing him. No beer tonight, thought Alex, no beer tonight at all, coz I’m not walking up that fucking thing tomorrow with a hangover. “Okay, lads and lasses. Shall we carry on?” Gary asked, in an upbeat voice.

“Let’s go.” Replied Alex, with fake enthusiasm. Shark and Gary took the lead, walking away from the River Sleet, and back towards the Black Pathway, with Alex and Mary following on behind. The four re-joined the trail, continuing their trek up Leeton Hill. Not far behind them, hidden behind a tree, was Howard Trenton.

After a short hike, the four walkers reached the top of Leeton Hill. Ahead of them, was a sharp bend in the Black Pathway, and just beyond that was an aged, stone, hump-back bridge. Gary, Shark, Alex and Mary followed the bend in the trail. Below them, was Sleet River, which had widened considerably.

“This bridge up ahead is supposedly haunted.” Advised Gary, cheerfully; he loved the subject of ghosts.

“What?” Asked Mary. Gary turned to her and grinned. Alex, on the other hand, groaned inwardly. Oh God, not this bloody story again, he thought to himself.

“It’s haunted. By the ghost of James Friery.” Gary went on. Mary and Shark gave him a blank look.

“Who’s James Friery?” Asked Shark.

“James Friery was a thief and a murderer from Salegate, who broke out of Hoffen jail, back in the late nineteenth century. At the time, he was awaiting execution for the killing of a love rival called Arthur Melsey.” Informed Gary.

“How do you know all of this?” Shark was curious to find out.

“I’m fascinated by local history, Shark. I spend a lot of time reading up on Coldsleet and its surroundings. This whole area has a very interesting past to explore.” He said.