Kelly’s nerves threatened to beat out of her chest as she stood alongside Kate Umshaw and her father, the coroner, at the edge of the first grave to be exhumed, in the grounds of the beautiful chapel overlooking ancient Morningside land.
They’d chosen the most recent grave site of Brenda Shaw to start with. Ted explained that due to her recent burial, he’d have a better chance at determining cause of death, and they’d work backwards after that to the oldest burial site: that of Prudence Morningside.
It was a glorious day.
The sun shone over the valley and illuminated the chapel graveyard in its glorious isolation and splendour. It was a stunning place to be finally put to rest. However, they weren’t here to survey the wonder of the national park, as they stood underneath a white forensic tent that fluttered gently on the breeze. Inside it, the light seeping through the polyethene cast shadows over an already grim task. A forensic anthropologist stood by, overseeing the whole exercise, to make sure it was done properly. The last thing they needed was any mistakes coming back on them and a relative crawling out of the woodwork asking questions and challenging process. Which is why Ted was here, to ensure protocol was followed to the letter this time around.
Kelly’s palms were sweaty. She stole pensive glances towards her father. Kate folded her arms and sighed.
‘How deep are these things?’ Kate asked.
‘They don’t say six feet under for nothing,’ Ted said.
‘Is it really necessary?’
They communicated over the noise of the digger, and when it stopped, they peered at the driver, expecting him to say he’d finally hit a coffin. The anthropologist explained that the digger was only a tool they could use so deep, then they had to do the rest by hand, which is why they’d employed grave diggers from Kendal, who had nothing to do with the nursing home set-up.
Beryl Morningside was still nowhere to be found. Her photo had gone to the national press and all ports. In Kelly’s experience, criminals like her, with years of experience and layers of deceit to cover them up, were often arrogant and made mistakes when caught out. She was confident that it was only a matter of time before she was picked up, and Kelly wouldn’t be surprised if she was still inside the boundaries of the national park. It also wouldn’t come as a total shock should Dorian be found with her.
‘There’s nothing in there,’ the digger driver shouted.
Kelly thought she’d misheard. The anthropologist stepped forward and Ted joined her in peering over the lip of the huge hole.
‘The integrity of the ground is sound,’ she said. ‘It’s never been dug before. There’s nothing in there.’
Ted turned to Kelly who asked for an explanation.
‘The soil disturbance consistent with a grave site is different to the surrounding earth, it’s softer, there’s no sign of it,’ he told her.
Kelly couldn’t speak.
‘I suggest we excavate another site,’ Ted said.
Kelly could tell by his solemn tone that he feared the worst. If Brenda Shaw wasn’t in the ground like she was supposed to be then where the hell was she?
The digger driver stretched and drove to the next plot. They’d erected a tent large enough to cover four graves they’d chosen to excavate this morning. It served a dual purpose: it protected the site from the elements because old coffins tended to fair badly when exposed to fresh oxygen, and it kept the press away. Because this was private land, they hadn’t had too much bother from the general public, though some had tried to trespass on Morningside land to get a macabre view, no doubt to film and post on social media.
The fumes of the digger made Kelly cough and she stepped outside for some fresh air while the next site was prepared. The headstones had been carefully removed and placed outside next to the chapel wall, though three out of the four had cracked and broken.
‘Cheap composite,’ the gravedigger announced. At this, Kelly and Kate had exchanged glances.
Constance Thorngill was next.
Kelly couldn’t help thinking about how much the damn things cost – she’d seen the invoices from Dale & Sons. And wherever the coffins ended up – certainly not in the ground where they were supposed to be – she hoped they were worth it for the unfortunate stooges of Beryl and Victor’s scheme. Taking life savings from the elderly was shocking enough but robbing them of a proper burial cast the business partners to another level of organised crime altogether, not counting the abject lack of respect given to human remains.
It didn’t take long for the digger to start working again and Kelly headed back inside the tent. The earth up here next to the chapel on Promise Farm was thankfully soft and the digger made light work of it. Again, she wondered at how deep they had to go. Earth piled up and was swiftly taken away by the hired labourers. The anthropologist held up her hand and the digger driver paused once more. She peered into the hole and touched the surrounding soil. She turned to them and shook her head.
Kelly stared at the grave. Ted folded his arms and rubbed his forehead with one hand. Kate left the tent.