Secrets and Lies

"New Forest's a big place," Phoebe commented. "You really think we're going to find something just wandering around? In this weather?"

I shrugged as I set my phone on the table next to my plate then opened the maps app, "Emma gave us some clues. I'm going to see if we can't narrow it down before we get out there. As for the weather, not much we can do about that I'm afraid."

The redhead looked thoughtful as she had another sip of her ale. Finally she lowered her voice and commented, "If we had those bloody police reports we'd have exact locations for the other attacks. Then at least we'd have someplace tangible to start from."

"We've got a general location," I reminded her. "Emma said east of Brockenhurst. And for that matter Ms. Townsend said she and her wife were in a B&B in that same area. So it seems like the most likely place to start our search."

My partner didn't bother responding that time. Instead she had another bite of her lunch, so I did the same. She'd picked a fancy old fifteenth-century pub right downtown on High Street. The place offered a typical selection of pub fare, and I figured being in another port town I'd give their fish and chips a try. Phoebe followed my lead but where I was having the battered cod she went for the scampi. She also ordered a half pint of ale, while I opted for a glass of cola. In all it was a decent meal, and the prices were certainly fair.

"Here's something," I commented as I focused on my phone again. "The Lymington River is only about half a kilometre east from Brockenhurst. Emma said the area we're looking for is bounded by a river and three hills, right?"

I swiped a little further then smiled, "And there's the hills. Irons Hill, Round Hill, and Furze Hill."

Phoebe frowned, "What else did our little witch say? There's supposed to be a campsite, right? And what was the other thing?"

"There's a caravan park just past Round Hill," I stated as I tapped my phone screen. Then I frowned, "Emma also said it was a beautiful place. Or that there was someplace beautiful nearby? Either way I suppose we won't know for sure until we get there and see for ourselves."

"Beauty's subjective anyways," she shrugged.

I nodded, "Yeah true enough. It looks like there's plenty of hiking trails in the area so we shouldn't have any trouble getting there. Although from the satellite view it looks like it's heavily wooded in spots."

After that we both focused on our lunch for the next few minutes. The fish was nice enough I didn't want to let it get cold. And the chips were good too. Meanwhile Phoebe seemed to be enjoying her scampi, along with her ale.

Eventually the busty redhead asked, "So you reckon you've found the area Emma was talking about, how big is it?"

"I don't know for sure it's the right spot," I responded as I looked at my phone again. "It seems to match her description, but then that was pretty vague to begin with."

I paused a moment to check the map scale then made an educated guess, "From the river to the campground's almost one and a half kilometres. And from the north-most hill to the south-most looks to be just under a kilometre."

Phoebe frowned, "So roughly one and a half square kilometres. That's a hundred and fifty hectares, and you said it's heavily wooded? You think the two of us are going to search all that in a single afternoon?"

"It's not all wooded," I clarified. "Based on the satellite view some of it is, but there's fields too. And trails. And I never said we were going to search it all. But I definitely think we should go and check it out."

After a gulp of cola I added, "Sooner or later detective work almost always involves boots on the ground. You can't do it all looking at screens from the comfort of your hotel room. Or a table in the pub. I'm sure you know that."

"Aye," she pouted. "Martin and I went through a similar process in the North York Moors. Doesn't mean I have to like it though. And the weather out there isn't going to make it any easier."

"You don't have to like it, you just have to do it," I responded with a smile.

From there we spent the next twenty or thirty minutes enjoying the rest of our meal, before we were finally ready to get going. We emerged from the pub to find it was raining pretty good, so the two of us made a quick dash to Phoebe's Grandland. Then once we were settled and I had the engine started I took a few moments to set our destination on the vehicle's satnav, and that's when I found the last piece of the puzzle Emma set out for us.

"Check it out!" I said as I gestured to the screen. "The last leg of our drive has us on Beaulieu Road, before we have to set out on foot."

"Ok? What of it?" Phoebe asked.

I smiled, "Beau is French for beautiful, and I'm fairly certain Lieu means place. I don't remember her exact wording, but maybe she didn't mean the site itself was a beautiful place. Maybe she was saying it was bounded by a beautiful place. As in Beaulieu Road."

The redhead shrugged, "Doesn't seem to help us much, since you've already picked the area based on her other clues."

"I just hope she wasn't talking about Beaulieu village," she added with a grimace, as she gestured to another spot on the map. "That's what, another couple kilometres east. And look at that, three more hills. And another river or stream or something running past."

That left me with a sinking sensation in my stomach as I stared at the satnav, "Yeah... Honey Hill, Hawk Hill, and Moon Hill. And the whole area's wooded, and it's even further east of Brockenhurst."

After a second or two I shook my head, "We'll continue with the current plan and have a look at this first area today, since it's closer to where Ms. Townsend was attacked. If nothing comes of it, maybe we'll check out that other spot tomorrow. Or maybe we'll get another lead from Emma, or Terry might have those police reports."

My partner didn't argue, but she was pouting pretty good as I finally put the Grandland in gear. According to the on-screen directions we had about forty-five minutes of driving ahead of us, before we'd have to get out and walk. And unfortunately the low clouds and constant drizzle made it hard to enjoy the view.

The satnav actually took us through the village of Beaulieu and past one of those other hills, before we reached the area I'd identified based on Emma's vague directions. I slowed right down as we got closer to our destination, and both Phoebe and I tried to find the correct trail head.

There were a few along that stretch of road, and we ended up driving past three of them before I finally pulled the SUV off onto the left shoulder next to what I believed to be the correct one. It was on the south side of the road, and led almost directly towards the nearest of the three hills in our target location.

"Let's try and avoid anything too muddy out there, alright?" Phoebe commented as she looked out the passenger window with a frown.

I asked, "Don't tell me you're afraid of getting a little muck on your pretty shoes?"

There was a bit of a teasing tone in my voice, but I was also genuinely curious if she was really that bothered about getting dirty. She wasn't even wearing anything that fancy, neither of us were. She wore a warm autumn jacket over a long-sleeve tee, dark jeans, and walking shoes. I'd put on slacks and a blouse today, I had an autumn jacket overtop of my hoodie, and a pair of sturdy sensible shoes completed my ensemble. I'd also skipped carrying a purse again, and just stuffed everything I needed into my jacket and hoodie pockets.

The redhead pouted, "I'm not looking forward to cleaning mud out of my shoes, but mostly I don't want us tracking a load of it back on our clothes. It's a real hassle getting my Grandland properly detailed."

I rolled my eyes, "We can wipe our feet on some grass, or stomp any mud off on the pavement before we get back in your precious SUV."

She continued to grumble quietly as we both finally emerged from the vehicle. The ground wasn't so bad right next to the road, but it got worse as we ventured into the woods. And it wasn't long before we were both feeling cold and clammy, thanks to the constant drizzle still falling from the low grey clouds.

Phoebe finally quit her complaining after another minute or so, after that we were both focused on our surroundings as we continued following the trail. That took us around the side of one of those three hills, then eastward for a while before a sharp turn to the south-west. At that point I pulled out my phone to check the map and get an idea of where we were in relation to the area I wanted to see.

In all we probably spent a good thirty or forty minutes trying to avoid the larger puddles and the obvious muddy patches as the trail led us up and down hills and through the woods. Eventually it opened up into a large rectangular field, and that's where the two of us came to a stop.

I couldn't help feeling a little disheartened, even though I knew realistically it was a long-shot and we weren't likely to actually find anything. On the other hand I was sure we both had a good feel for the terrain, and it was certainly easy to see how a lone hiker like Ms. Townsend could run into serious trouble out there.

"I think we're roughly in the middle of those the three hills," I commented after glancing at my phone again.

Phoebe scowled as she slowly turned on the spot, "I don't see anything, apart from this muddy field. And the muddy trails. And the damp trees, low clouds, and drizzle."

I rolled my eyes again then gestured to the right, "It probably won't be as wet in those woods over there. The river's off that way too, and if I'm not mistaken we're only about a hundred meters from the centre of Emma's boundaries."

The redhead grumbled a bit before agreeing, "Fine. But I'm going to need a nice hot bath after this."

"Ok princess," I teased. "We can even get you room service when we get back to the hotel, so you won't have to go out in the horrible weather again tonight."

"I'm taking you up on that," she stated as the two of us set off to the right.

Unfortunately the woods in that direction weren't as dense as I'd expected, and the soggy ground squelched beneath our shoes as we walked. That and the fact that the terrain wasn't level meant we had to exercise a little more care not to slip or fall. This stretch wasn't too treacherous, but there was a bit of a downward slope in the direction we were moving.

It was only another half minute before we found ourselves on a cleared path that didn't appear on my maps app. We followed it for another hundred and fifty meters before it joined with an older trail that was on the map.

After pausing for a bit of mental calculations I gestured to the right again, "That way for about sixty or seventy meters. Then we turn left and set off into the woods."

"Yes ma'am," Phoebe responded in a slightly sarcastic tone.

I could tell she was just acting bratty, rather than being genuinely unhappy or upset. So I teased again, "Careful Feebs, or I might get used to you addressing me like that. Or if not ma'am then maybe 'Miss Sharpe' will do."

Her cheeks coloured and she pouted, but otherwise kept quiet as the two of us continued along the trail.

"This is good here," I added after another glance at my phone. I nodded towards the thicker trees on our left, "I'd like to have a look in there. Assuming this is the place Emma was talking about, the very middle of the area is a couple dozen meters in that direction."

As I led my assistant off the trail I added, "Watch your step. It looks like the slope gets a little steeper just up ahead here."

Phoebe didn't even have a chance to respond before both of us were startled by the appearance of a soldier, in full military combat fatigues. They emerged from behind a large tree and some dense brush just a few meters ahead of us, and stepped directly into our path.

"Halt," they stated in a firm commanding tone, with their left hand raised in a 'stop' gesture while their right hand rested on the grip of a pistol they wore in a holster at their right hip. "Restricted area. You must leave immediately."

At first glance I'd thought they were a woman, but after a moment I realized their appearance was androgynous enough that I wasn't comfortable making any assumptions at all. They stood over a hundred and eighty centimetres tall, and seemed to have a strong athletic build. Their hair was trimmed short so only a few sandy blonde ends peeked out from under their helmet. I couldn't see any evidence of facial hair on their well-tanned cheeks, and even their voice was in between typical masc and femme vocal ranges.

As for their uniform, I was no expert but everything seemed genuine right down to the British Army insignia and rank chevrons. Same with the gun their right hand was still resting on. Except if they really were a soldier then it looked like they weren't taking very good care of their gear. Either that or they'd been out here on patrol in the rain and mud for quite some time. As in several days, or maybe even weeks.

Their combat boots were caked in mud as were their pants, especially from around the knees on down. Even the sleeves of their jacket were dirty, and the more I looked the more signs of wear I noticed. From a couple missing buttons to the fraying hem on the cuffs. There were even a few small tears in the fabric.

Meanwhile Phoebe scowled, "Oi! This is a National Park, how can it be restricted? If you lot decided to set up camp and do military exercises here then you ought to be posting notices at the trail heads! How'd you expect people to keep out if you don't actually tell them that?"

Instead of responding the soldier started to look stressed. Their left hand was still raised in that 'stop' gesture, but it wavered slightly. And their right hand gripped their pistol a little tighter, but they made no move to actually draw the weapon yet.

The situation was suddenly very tense, but something about it wasn't adding up. Then I thought of that magic book I'd been reading, and the 'truth spell' it mentioned. I couldn't help wishing I'd learned that one first instead of the light spell. It certainly would have come in handy here. For now though, I decided our best bet was to do what we were told. After all, they were armed. And we had no way of knowing if they were alone.

I double-checked their rank insignia and noted the name 'F. Radley' on their chest, then I addressed them in a calm conciliatory tone. "It's alright Corporal Radley, my friend and I are leaving. We didn't know the area was restricted. I'm sorry we interrupted whatever you folks are up to."

"Come on," I added firmly to my partner. "I promised you a hot bath and room service when we got back to the hotel, remember?"

Phoebe glanced at me, then nodded once. "Aye. I'm going to hold you that."

The corporal stayed put and watched silently as the two of us turned and made our way back to the trail. Nobody said a word as I glanced at my phone again to get my bearings. Then we trudged away to the north, back towards the road where we'd left the SUV.