At Sheffield station, Hathaway, Lewis and Innocent had a brief walk from the train platform to their awaiting taxi that would take them to the hotel. As the exited the station a black SUV was waiting for them and within minutes, after loading their luggage into the boot, they were on the move again.
As the taxi pulled away from the station, Robbie looked out onto the streets of Sheffield. He had been to the city once before, with Val. She had bought them tickets to the world snooker championships one year. That had been back in the 1980s but Robbie remembered it well; Morse had let him take some time off and they'd made a weekend of it. It had been a rare break away from Oxford for them and they'd had a wonderful time at the snooker and enjoyed a stay at the Grosvenor Hotel where many of the snooker players had been staying. It was a good memory and, as was often the case, Robbie felt himself feeling sad as he recalled it. He looked gloomily out of the taxi window as they made their way through the city. He still missed Val, he still loved her. But he knew she was gone. He had accepted that and although he still loved her, he felt as each year passed that she was slipping away from him. This was hard to come to terms with but his daughter had helped him with his feelings, encouraging him always to move on with his life. At first, he had been upset by her attitude, and he had an irrational feeling that by wanting to move on meant that somehow he had never loved Val, or not loved her enough. As time passed, however, his guilt started to fade and sometimes he wondered what it might be like to love someone again, to be with them, have someone to care for and for someone to care for him. He realised whenever this notion came upon him, his thoughts usually went to Laura. He sighed to himself as he watched the leafy green suburbs of Sheffield peter out into the brown rising moorlands of the Derbyshire Peak District. The taxi climbed upwards, gradually taking them to the edge of the city's south western boundary and then, suddenly, they were on the moorland top, the city behind them a pixelated pattern of greys and greens spread as far as the eye could see before being replaced by the browns and darker greys of what remained of the industrial quarter to the north and east of the city. Robbie glanced at the sky, blue and clear with soft clouds. It was a beautiful day but thoughts of Val and the past had tinted his mood and he looked out at the moorland with gloom as it raced by in a blur of browns and golds.
"What about you, Robbie? Have you been to the peaks before?" Innocent's question pulled him from his reflections.
"Er, No, never" He turned from the window as he replied, summoning a smile for his boss. "Have you? Ma'am? Ever been here" All efforts to get Lewis and Hathaway to use first names had fallen by the wayside and Jean Innocent had, for the time being, given up.
"Yes, I have. A good friend of mine married for the second time and the wedding and the reception was held in the peaks; it really was wonderful. The ceremony was in the White Peak and the celebration venue was in the Dark Peak"
"Ma'am?" Said Robbie, confused about dark and white peaks that Innocent had over emphasised.
"The geology, Sir" Interjected Hathaway "Three hundred and fifty million years ago the area under us was located near to the equator and was actually a vast tropical sea teaming with shellfish and other hard-bodied organisms. Over time the shells from these creatures fossilised into the limestones of the white peak area. There was also a lot of volcanic activity under the tropical seas resulting in rich mineral and lead deposits in the limestone. The gritstones that make up the dark peak are relatively younger, forming thickly on top of the limestone when sea levels changed and the area became a huge muddy delta. Not long after that, well, relatively speaking, the whole area was subject to massive tectonic movement and erosion, resulting in the landscape we see before us now. The different types of rock determine the different characteristics of the peak. Darker gritstones and white limestones, both with a distinct appearance along with distinct flora and fauna."
Hathaway finished his mini lecture with a smug smile to both Robbie and Jean.
"Ah, see, I knew Cambridge would know all about it!" exclaimed Innocent
"How the bloody hell can you pull all that off the top of your head?" Robbie said, with a look of bafflement.
"A level general studies, sir"
"Yeah, that and being a bloody swot" said Robbie, shaking his head at his sergeant's self-satisfaction.
"Well, it certainly is stunning, white or dark" said Innocent as the taxi took a sharp bend on the moorland road and suddenly, they dropped down a steep incline that unexpectedly, almost magically, gave them a surprise vista of the valley below them. From the chiseled dark gritstones that rose to the east of them, the green soft valley opened up to the western side into a huge bowl that swept upwards again to a flat green windswept plateau of grasslands crossed with stone walls and lonely collections of trees. Down in the valley, the Derwent river ran still and deep, fed by the reservoirs further up the vast valley.
The taxi took them alongside the river for a while before climbing back up into a valley that was flanked with woodland. Larches and beech trees were just coming into leaf in a colourful spray of limes and lemon greens. The road was winding and although well maintained had some sharp bends and inclines which the taxi drive seemed indifferent to. After a while the vehicle slowed and indicated a right turn into a wide treelined drive. The huge gritstone gate posts had the name Stone Edge House Hotel carved into them. The sun gleamed on the gilding in the carving and the taxi took the three colleagues up a wide driveway to the hotel that would be their base for the week.
"Well, gentlemen, this is really a turn up for the books, it's even more impressive than I was led to believe. I do think we are going to have an absolutely fantastic time here!" Said Innocent as the taxi pulled into the car park and the hotel came into view. It was a handsome building.
"Aye and all on the taxpayer" said Robbie to Innocent. She frowned at his comment but knew where he was coming from. Robbie Lewis hated anything overly extravagant or an extra burden on those that already paid enough tax back into the system after working hard.
"Yes, Robbie, that is one way of looking at it, but think what we're going to get back out of it for the benefit of those tax payers"
"Ma'am ." Said Robbie resignedly "Whatever you say" as the three of them retrieved their bags from the boot and made their way into the hotel.
As they stood at the reception desk and gave their details and were given keycards to their rooms, a tall ruggedly handsome man made an entrance into the hotel reception. He had sunkissed strawberry blond hair that, although incredibly well groomed, gave him a rugged almost wild appearance. Robbie had seen that he had arrived in an expensive 4x4 with tinted windows and he carried with him, from the car, an expensive leather hold-all. He was well dressed in expensive smart-casual clothes, denim and a crisp white linen shirt, no tie and the top buttons nonchalantly open. Robbie noticed Innocent glance at him and give him an appreciatory look that she wasn't aware she was giving. Robbie had seen this type of man before; knowingly confident sometimes arrogant but with a portfolio of credentials that backed up the impressive presence.
"Afternoon" said the man, smiling as he reached the desk as another receptionist came forward to check him in. His voice, from what Robbie could hear had a soft Scottish lilt to it. Robbie's attention was drawn away from his idle observations by the receptionist. It was second nature for Robbie to make such trivial observations. It was something that had made him a good detective and a natural flair for noticing things had set him apart from the other detective sergeants when he had worked with Morse. The man gave his name just as the receptionist gave Robbie his keycard. Robbie was distracted for a few minutes but when he stepped away from the desk to join Hathaway and Innocent, he realised he hadn't been the only one who had been keeping an eye on the man.
"Excuse me, if you don't mind me asking, did I hear correctly, Dr Mcleod is it?" Jean Innocent stepped forward towards the man just as he turned to face her
"It is" he politely replied with a charming smile
"Ah! Well may I Introduce myself, Chief Superintendent Jean Innocent from the Oxfordshire Police, I do believe you are joining us for the week?"
"Pleasure to meet you Jean, yes I'm here for the teambuilding week"
"Wonderful!" Jean Innocent gushed "Robbie, James, this is Dr Mcleod, he's from the Edinburgh Police, he's their Chief Pathologist."
"Afternoon" said Robbie "DI Robbie Lewis"
Hathaway reached forward to shake the stranger's hand "DS Hathaway" he said politely.
"I'm so glad you're joining us, Dr Mcleod" Jean continued
"Iain, please"
"Iain, yes, I've heard sterling reports about you and your department from my counterparts at Edinburgh" Jean continued and she delivered a selection of accolades to the Doctor who had now received his room key card and had picked up his bag again.
"Well, that's very kind of you to say. I'm looking forward to meeting the other participants, are they all from your department back in Oxford?"
"Mainly" said Jean "Although I do believe we have a couple of team members from Leeds and Manchester if I remember correctly"
Lewis glanced at Hathaway who was watching with interest. "That's us dumped then" Robbie said quietly. Hathaway sniffed a laugh and picked up his rucksack.
"Come on" continued Robbie "let's make a break for it. I could do with a bit of down time before this bloody meet and greet thing tonight" and the pair of them slunk off to their rooms leaving Jean Innocent still gushing to the handsome Doctor Mcleod.
Hey folks. Thanks for keeping reading! I apologise for lack of Robson interaction so far - please bear with it, we're getting there. . .
FYI if I was casting the part of Dr Iain Mcleod, I would choose to cast Iain Glen (not that I have any casting aspirations, but when writing with contemporary actors in mind, it's sometimes very easy to imagine a "part" for someone) I love Iain Glen in Game Of Thrones and think he does have a certain appeal ;) Of course this is my own vision of the character in this story. You will all have your own version of Iain Mcleod in your imagination, but if not, then Iain Glen is "cast" in this story in my own personal head canon. I have kept the name Iain as I am rubbish at thinking up names – plus it seemed to suit the character as I kept on writing.