Their Lost Daughters (DI Jackman & DS Evans #2)(49)

If Emily was there, what state would she be in? And if it was a cat? Jackman thought about the massive search party and everything it entailed, and imagined the ice cracking beneath his feet.





CHAPTER NINETEEN

As the enforcer crashed into the door, Marie began to ready herself. She had no idea what lay on the other side, and she suspected that it might haunt her for some time to come.

She looked around at her colleagues and saw that they were all becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Right now they didn’t need time to think, they needed action. It was taking too long to break down that door.

At last the door began to give way. A few seconds more and they would be in. Marie moved from foot to foot impatiently, and then looked up. Above the door hung a carefully painted sign. It read: CHILDREN’S WARD.

‘We’re through!’ The call echoed down the tunnel, and Marie’s heart lurched. She moved to Jackman’s side and steeled herself.

*

In the flickering shadows of their torches, nothing seemed real, and Jackman felt as if he had been thrust into some freakish nightmare.

He had been prepared to find either a girl’s body or a terrified teenager, possibly injured, but certainly tied up and gagged.

But it was nothing like that.

The Children’s Ward was big, some seventy feet long. Along the entire length of the far wall stretched a row of metal-framed hospital beds, all with pillows.

Covers.

Occupants.

Jackman clapped a hand over his mouth. His wide eyes travelled slowly down the row. How many were there, for God’s sake? The silver beam of his Maglite caught the pillows and revealed decaying flesh and skulls.

There were shocked murmurs and someone retched.

‘Stay where you are! Keep back, all of you. I want no one contaminating this scene,’ he said steadily.

‘There’s a light bulb!’ A torch beam pointed upwards and someone called out, ‘My God, there’s electricity down here!’

‘There’s a switch here.’ Jackman recognised Gary’s voice. ‘DI Jackman? Shall I?’

Jackman noted Gary Pritchard’s thoughtfulness. He had known what the shock of illuminating the scene without warning might have done to his colleagues.

Jackman’s voice betrayed no hint of emotion. ‘Do it, Gary. We’re ready. Just think about Emily. We have to find her as quickly as we can.’

Gary flicked the switch. Thankfully the light was dim. A string of low wattage lamps swung from the ceiling, although they did little to soften the horror that surrounded them.

‘Get that bloody camera working, Mr Watchman!’ Jackman called out. ‘We need to locate her without contaminating the whole place. If you can bear to, just find out which one is still alive, and if you haven’t the stomach, give the camera to me.’

As Ted lifted the camera, Jackman called Marie to his side, and together they appraised the scene.

All the beds except one held a body. Beside each bed was a small cabinet, with a small glass vase of freshly picked flowers. The “patients” lay silently, some younger, some older. Their hands were folded over the top of the sheets, and their heads rested on faded dusty pillows. Marie counted out loud. There were thirteen of them.

Some were like sleeping dolls, some nothing but bare bones and fleshless skulls. Some had the translucent parchment skin of a mummy, while others were still putrefying, which accounted for the sickening stench.

Suddenly Ted called out. ‘I’ve picked her up! She’s in the third bed from the end!’

‘Get the medics! Marie! With me.’

Jackman ran down the row until he saw rich dark hair cascading over a fresh pillowslip.

‘Oh, Emily,’ he breathed. ‘We’ve got you. We’ve got you now.’ He took the girl’s hand in his and looked up at Marie. ‘It’s cold, but not deathly cold.’

He called out to Ted. ‘Could you face checking the other beds with the camera? Most of them are all long gone, but maybe . . .’

‘Is she . . . ?’ Ted called back. ‘I mean, I saw heat still in her. She can’t be . . . ?’

‘I have no idea, Ted.’ Jackman touched Emily’s neck, desperately feeling for a pulse, but he felt nothing. ‘She might be alive, but I think she’s been heavily drugged. She needs medical attention, and fast.’

The heavy camera shook in his hands as Ted swept the room. ‘She’s the only one, I’m afraid.’

‘Okay. I didn’t expect anything else, but we needed to check. Thank you, Ted.’

‘Not quite the kind of discovery I’m used to unearthing,’ said the young man shakily. ‘Thank God.’

Jackman stood up. ‘Marie, check whether there is another way in or out. The rest of you, get back down the tunnel. Tell the sergeant that this whole area, house and grounds, are to be sealed off. No one in and, apart from the medics and an escort, no one out.’

He looked at his team, all of them poised, ready for instruction.

‘Rosie, we need the pathologist. Speak to Rory Wilkinson, and tell him to muster as many scene-of-crime officers as he can. He’ll have to ask other districts for help. In order to avoid cross-contamination there has to be one SOCO for each victim, so he’s going to need a truck-load. Somehow we have to get Emily to safety and still try to preserve the integrity of this scene for forensics.’