Their Lost Daughters (DI Jackman & DS Evans #2)(50)

He glanced down at the recumbent figure on the bed.

‘Gary, I want Benedict Broome and Micah Lee picked up immediately. Arrest them on suspicion of murder and abduction. We can’t have them talking to each other, so I suggest you take Broome to Saltern where I can interview him, and send Lee to Harlan Marsh. They still have a custody suite, don’t they, Gary?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Then do that.’ He turned to the waiting uniforms. ‘The sergeant and I will stay with Emily. Everyone else should get out. And not a word to anyone, especially the suspects, understand? I need to debrief you all before this gets out. We do not know what we are dealing with here.’

‘Other than a murdering, son-of-a-bitch monster,’ muttered a shaky voice.

‘Exactly. So talk to no one. Understand? Not a soul.’

As the echoes of their footsteps died away, Jackman and Marie went to Emily’s bedside and stared down at her pale face. Marie gently touched her cheek with the back of her finger.

‘You were right, Toni was telling the truth. Emily does exist.’

Jackman still held Emily’s hand in his. ‘Let’s pray that the paramedics shift their arses, because I’m really not sure that she’ll make it. Poor kid, what she’s suffered. I can’t even begin to imagine it.’

Marie continued to gaze down at her. ‘Thankfully, it hasn’t been long since she was abducted. She’s pretty bruised, but she seems to be relatively unharmed . . . well, on the surface at least.’ Marie turned to look at all the other beds.

‘My God, sir, what on earth has gone on here?’

He looked down the row of beds. ‘God knows, Marie. The things the human mind can dream up are beyond belief.’

‘Human? Are you sure about that?’

Jackman waved his hand. ‘Look around you, Marie. Their beds are neat and tidy. Their hair, what’s left of it, is brushed. There are flowers beside their beds, and the lockers look clean enough to feature in a sodding Flash advert. He’s taken more care of these poor souls than some people do their sick relatives.’

‘Just a shame he had to kill them first,’ growled Marie.

‘It’s too twisted to get your head around.’

‘You’re not kidding.’ After a while Marie added, ‘Do you think there is any chance that we will find Kenya Black here?’

It had been one of the first things Jackman had thought of when he saw the bodies. ‘I don’t think so. There are no really small children that I can see.’

‘But what if she had been kept incarcerated for years, then . . . disposed of?’ Marie shivered and glanced towards the doorway. ‘Where’s that sodding ambulance crew?’

‘I know it’s a crime scene and we have to process it, but they don’t pay us enough to have to cope with a nightmare like this one,’ Jackman said.

‘I’m not sure that finding the Lost Kingdom of the Dead is dealt with in the guidelines for police procedure and crime scene management, do you?’

‘Maybe I’ll write an addendum when I have a moment.’ He let out a sigh of relief, ‘I hear footsteps.’

Two green-clad paramedics, led by a uniformed constable, entered the room.

‘Oh sweet Jesus!’ The first man bundled his equipment bag under one arm and crossed himself.

‘Over here!’ Jackman called out. ‘She’s in a bad way.’

The two paramedics hurried towards them, the second man pulling a trolley behind him and looking from side to side with a horrified expression.

‘Look, just forget what’s surrounding you, and do your best for this girl, okay?’ Marie stared down at her. ‘Her name is Emily and we have reason to believe that she’s been heavily sedated.’

With an effort, the medic gathered himself. ‘If you’d just stand back, we’ve got her now. Do we know what she’s been given?’

Jackman shook his head. ‘Another girl who was with her recently was given some sort of benzodiazepine. A new kind of roofie, possible street name “Ooblie,” if that helps?’

‘Oh, that lethal bloody stuff. It’s possible, and her symptoms seem to match, but I’m pretty sure that’s not all she’s had. Well, we’ll do what we can here and then get her in an ambulance.’

It took ten minutes to get a line in, some fluids going and a heart monitor in place, and then Emily was carefully secured to the stretcher, and wheeled away from hell.

As he left, the paramedic gave them the thumbs-up.

The silence fell like a thick cloak around them and Jackman decided they should wait outside for the pathologist.

There was no one left for them to help.

Jackman took one last look around at the line of dead youngsters sleeping peacefully in their neat beds, when suddenly it hit him. ‘Why the hell didn’t I notice that before?’

Marie halted in the doorway. ‘Notice what?’

‘There are names over the beds. Look! Little plaques, with a single name on them.’ He began to walk down the long line of hospital beds. ‘Corrie, Tessa, Annie, Lucy . . . Shit! The killer has left us their names! I’ve been so involved with getting Emily to safety that I’ve forgotten my basic scene-of-crime protocol. We must check each bed. And we need to look for Kenya.’

Jackman stopped at one of the much older beds and peered at the label. ‘Damn it, most of them have faded with age. We’ll need the lab after all.’ He let out a long sigh.