‘Her father was adamant that she always kept in touch. Wherever she was and however much trouble she was in, she always texted him every few days to make sure he knew she was okay. And on this day, she stopped,’ Ruth said.
‘I ran the plate of this Land Rover through the DVLA. It’s registered to a Simon Walters ... And guess what Simon Walter’s registered address is?’ Nick said with knowing look.
‘Solace Farm,’ Ruth said.
I don’t like coincidences, she thought.
‘But we don’t know if she’s still there?’ Drake asked.
‘Not at the moment, sir. But we do know that eighteen months ago she was picked up by Simon Walters who lives on Solace Farm, and she was never heard from again,’ Nick said darkly.
‘That’s great work, Nick,’ Ruth said with an element of pride.
‘Unfortunately, I don’t think it stops there, boss. I’ve checked back through Mold Magistrates’ Court records for teenagers that fit the profile of both Callum Roper and Ketha Langley. I then cross-checked those that had been released on some kind of bail or community order. It gave me a list of twenty-two teenagers. Five of them went missing shortly after they got bail and have never been heard of since. No one looks very hard for them because everyone assumes they’ve skipped bail and gone on the run. I’ve got a list of addresses for their families,’ Nick said.
Drake shot a dark look over at Ruth. ‘Do we think that these kids are being taken to Solace Farm once they’ve got bail?’
Ruth shrugged. ‘Maybe they’re being targeted? They’re offered a free bed, hot food, and shelter in the middle of nowhere. They get taken up to Solace Farm where Rachel Ryan attempts to brainwash them.’
‘What about Callum Roper? Or Ketha Langley? Drake asked.
‘Maybe Rachel Ryan doesn’t like it when these teenagers decide they don’t want their souls saved and want to leave the farm?’ Ruth suggested.
‘And maybe they just don’t get to leave?’ Drake suggested darkly.
IT WAS NOW DARK OUTSIDE and Rachel had called an emergency meeting of The Family. As she thumbed through her copy of the Bible, they all sat on the tiered benches of the chapel talking in low voices.
Rachel was pre-occupied. Sian had left them an hour ago and she knew that Sian had been lying to her. Her body language and tone couldn’t disguise the lies that she had told. Rachel was a prophet with a power ordained from Our Lord. She could see things others couldn’t see. Sometimes it was a gift, and sometimes it was a burden.
She was convinced that the North Wales Police force was beginning an operation against them. The visit of the detectives asking about Thomas and the night of his death. The sudden appearance of two people down the road in a disused cottage. She was anxious that it wouldn’t be long before the police raided them and discovered the truth about ‘the leavers’. She had prayed and asked for God’s guidance.
Rachel turned to a couple of men that she had spoken to earlier and gave them a nod. The men came forward with a long wooden box which they placed on the central table. She could see that the members of The Family were wondering what was inside the heavy box.
All in God’s good time, she thought.
She moved out into the centre of the chapel. ‘I have brought you all in here this evening because the signs that I have looked for all my life are beginning to take shape. The process of Armageddon, as foretold in Revelations, has started. It will pave the way for the Second Coming of Christ Our Lord.’ Rachel held up a copy of a newspaper. ‘Our planet is beginning the process of destroying itself. The fires that now rage in Australia and South America are unprecedented. A plague that will spread to us from China will kill millions. Are these coincidences?’ she asked in a booming voice.
‘No, Rachel,’ members of The Family replied dutifully.
‘No. Of course they’re not! They are signs from God for us to prepare. And here, in our beautiful enclave of Snowdonia, we are being questioned and we are being watched.’
The members of The Family nodded in total agreement, as they always did.
Rachel held up her Bible and showed them the pages of Revelations.
‘The Book of Revelation describes us, the chosen few, in these very lines as living in a land of beautiful mountains. That we have settled in “... the valley of the passengers.” Rachel pointed outside. ‘Revelations describes a place just like Solace Farm. And then it tells us we are God’s passengers, waiting to welcome Jesus Christ again to Earth as he transports us to eternal salvation while the rest perish. And that’s why we are here, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, Rachel!’ The Family responded.
Rachel then slammed the Bible down onto the table with a BANG for dramatic effect. ‘But! ... But Revelations also tells us that we must be vigilant of “... invaders who will cover our land.” That we must prepare ourselves for the final battle. We have seen the detectives, instruments of a secular state, coming to question our ways. And we have now seen them down the road, spying and judging us in preparation to take away everything that we hold dear. Are we going to allow that to happen?’
‘No Rachel!’ came the rallying cry.
Rachel could see the growing zeal amongst The Family as her voice grew louder and her words more passionate and urgent.
‘No! Instead we will fight for what we believe. We will fight for what we know to be right. And we will fight for the Lord Our God and Saviour. And these invaders will be finally defeated by a judgement of fire coming down from heaven. And those that have ignored or rejected the word of God will be cast into the lake of fire to burn in pain forever.’
Rachel felt the surge of power that coursed through her veins in that moment.
‘And if we are to fight, then we must be prepared and we must be armed. As it says in Psalm 144, “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle,”’ she thundered.
The men used a crowbar to take the lid off the wooden box. Inside was an array of shotguns, rifles, and two automatic assault rifles. Rachel had known that this day was going to come. She wasn’t going to try and defend Solace Farm only with the handful of weapons that the local police had allowed her to have officially with her firearms licence. It had taken nearly a decade to amass the stock of weapons, but Rachel was confident that they would keep them safe.
‘We have weapons here. And if you feel the strength of Our Lord telling you to take up arms - to protect you, your family and your Lord God Almighty - then I want you to come here and stand in line. You will receive a weapon to help us protect what we have here,’ Rachel said.
Without hesitation, nearly every man and many women in the congregation stood and formed an orderly queue.
As each adult member of the family was handed a weapon, Rachel felt an immense sense of pride and well-being.
‘The final battle of Armageddon will be upon us soon – and we will be prepared!’
CHAPTER 17
Ruth had arrived at the surveillance cottage with mixed emotions. She was looking forward to seeing Sian – was that even okay? However, the developments in the case were weighing heavily on her. Callum Roper and Ketha Langley both had troubled backgrounds, a bail release from Mold Magistrates’ Court, and a connection to Solace Farm and Rachel Ryan. Callum was dead and Ketha was missing. There were also other similar teenagers missing. Were they all connected?
Sian handed Ruth a cup of tea in the gloomy dimness of the kitchen in the cottage, ‘Here you go, boss.’
They looked at each other in the shadows and smiled. Sian took her hand for a moment and pulled Ruth gently towards her. Ruth pointed upstairs to where French was keeping watch and gestured to Sian that they needed to be quiet.
‘It’s all right. Dan’s got headphones on. Some boring history podcast,’ Sian whispered and then gave a giggle as they kissed.
Ruth couldn’t help herself - the kiss became passionate and she spilt her tea. She didn’t care.
‘You okay?’ she asked.
&nbs
p; Sian nodded. ‘Yeah. Why?’
‘You didn’t tell me much about your time up at the farm.’
Sian shrugged. ‘Not much to tell. I went to Abel’s birthday party. It was like any other kids’ party I’ve ever been to. Maybe a bit old-fashioned but nothing more than that. Then Rachel Ryan took me for a tour of the farm.’
‘Really? What was that like?’ Ruth asked, now fascinated.
‘It was okay. Men and women sleep in separate parts of the farm, unless they have kids. Then we sat in the chapel for a while. To be honest, it was beautiful,’ Sian said.
Something about the way Sian relayed this unnerved Ruth. It wasn’t like a police officer reporting back to a boss. There was something different and Ruth couldn’t put her finger on it.
‘You think she was on to you?’ Ruth asked.
Sian shrugged. ‘I don’t think so. She thinks I’m a teacher. If she did suspect anything, she hid it very well.’
‘And what’s she like, Rachel Ryan? I’ve only met her for a few minutes, and I’m guessing she was on her guard,’ Ruth said.
Sian looked deep in thought. ‘She’s definitely got something about her.’
‘You mean she’s fit?’ Ruth asked, teasing and giving her a nudge.
‘No ... I mean yes, she is. But some of the stuff she was saying made a lot of sense. When I look back over my life, what kind of person do I want to have been? I think her unquestionable faith gives her this air of spirituality,’ Sian said.
‘Oh my God, Sian. She got to you, didn’t she?’ Ruth was only half joking. Sian certainly seemed slightly different. ‘Please don’t run off and join a religious cult. I don’t think Llancastell CID would ever live it down.’
Ruth realised that her comment was a little too close to home with Sian’s plans to go to Swansea.
‘Fuck off. I’m not joining any cult. I just like to think and talk about things on a higher level than what I’m having for tea or who’s getting kicked out of Love Island,’ Sian said.
‘I hate Love Island!’ Ruth joked.
‘I’m not talking about you, dummy. We haven’t lived together for six months and not everything is to do with you,’ Sian said in a slightly cutting tone.
Ruth knew she was being self-absorbed – again. She gestured upstairs. ‘I’d better check in with our silver-spooned colleague or it will look weird.’
She put the tea down and went up the creaky wooden stairs, with Sian following. She felt Sian pinch her bum, and giggled.
‘What are you laughing at?’ came a voice from the bedroom.
Bollocks! French is clearly not listening to his podcast.
‘Dan. Thought I’d come and check how you two are getting on,’ Ruth said, flipping into DI mode.
‘It’s fascinating stuff, boss,’ French said sarcastically, as he stretched out his arms and his back with a yawn.
‘And no sign of Ketha Langley?’ Ruth asked.
‘No, boss. Nothing,’ Sian replied.
‘You sure?’
‘Ketha Langley is mixed race, boss. And so far, we haven’t seen anyone who’s not white up there.’
‘Anything else out of the ordinary?’ Ruth queried.
‘Dan spotted some heavy boxes being moved across the yard about an hour ago,’ Sian said.
‘Heavy boxes?’ Ruth asked.
‘Crates. Probably four or five foot long,’ Dan explained.
Something about what he was describing didn’t sit well with her.
‘Did you get photos?’
‘Yes, boss,’ he replied.
‘Send them over tonight so we can have a look,’ Ruth said. ‘I’m not sure I like the sound of that.’
Ruth’s instinct told her that not only should they be worried about what had been going on at Solace Farm, but also how they might react to being investigated.
AS NICK DROVE HOME, he felt a little more confident that Amanda had turned a corner after the events of the previous night. She had spent two hours speaking to her sponsor. Nick and Amanda had talked into the early hours and made love for the first time in weeks. Amanda buying booze had been a wake-up call, but at least she hadn’t had a drink.
Nick had stopped at the shops again – this time for nappies. He had bought the ingredients for spaghetti carbonara which he had promised to make for Amanda. To be honest, there were only a handful of dishes that Nick could make off the cuff, but he did pride himself on making a mean carbonara.
As he came in through the front door, his phone rang. It was Ruth.
‘Boss? Everything okay?’ he asked as he closed the door behind him.
‘You’re my gun nerd, aren’t you?’
‘Erm, I’m not sure “gun nerd” is the right term. But yes, I do have a slightly unhealthy interest in firearms, stemming from watching too many American movies on tv as a kid,’ he joked.
‘Okay. I’ve got some photos that Dan’s taken ...’ Ruth said.
‘Yeah, I did tell him that if he keeps photographing his neighbours undressing then he’s going to lose his job,’ Nick quipped.
Ruth laughed. ‘Funny ... No, the guys up at Solace Farm seem to be doing some heavy lifting of large boxes. Can you take a look? Let me know what you think?’
‘Yes, boss,’ Nick said.
‘Everything okay at home?’ Ruth asked.
Nick started to make his way through the ground floor. ‘So far, so good. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
Ending the call, he noticed dark stains on the carpets. Kneeling down, he dabbed on one and inspected his index finger closely.
Blood!
Shit! What the hell is going on?
‘Amanda?’ Nick yelled anxiously.
His stomach tightened.
Jesus. Where are they?
Racing through the living room, Nick got to the kitchen. It was a total mess. Food and dirty plates all over the table.
‘Amanda?’ he called again.
More worrying was a chair that had been tipped over onto the floor.
Shit! Has there been some kind of struggle in here. Where are the girls?
Then he saw it. An empty bottle of wine and a half bottle of vodka on the table in amongst the mess.
Oh God, no.
Sprinting for the stairs, drips of blood on the carpeted steps leading the way.
‘Amanda? Where are you?’ Nick bellowed, now feeling utterly sick with fear. His breathing was quick and shallow.
‘Nick?’ said a voice quietly.
Running along the landing, he saw a figure coming out of Megan’s bedroom. It was Amanda and she was holding Megan in a small blanket.
Her hands, the blanket, and Megan were covered in blood. He could see that Amanda was shaking.
‘I’m so sorry,’ Amanda sobbed.
‘What happened? What’s going on?’ Nick screamed at her. He could hardly get his breath as his heart thundered in his chest.
Please God, don’t let anything have happened to Megan!
Launching himself forward, Nick grabbed Megan and quickly checked to see where the blood was coming from.
Is she cut somewhere? Where is the blood coming from?
‘It’s my blood. She’s fine. Megan’s fine. I’m so sorry. I cut my arm,’ Amanda sobbed as she sunk to the floor in a heap.
Nick checked Megan all over.
Thank God!
He could see she was unharmed. Her pink babygrow was smeared with blood, as were her tiny hands.
Thank God, she’s okay.
Nick sank to his knees and asked, ‘Where are you cut?’
Amanda looked up, her face smeared with make-up and tears.
Feeling his anger turn to pity and concern, Nick took her arm and saw a series of lacerations on her left wrist.
‘Did you do this to yourself?’ he asked quietly.
‘I don’t know ... I can’t remember,’ Amanda said through gasps. She smelled of alcohol.
‘I’m going to get you an ambulance. And then I’m going to get you some help. Okay? Don’t
worry ...’ Nick said as he looked down at Megan who was gurgling and kicking her legs obliviously.
‘Don’t hate me, Nick. Please don’t hate me,’ Amanda sniffled as she wept.
Nick put his hand to her face. ‘I don’t hate you. I love you. I just want you to get better.’
Taking his phone from his pocket, he rang for an ambulance.
He then sat back against the wall, his arm around Amanda and with Megan cradled to his chest.
CHAPTER 18
It was mid-morning. Ruth was on her way to pick up Nick from Llancastell University Hospital. He had been very vague but told her that he was okay and for her not to worry. She wondered if it had something to do with Amanda. Ruth knew she was struggling at home but Nick had said little about it recently.
Pulling up outside the main hospital entrance, Ruth gave Nick a friendly wave and he got into the car.
He gave an audible sigh as he fastened his seatbelt. He looked tired.
‘What’s going on?’ Ruth asked.
‘I found Amanda drunk and covered in blood last night,’ he said quietly.
‘Oh my God. What about Megan?’ Ruth asked, feeling startled by what Nick had told her.
‘She’s fine. Amanda accidentally cut her arm. She was holding Megan who was covered in blood. It was basically a nightmare,’ Nick said.
‘What the bloody hell are you doing coming to work, Nick?’ Ruth snapped.
‘They kept Amanda in overnight. She’s in the psychiatric ward for tests today. Auntie Pat has Megan. All I’ll do is sit in there and feel sick with worry,’ Nick said, gesturing to the hospital.
‘Can’t you sit with Amanda?’
‘No. She’s been sedated and I can’t see her until later.’
‘I told you to take some leave, didn’t I?’ Ruth growled.
‘Seriously. If I don’t keep busy working, I’ll drive myself mad. I’m not known for my mental stability,’ Nick said.
Ruth could see that Nick was insistent that staying at home was not an option. As a recovering alcoholic, maybe he was best keeping busy and being around other people.
The Solace Farm Killings: A Snowdonia Murder Mystery (A DI Ruth Hunter Crime Thriller Book 7) Page 11