The Solace Farm Killings: A Snowdonia Murder Mystery (A DI Ruth Hunter Crime Thriller Book 7)

by Simon McCleave

  ‘I’m looking for the children. Has anyone found out where they are?’ Sian asked breathlessly. Then she had a thought.

  The freezer room in the dining room. Could they be in there?

  The officer pointed with a leather-gloved hand towards the door. ‘I need you to get out of this building before it collapses. Go now!’

  Before she could say anything, he had turned and disappeared into the smoke and fire.

  Sian tried to get her bearings. She knew she was relatively close to the dining room, but the smoke was getting thicker and it was harder to breath. The heat increased on her face as she fought her way down the corridor.

  The double doors to the dining room were up ahead. She gagged on the smoke. She felt sick. The skin in her nostrils seemed to burn as she took in each breath.

  Reaching the doors, she gave them an almighty kick. They flew open. The dining room was thick with smoke. Flames lapped at the ceiling above. Glancing around, she desperately tried to see across to the freezer room.

  Suddenly, a small figure appeared out of the smoke. It was Abel. He coughed.

  Sian crouched down and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. ‘Abel, are you okay?’

  He nodded and put his hand to his watering eyes.

  ‘I need to get you out of here. Where are all the other children?’ she asked.

  Abel turned and pointed towards the door of the refrigerated room.

  ‘In there. I can show you,’ he said, as he turned and began to walk back towards the door.

  Thank God they’re all safe and in one place.

  There was a sharp crack from above.

  Sian looked up. A flaming piece of timber had broken from the ceiling.

  As it swung loose, it began to fall towards the floor.

  Sian looked on in horror as she realised that Abel was directly beneath it.

  Diving full stretch, she pushed both hands into Abel’s back and sent him flying out of harm’s way.

  She rolled onto her back and screamed as the large piece of wood landed across her legs.

  For a few seconds, she was in a total daze. The wind had been knocked out of her as she fell, and she was desperately trying to work out what had happened.

  She tried to move, but she was trapped under the smouldering beam.

  Bloody hell! I’m completely stuck!

  The smoke was dense, but she could see the sky through the gap in the roof. A hazy figure loomed above her and, as she wiped the soot from her eyes, she saw that Rachel was pointing a revolver at her.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Sian groaned.

  ‘Saving you.’

  CHAPTER 33

  Ruth had managed to stand. She felt a sharp pain shooting from her left knee, and as she glanced down she saw a shard of glass embedded in the skin just above it. Taking a deep breath, she pulled it from her leg with a wince.

  Fuck, that really hurt!

  To her relief, she saw that Nick was now also on his feet. Looking down, she noticed a small pink rucksack lying in the rubble. It featured a blonde cartoon princess who smiled as she rode a white unicorn across a cloudless sky. The beautiful and peaceful scene that the image portrayed was a harrowing contrast to the devastation that now surrounded it. Ruth’s heart sank as she thought of the innocent children who, only a few hours ago, would have been chatting and playing happily – unaware of the inferno that was about to destroy everything they knew.

  Where the hell are they?

  Her hearing was only slowly returning.

  The light ebbed and flowed as clouds of black smoke blocked out the daylight intermittently.

  She watched in a haze of disbelief as one of the armed officers staggered out of the farmhouse. His uniform was burnt and smouldering, his face blackened with soot and streaked with blood, and he was grasping his arm.

  The whole of his body was shaking uncontrollably and his eyes were vacant. He was clearly in shock, and on the verge of collapse.

  To her horror, Ruth glanced down and saw that his left hand was missing, and blood was spurting from the open wound. She dashed towards him, grasped him under his armpits just as he began to fall, and dragged him away from immediate danger.

  Nick ran over to help and they quickly placed him in the recovery position. He took off his own bulletproof Kevlar jacket and then pulled off his shirt. Placing the jacket over the wounded man’s upper body to keep him warm, he wrapped his shirt around the bleeding stump.

  He glanced up at Ruth and gestured. ‘I’ll look after him. Go and find Sian, boss.’

  She turned, broke into a run and headed for the side of the farmhouse buildings she had seen from the helicopter.

  Where the hell is Sian? If she isn’t being held hostage, what the hell is she doing?

  Ruth gasped into her radio as she ran. Her voice was louder in her head than it was in her ears. ‘Gold Command, Gold Command. Three-six. Over.’

  ‘Gold Command to three-six. Go ahead. Over.’

  ‘Three-six. Requesting paramedics on site urgently. Over.’

  ‘Gold Command. Understood. Paramedics en route. Out.’

  As she continued to run, she could see SAS and TFU officers guiding members of The Family away from the burning buildings. They were walking slowly. Covered in dirt or blood, they staggered along, too dumbfounded to put up any kind of a fight.

  And then she saw a huddle of children being tended to by other officers.

  Thank God!

  A figure was beckoning her from a burning doorway.

  It was French.

  Ruth sprinted over and could see from his face that something was seriously wrong.

  ‘Boss, it’s Sian,’ he shouted. ‘She’s in here and I can’t get her out!’

  Rushing inside, she followed French as they ran through double doors and into a dining room that was disintegrating in flames.

  To the left, a body was trapped by a long, charred and smouldering wooden beam.

  Oh my God. That’s my Sian under there.

  She felt sick, and trembled with fear.

  French looked up at her with panic on his face. ‘If I can shift this timber, you need to pull her out!’

  Ruth nodded as French moved around to the other side of Sian. He gave the beam an almighty kick but it didn’t move.

  Hearing the cracking of timber, Ruth glanced up and saw that the roof was breaking up quickly. Pieces of flaming wood were dropping from the ceiling and crashing to the floor beside them. Her heart ached with a crushing pain as she looked back at the trapped and lifeless body of the woman who had brought so much joy and happiness into her life.

  Overcome with panic, she reached out and grabbed the end of the smouldering beam with both hands. It immediately felt as if the skin was being stripped from her fingers as she made contact. Burning - she had no choice but to let go. Never before had she experienced such feelings of absolute terror at the thought of losing someone she loved so dearly. She was consumed with helplessness.

  Looking up again, she could see another huge burning beam. It looked like it might fall on them at any second.

  Tearing off his jacket, French used it protect his hands. He launched himself at the timber covering Sian’s legs and it shifted slightly.

  It wasn’t enough. Sian was still trapped.

  ‘You need to get out of here, boss,’ he said, looking up at the flaming roof that was about to collapse.

  Ruth shook her head and kicked at the beam but it just wasn’t budging.

  ‘I’m not leaving her here!’ she screamed over the noise of the fire.

  French launched himself at the timber again and this time it moved.

  Thank God!

  Ruth bent down, grabbed Sian’s legs, and tugged with every fibre of her being. She felt the body come free, and hauled it clear.

  Scooping her into her arms, Ruth straightened.

  I need to get her out of her now!

  Breaking into a run, she felt her arms weaken with the weight of the lifeless body.
She didn’t care. The adrenaline was pumping and she was getting Sian out of there.

  She crashed through the double doors and squinted through the smoke. French overtook her and pointed along to where there was daylight.

  ‘This way!’ he bellowed. She could hardly hear him with her loss of hearing and the noise of the fire.

  Sucking in a mixture of air and black smoke, she ran with everything she had. She had no idea if Sian was even alive.

  As she burst out of the burning building, it felt as if someone had thrown cold water over her face.

  Fresh air! Thank God! she thought as she gasped.

  French helped her lie Sian down on the ground. Glancing up, Ruth saw that Solace Farm was now a blitz of blue lights. Paramedics and uniformed officers everywhere. This was now a rescue mission rather than a raid to end an armed siege.

  ‘She’s been shot,’ French said, pointing to a dark hole at the top of her stomach.

  Ruth immediately checked to see if Sian was breathing. She wasn’t.

  Don’t you dare bloody die on me!

  Without even a second’s pause she placed the heel of her left hand on the lower half of Sian’s breastbone. Placing her right hand on top, she grabbed her left wrist and began chest compressions. She counted out loud as she continued, hearing the Bee Gee’s ‘Staying Alive’ in her head. ‘Remember that song,’ a first aid trainer had once told her, ‘and the beat will help you to keep to the correct rhythm when doing chest compressions.’

  She could smell the fire and burnt skin. When she had counted to thirty, she stopped and checked Sian’s breathing again.

  Breathe! Please God let her breathe!

  Nothing.

  She tilted Sian’s head back, then pulled down on her chin to open her mouth. After a quick look inside to check that there were no fluids or foreign matter present, she pinched Sian’s nostrils tightly. Placing her own mouth over Sian’s, she gave two full breaths.

  Come on! Come on!

  Turning her ear to Sian’s mouth, she felt something. Is that just the wind? Is she breathing?

  ‘Come on, Sian!’ French yelled.

  Suddenly, she felt Sian’s chest rise against her hand. Then it deflated for a moment before rising again.

  She’s breathing!

  Ruth shot a look to French. She dare not get her hopes up. Sian was in a bad way.

  Two paramedics raced over, placing their emergency equipment down beside them.

  ‘I think she’s breathing now,’ Ruth said to them in a daze.

  The female paramedic checked Sian’s breathing, her pulse, and nodded. ‘Yeah, she is. Just. We’ll look after her from here.’

  Within seconds a stretcher arrived. The paramedics lifted Sian on to it and took her to a waiting ambulance.

  French was sitting on the ground and looking totally shell-shocked. ‘You saved her life, boss,’ he said breathlessly.

  Sitting back, Ruth gazed around at the mayhem and destruction.

  A dark figure in the distance moved from one burning building to the next.

  Rachel Ryan?

  Blinking and rubbing at her eyes, Ruth looked again but the figure had disappeared.

  I know it was her. And I know she shot Sian, Ruth thought.

  IT WAS THIRTY MINUTES later and Ruth and Nick had made their way back to the surveillance cottage. A paramedic had bandaged Ruth’s knee and checked the burns on her fingers. All she could think about was Sian. By her calculations, she should now be at Llancastell University Hospital – she just hoped that everything was all right.

  Hobbling outside, she took a cigarette out and lit it. Nick approached – his face was blackened from the smoke, and his hands were covered in blood.

  ‘I know having a cigarette seems a bit odd after all that,’ Ruth said, blowing her smoke away from him. ‘It just calms me down.’

  ‘I’m not judging after what we’ve just been through. Any news on Sian?’ he asked.

  ‘No, nothing yet.’ The worry was making her feel sick.

  ‘She’s going to be all right, you know that?’

  ‘God, I hope so,’ Ruth replied.

  An ARV drew up outside. Drake got out and came over. His usually pristine clothes were covered in soot and he looked a little dishevelled.

  ‘You guys okay?’ he asked, as he looked down at Ruth’s bandaged knee.

  ‘Yeah, fine. It’s nothing.’

  Drake looked at Ruth. ‘I’ve spoken to the hospital. Sian just arrived in the ICU. She’s critical but stable.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Ruth nodded as she stubbed out her cigarette. The last hour had felt like some terrible dream. She was numb all over.

  ‘Where’s Dan?’ Drake asked.

  ‘He’s inside. He’s got a burnt hand but he’s okay,’ Ruth said. ‘He saved Sian’s life. If he hadn’t moved that joist off her she would have died in there.’

  Drake nodded. ‘There have been a lot of acts of heroism today. This could have been a lot worse.’

  ‘Any word on casualties, boss?’ Nick asked.

  ‘I’ll have more information later, but I know that one of the firearms officers was shot as well. He’s in a serious condition but they think he’ll survive. Thanks to you two, so will the poor chap who lost his hand,’ Drake said.

  ‘What about the children?’ Ruth asked.

  Drake nodded. ‘As far as we know, all the children are accounted for. However, we’re missing seven residents. Officers have told me there are some bodies in the buildings on the far side, but it’s too dangerous for them to go in until the firefighters have checked they’re safe to enter.’

  ‘What about Rachel Ryan?’ Ruth asked.

  ‘No. Nothing.’ Drake said. ‘We’ve looked everywhere but we can’t find her.’

  CHAPTER 34

  Even though she was exhausted by the events at Solace Farm, Ruth hadn’t managed to sleep very well. There was too much going on in her head. She was an emotional wreck. A quick phone call to the ICU at about 3am had confirmed what Ruth feared. Sian was still in a critical but stable condition.

  I have to be with her.

  Ruth got dressed and headed in to the hospital. After her second coffee she glanced at her watch in the ICU unit. It had just gone 5.30am so Ruth had been there for a couple of hours. The nurses had explained that as Sian was very poorly, she had open visiting hours - Ruth could stay for as long as she wanted. Ruth thought that very poorly was a strange choice of words for someone who was clinging to life from a gunshot wound.

  The rhythmical sound of the ventilator was an upsetting reminder of how serious her condition was. Yet, as Ruth gazed at her face, she just seemed to be in a restful sleep. It reminded her of the times she had watched Sian asleep in the mornings when they shared her house. Or the times that she had dozed off on the sofa in front of the telly, and Ruth had placed a blanket over her so she didn’t get cold.

  Leaning forward, she put her hand on Sian’s, avoiding the blue plastic cannula that had been taped to the back of her hand. Her skin was warm. Ruth curled her fingers around so that her fingertips touched Sian’s palm. She looked at her fingernails and the thumb ring that Ruth had bought her in Chester.

  ‘Don’t you dare leave me,’ Ruth whispered as she gave Sian’s hand the faintest of squeezes. ‘I know you can hear me. Don’t you bloody dare ...’

  She felt a tear come into her eye, blinked, and wiped it away. With her other hand, she stroked Sian’s forearm. There were still black soot marks on her skin from the fire. She couldn’t stop more tears from coming.

  ‘Look at what you’ve done to me now,’ Ruth muttered as she sniffed. ‘I’ve got to go to bloody work like this.’

  She reached for a tissue and dabbed at her eyes.

  ‘I’m going in a minute but I’ll come and see you later. Okay?’ she whispered, as she stood up and moved to the top of the bed. She reached over and stroked Sian’s hair, moving a strand away from her forehead. ‘And then when you get out of here, we’ll go away somewhere
together. Somewhere hot. We talked about going to that place in Majorca. Pollenca wasn’t it? No expense spared. We’ll book a beautiful hotel. A room with a stunning view. And we’ll sit by the pool, drink wine, read books. Whatever you want ... I promise.’

  She looked down at her. What would she give for that to come true? Anything. Everything.

  Please God, do not let anything happen to her.

  RUTH HAD ARRIVED AT Llancastell CID just after six in the morning. A knock on her door broke her train of thought. It was Drake.

  ‘Thought I’d be the only one in,’ Drake said.

  ‘Couldn’t sleep.’

  ‘How’s Sian?’

  ‘The same. Critical but stable,’ Ruth said, feeling a growing anxiety as she spoke the words out loud.

  ‘Sian’s very strong. She’s going to get through it. She’ll be back before we know it.’

  ‘I’m just keeping busy,’ Ruth said dismissively, indicating paperwork and her computer.

  ‘Yeah, I’m afraid there’s some pretty gruesome stuff to keep us busy for a while. You okay for an eight o’clock briefing?’ Drake asked.

  Ruth nodded. ‘No problem.’

  ‘Let me know if you hear any more,’ he said, as he turned and left.

  Once Drake had closed the door, Ruth just sat in the silence of her office. She reached for her coffee and finished it.

  In her mind, she pictured Sian in the ICU. The tubes and drips attached to her.

  Please be okay. I will do anything. God, just don’t take her away from me.

  Feeling upset, Ruth wandered out to the scene boards that had been transferred overnight from the temporary incident room at the cottage. She peered at the maps, the plans of the farm, and at the aerial photographs. She saw the one of the fourteen rectangular mounds in the field. Were they really graves? What else could they be? SOCO were already on site and she would have her answer very soon.

  What a dark and destructive force Rachel Ryan has been at Solace Farm. And the cruel irony of that farm’s bloody name.

  For the next two hours, Ruth sifted through paperwork and information, trying to form some kind of plan of how CID were going to tackle the devastation from the previous day. She now had a charred notebook that had somehow survived the worst of the fire. Inside were lists of names of the residents of Solace Farm. There were dates of arrival, and the new ‘Christian’ names that they had been supplied with.