Helena Grant stood a little way from the others, watching the scene impassively. Chrissie had thrown herself into McKay’s arms as soon as he’d let go of Nightingale. Grant had expected all of them to show some visible signs of emotion, whether laughter or tears, but Chrissie had simply buried her head against her husband’s shoulder and was holding him in silence. Isla and Ginny were clutching each other in a similar manner, as if seeking each other’s reassurance that they’d made it out alive.
They were all in shock, Grant thought, none of them able to grasp what had just happened. Isla’s brother was sitting on the grass, oblivious to the sodden ground, his eyes fixed on the flickering orange visible through the windows of the building. Nightingale was still slumped against the car, breathing heavily.
As she looked around, it occurred to her that Mike Everly was missing. She’d wondered, when Jewell had revealed Everly’s role in protecting Donaldson, whether Everly might have been tempted to leave them to their fate, but he’d clearly called for backup as they’d agreed. The night was filling with sirens, pulsing with approaching blue lights. The first marked cars were drawing up on the roadside, and in the distance she could hear a fire engine.
She finally spotted Everly standing much closer to the now burning building than seemed sensible. He’d been out in the rain for much of the time they’d been inside, and he looked wet and cold.
‘Mike,’ she called. ‘Come away from the building. It can’t be safe there.’
He turned to her. ‘She didn’t come out. You left her in there. Young Maggie.’
‘Maggie? You mean Ruby Jewell?’
‘She was Maggie really. Maggie Donaldson. Though not even that, really. Why did you leave her?’ His voice sounded odd, passion and emotion had been drained from it.
‘We didn’t want to. She had her chance, Mike. Just like the rest of us. She chose not to come. It was her decision.’
‘But it can’t just end like this. Not after all these years. Not after everything I’ve done. All the risks I’ve taken.’
‘I don’t understand, Mike.’
He looked back at the building. ‘I’ve got to try to get her. I’ve got to have a go.’
‘You can’t, Mike. It’s madness.’ She gestured towards the glow from the window. ‘Look at it in there.’
‘I can’t just leave her. Look, I’m soaking wet. If I can get through the smoke, I might have a chance.’
‘It’s insane, Mike. We don’t even know how safe the building is now.’
He was already walking away from her, heading towards the front doors. ‘I can’t just leave her.’
‘Mike–’
She had started to move after him, but he had already entered the building. She followed him towards the front doors. The flames had spread across the whole of the entrance hall and there was a line of fire blocking the stairway. She had thought, once he had seen the state of the fire, Everly might realise he was facing an impossible task and turn back. Instead, she saw him run through the wall of flames and then, apparently unharmed, scramble up the stairs.
There was nothing more she could do. Even from here, she could feel the heat of the fire and see it spreading slowly up the stairwell. She hurried back over to McKay. ‘It’s Mike. He’s gone back inside.’
McKay stared at her over Chrissie’s shoulder. ‘He’s done what?’
‘Gone back inside. To try to rescue Ruby Jewell.’
‘He’ll never manage it. We gave her the opportunity to come with us, and she made her decision.’
‘I told him all that. He was talking about Jewell as if he knew her, as if he’d protected her in the past.’
‘But I thought–’
‘That Everly was on Donaldson’s payroll? That’s what Jewell said. But she was never the most reliable of witnesses.’ McKay looked over at the building. Flames were visible in all the ground-floor windows now. ‘He’s really gone back in there?’
‘He managed to get through the entrance hall. The last I saw he was heading up the stairs.’
‘Does he even know where to find her?’ McKay shook his head. ‘If I thought he had even a small chance of succeeding, I’d try to help him. But he hasn’t got a prayer. It’s just a suicide mission…’ He paused. ‘Maybe that’s it. He can’t believe he’s likely to save her. Perhaps he knows he’s just going to his death. Whatever his involvement with Donaldson and Jewell, he must know it’s all going to come out now.’
He was interrupted by the noise of the fire engine entering the small car park. He and Grant stood back as the engine drew up in front of the building. As the fire officers bundled out of the vehicle, McKay stepped forward. ‘There are two people still inside. One of our officers and a young woman. The woman had refused to leave. The officer went in to try to rescue her.’
‘We’ll do what we can. But I don’t think there’ll be much we can do until we’ve got the fire down here under control. Do you know how safe the building’s likely to be?’
‘No idea. It’s been standing empty for a couple of years, and my guess is it was neglected for a long time before that. That’s all I can tell you.’
‘I’d suggest you stand well back now. We’ll do what we can.’
McKay took the hint, and he led Chrissie back towards the edge of the car park, with the others following. ‘That poor man,’ Chrissie said. ‘What made him go back inside?’
‘I don’t know,’ McKay said. He exchanged a glance with Helena Grant. ‘It seems it was something else we didn’t know about Ruby Jewell or Maggie Donaldson or whoever she was.’
‘Maybe they’ll both make it out and be able to tell us.’
‘Maybe,’ McKay said. ‘But somehow I’ve a feeling that, by the end, that wasn’t what either of them wanted.’