‘She’s breathing, just.’ Daniels wiped her nose on her sodden sleeve and stopped snivelling. ‘We need to get her out of here now!’
‘You want me to go back and radio in?’
‘No time. Get the axe out. Quickly!’
Turning her back on him, Daniels hung on to the mouth of the chamber, obscuring its interior from Cole, wondering if she ought to let him in there. It was a crime scene after all. A major one. She dismissed that thought. Keeping Jessica alive was her only priority and she needed his help. She’d preserve life over a crime scene any day of the week and worry about recovering forensics later.
Refastening her backpack, Cole blew on his hands.
Daniels turned round. ‘You ready?’ she said.
He didn’t look ready, but he nodded anyway.
They crawled into the chamber, the DCI going first.
She shone the torch against the wall as they stood up straight.
Cole’s reaction was predictable for a civilian who’d never before witnessed a scene this horrific. Sadly, Daniels had. For a moment he stood there, unable to draw his eyes away from what was, to all intents and purposes, a macabre crucifixion. Shaking both from cold and shock, his purple lips looked black in the darkened chamber. They turned down at the edges as he fought to stay in control of his emotions. Observing at first hand the level of cruelty one human being could inflict on another was always the hardest part to endure.
Averting his eyes, he focused his torch and his attention on Daniels.
It took a moment for him to verbalize thought . . .
‘I saw some shit in the military, but I have to tell you . . .’
His voice trailed off.
An eerie silence prevailed, save for the drip, drip of water from the roof above. Sickened by what he’d seen, Cole hung his head a second, then looked up and let out a tirade of swear words, enraged that the man responsible for Jessica’s incarceration had taken the coward’s way out and would not face justice. Daniels agreed with him, but didn’t comment, merely pointed at the axe in the crook of his arm.
‘I’ll protect her hands, you get her down.’
‘No wait! I need to do something first.’
Cole swung into action then, dispelling all thoughts of Makepeace from his mind. They had a job to do and there was no time to waste. Handing her his torch, he slipped his arms out of the straps of his own rucksack. Daniels didn’t argue, just trained the torch on him and moved towards the girl.
Jessica’s emaciated body hung from the chains that bound her, head lolling to one side, a tortured expression on her face. She looked as though she was dead. Putting two fingers gently on her neck, Daniels felt a weak pulse and spoke a few words of encouragement, hoping she heard them. Coma patients had reported hearing the voices of loved ones. If Jessica knew she hadn’t been abandoned it might make the difference between life and death.
‘I hope he burns in Hell.’ Cole had the bag open now. ‘Can you hold this?’
Daniels left Jessica’s side to help. With enormous difficulty, she took the bag from him, her injured hand almost collapsing under its weight. It must have weighed in excess of twenty-five pounds. How he’d managed to lug it all the way from the entrance was anyone’s guess.
Removing what looked like a sturdy waterproof bag, Cole opened it up. Inside was a folded block of heavy duty plastic material – orange, yellow and black – and some strange looking bellows. He began working hard, inflating what Daniels now realized was a floating stretcher, complete with zip-up survival cover, insulated to keep their casualty warm.
A lump formed in her throat. ‘You steal that piece of kit from your employer?’
Cole pretended he hadn’t noticed she was close to breaking down.
‘Nah, picked it up at Waitrose on my way to meet you. Wanna see the receipt?’
Blinking back tears of relief, the bedraggled SIO managed a weak smile. Cole had been her very last hope of finding Jessica in time to save her life. He’d stepped into the breach when others would have hidden behind excuses. She could never repay him for that.
Cole took a much-needed breather. Soaked through and shivering uncontrollably, the effort required to work the bellows had taken its toll on him. He looked into her eyes and then started pumping his arms again.
‘How the hell do you do it, Kate?’
Daniels’ tone was hard. ‘Someone has to.’
She knew then why she did it. Because no one else wanted to, was the short answer. Now back in command of her emotions, she pushed her doubts away. This was no time to wallow in self-pity or make decisions on her future career. The police force was her life, the only life worth living, as far as she was concerned. She was bruised by it often. But bruises heal . . . eventually.
She hoped Jessica would too.
Cole was now done.
In silence they released Jessica from her restraints. Cole lifted her up and laid her gently in the stretcher, wrapping her up securely, like he was putting a child to bed. A few last words of encouragement from Daniels and they began the journey back down the tunnel. It was touch and go whether Jess would make it. But at least they were taking her home.