Free After the Fire by Clare Revell Page A

some dingy pub eating fish with someone who gives me the creeps.”
    “At last I’m right about something.”
    Of course the company’s better, but I’m not telling him that . She eased her shoulders in the sunshine. The day was turning into another scorcher.
    She sipped lemonade and brought the conversation back to work. She’d promised she’d share whatever information she found. Perhaps two minds really were better than one. She balanced the cup on its edge, rolling it from side to side.
    “So, originally Baldhu was just a tin mine. Fairly ordinary, been owned by the Tirrel family for generations. Until five years ago, when an outlander bought it.”
    “Outlander?” Jason paused, his mouth full of food.
    “An outlander is someone who hasn’t lived here for about two hundred and fifty years and ten generations. Anyway, as soon as this outlander started working the mine, it wasn’t just tin they were bringing to the surface. Precious stones as well, agate, topaz, firestone...”
    His hand fell to the table and he sat straight. “All right, you got my attention. You’re sure all of these stones are coming from the same mine? The guy couldn’t have got his facts muddled or you misunderstood what he said? The accent can be pretty hard to follow at times.”
    “I understood him just fine. And yes, it’s all coming from a tin mine.” She reached into her shirt pocket for the card she’d picked up. “And guess who owns it.”
    “No idea.”
    “I’ll give you a clue. The owner hasn’t been seen in five months.”
    “Just stop a minute. This is getting silly, now.”
    “Huh?” Freddie did a double take. “You lost me.”
    “He took over the mine five years ago. It’s five miles away and he hasn’t been seen for five months. You have a major overkill on the word five there.”
    “You know, if you can’t focus on work for five minutes, sir, then maybe I—”
    She broke off, her attention caught by a small boy on the other side of the picnic area. Something wasn’t right. He was coughing and coughing, his hand on his chest. She looked around for his mother or father, but there was no one in sight. Snapping back to the child, shock flooded her as she realized his pallor was grey and getting greyer. He collapsed to the grass, his eyes closing.
    “I’m teasing...Freddie?”
    Dropping her sub, she leapt to her feet and ran to the child. He lay prone, wheezing and gasping for breath. She knew instantly what was wrong—asthma. She reached the child and knelt beside him.
    “Where’s your inhaler, sweetheart?”
    “Muh-mee.” The child looked at her, terrified, tears in his eyes as he gasped for breath.
    “We’ll find her.” Footsteps ran over to her and she looked up into Jason’s concerned face.
    “Freddie, what’s happening? What can I do?”
    “Call an ambulance. Tell them it’s a small child with an acute asthma attack.”
    He nodded, pulling out his phone and dialing, as she turned back to the child.
    “It’s all right, help’s coming. Can you sit up for me?” She undid his shirt and sat him up, leaning him against her. “What’s your name?”
    “Pee—ter.”
    She glanced around for his inhaler. Seeing it on the grass, she reached over and grabbed it. She pulled off the lid. “Peter, I need you to take three puffs for me. Can you do that?”
    Peter grabbed her hand tightly. A panic-filled gaze stared up at her, his face grey and his lips blue. His mouth opened wide and his cheeks hollowed in a futile effort to draw in air.
    “Good boy. First one.” She stroked his hair, talking quietly as he struggled to expand his lungs enough to inhale the meds. A hysterical woman ran to them, screaming Peter’s name. Freddie was grateful when Jason intercepted her, taking hold of her arms and talking to her calmly.
    She turned back to Peter and offered the inhaler again. Her heart pounded and her breath caught as Peter’s eyes rolled up into his head and he fell limp in her