Sheâs comfortable here in the Princess Elizabeth, sheâs asleep in fact, and Iâll be going back to the hotel when â when Iâve been given the once-over.ââ
Tim wondered if Shaw was playing his own injuries up by playing them down. Wondered, on a flash of surreal horror, if he had been in cahoots with the driver of the car, manoeuvring Lorna into the road â¦
âIâll be over right away. Maybe see you.ââ
âRight ⦠Tim, Iâm sorry. Your wedding night â¦ââ
âThatâs of no practical significance, as Iâm sure you know. Where do I go?ââ
âVictoria wing.ââ
âIâll be there in twenty minutes.ââ
There wasnât much he had to fill in for Anna.
âYouâll be going as a policeman as well as a next of kin, wonât you?ââ
âI suppose I will.ââ He was shocked to realise he had been thinking of himself vis-à -vis an attempted murder as no more than the victimâs son. â Iâm officially on leave but that goes by the board when â¦ââ He turned a horrified face to her as he snapped on the light. â Oh, God, darling. Scotland.ââ
âIâll cancel while youâre away. The plane at least. Iâll wait till the morning to ring the hire car firm and the hotels.ââ
âOh, Anna. Once Iâve seen for myself Mother really is all right, perhaps we could â¦ââ Tim stopped, turned to look at her as he said it aloud. âBut it could have been murder.ââ
âWhich means that as detective inspector youâre going to have to be here as well as wanting to be. Tim, we had a wonderful wedding day. Get up and go.ââ
It was a lovely night, Tim agreed bitterly as he opened the garage. Still, and mild, and scented. The starry sky was obscured here and there by pale puffs of cloud and a deluded robin was twittering softly, perhaps awakened by the safety light now illumining his small front garden. The only song bird, now that high summer had arrived, to be still singing. Tim had all his life been aware of the flora and fauna surrounding him, and each year lamented the morning and evening chorus as it tailed away in mid-July.
The short drive to the hospital seemed very long, and his internal walk seemed to go on for ever. The senior duty nurse in the Victoria wing told him the physical story: his motherâs left shoulder had been manipulated back into place and the cuts on her leg cleaned up under the sufficient anaesthesia of a dose of morphine. The shoulder would have to be strapped up, and the leg wounds regularly dressed, for at least a week. It wasnât possible at the moment to say how long they would be keeping her in the hospital, as it was too early to assess the extent of her shock.
âNo stitches in the leg, fortunately,ââ the nurse concluded. Tim knew he would always remember the way a top tooth jutted over her lip as she offered him a reassuring smile, and the shiny yellow wall behind her of the small office in which they were standing. A uniformed constable he had last seen on the Duke of Richmond dance floor was sitting outside the room to which a junior nurse escorted him. As he spotted Tim and scrambled to his feet he registered a shocked compassion which he immediately tried to banish from his face. âSir ⦠Iâm sorry, sir,ââ he mumbled, before freezing into an impassivity worthy of a Buckingham Palace sentry.
âThank you, Constable. You may relax.ââ At another time the manâs dilemma would have amused him. âHas my mother said anything?ââ
âIâve not been allowed yet to speak to her.ââ The constable cast a rueful glance at the severe-faced nurse.
âSheâs asleep,ââ the nurse said, her severity softening to uncertainty as she turned to Tim and registered a
Tim wondered if Shaw was playing his own injuries up by playing them down. Wondered, on a flash of surreal horror, if he had been in cahoots with the driver of the car, manoeuvring Lorna into the road â¦
âIâll be over right away. Maybe see you.ââ
âRight ⦠Tim, Iâm sorry. Your wedding night â¦ââ
âThatâs of no practical significance, as Iâm sure you know. Where do I go?ââ
âVictoria wing.ââ
âIâll be there in twenty minutes.ââ
There wasnât much he had to fill in for Anna.
âYouâll be going as a policeman as well as a next of kin, wonât you?ââ
âI suppose I will.ââ He was shocked to realise he had been thinking of himself vis-à -vis an attempted murder as no more than the victimâs son. â Iâm officially on leave but that goes by the board when â¦ââ He turned a horrified face to her as he snapped on the light. â Oh, God, darling. Scotland.ââ
âIâll cancel while youâre away. The plane at least. Iâll wait till the morning to ring the hire car firm and the hotels.ââ
âOh, Anna. Once Iâve seen for myself Mother really is all right, perhaps we could â¦ââ Tim stopped, turned to look at her as he said it aloud. âBut it could have been murder.ââ
âWhich means that as detective inspector youâre going to have to be here as well as wanting to be. Tim, we had a wonderful wedding day. Get up and go.ââ
It was a lovely night, Tim agreed bitterly as he opened the garage. Still, and mild, and scented. The starry sky was obscured here and there by pale puffs of cloud and a deluded robin was twittering softly, perhaps awakened by the safety light now illumining his small front garden. The only song bird, now that high summer had arrived, to be still singing. Tim had all his life been aware of the flora and fauna surrounding him, and each year lamented the morning and evening chorus as it tailed away in mid-July.
The short drive to the hospital seemed very long, and his internal walk seemed to go on for ever. The senior duty nurse in the Victoria wing told him the physical story: his motherâs left shoulder had been manipulated back into place and the cuts on her leg cleaned up under the sufficient anaesthesia of a dose of morphine. The shoulder would have to be strapped up, and the leg wounds regularly dressed, for at least a week. It wasnât possible at the moment to say how long they would be keeping her in the hospital, as it was too early to assess the extent of her shock.
âNo stitches in the leg, fortunately,ââ the nurse concluded. Tim knew he would always remember the way a top tooth jutted over her lip as she offered him a reassuring smile, and the shiny yellow wall behind her of the small office in which they were standing. A uniformed constable he had last seen on the Duke of Richmond dance floor was sitting outside the room to which a junior nurse escorted him. As he spotted Tim and scrambled to his feet he registered a shocked compassion which he immediately tried to banish from his face. âSir ⦠Iâm sorry, sir,ââ he mumbled, before freezing into an impassivity worthy of a Buckingham Palace sentry.
âThank you, Constable. You may relax.ââ At another time the manâs dilemma would have amused him. âHas my mother said anything?ââ
âIâve not been allowed yet to speak to her.ââ The constable cast a rueful glance at the severe-faced nurse.
âSheâs asleep,ââ the nurse said, her severity softening to uncertainty as she turned to Tim and registered a
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