A Limited Justice (#1 - The Craig Modern Thriller Series) (26 page)

The lift’s slow arrival and even slower journey gave her time to run through four different speeches and she eventually emerged on the tenth floor, more confident in her final choice. Her momentary surprise at the silence that greeted her, passed at the sight of a dark female head bent over a corner desk. She walked over and stood in front of her, gently coughing her arrival.

Nicky looked up slowly, rubbing at her eyes with a sodden hanky, to be greeted by the unexpected sight of a visitor. At any other time, she would have chatted brightly to her. But not today. Her tears shocked Julia into silence, with her first thought, ‘Is this how they treat their staff in Belfast?’ And her second, ‘I’m not surprised, the way Craig spoke to me’.

When Nicky gradually explained, Julia knew that this wasn’t the day to talk to Marc Craig. So instead she sat with Nicky, until eventually she dried her eyes, lifted her bag, and declared that ‘she wasn’t going to sit here answering stupid phones when she should be at the hospital.’ And they left the squad together, heading for St Marys.

Chapter Sixteen

The PVC doors at the end of the corridor opened noisily and John woke with a jolt. He yawned, covering his mouth at the last minute, in deference to his mother’s years of nagging, and reached forward to the low table where his feet were resting. He rifled through the detritus in search of food and emerged disappointed. He was starving, and a look at the clock told him why, it was nearly midnight.

Just then, Craig’s lean figure appeared, bearing white paper bags whose oozing scent signalled Chinese food. John cheered up instantly, clearing the table in grateful preparation.

“Good man yourself. Which Chinese did you go to?” Long years of bachelor-hood rendering him something of a takeaway expert.

Craig laughed. “Don’t worry, it was your favourite – I know better than that.”

He nodded towards the ICU door. “Any movement?”

“Sorry, I fell asleep. I was on call last night, and even if you aren’t called, you never sleep properly. But no one came and woke me up if that’s any help?” Craig nodded and opened the cardboard containers.

“Hey, I meant to tell you, Nicky said that Inspector woman, the stroppy one from Limavady, came to see you today. But you were here, so she had to shuffle back home.”

Craig looked up from the boxes, curious. “Did she say what she wanted?”

“Nope, not exactly, but I got the impression it was to apologise.”

“You’re kidding, this I have to hear.”

He took out his mobile and John pointed to the no-phone signs, so he walked into the stairwell and called Nicky at home.

“Hi, Nicky.”

“What’s happened? Is he dead? Please tell me he’s not dead.”

“Oh God, no. I’m sorry, I should have thought before I phoned you so late. No, he’s not dead. That’s not why I called.”

“Yes, you should have thought... sir.” But the relief in her voice was a reluctant ‘thank-you’ anyway.

“He’s holding his own. You know Liam, he’s a big ox, and if anyone can survive this, he can. I’m sorry to have upset you, Nicky. I’ll speak to you tomorrow.”

But she was curious now, so he wasn’t getting away that easily.

“Why did you call, sir?”

Craig wasn’t sure why, but he suddenly felt embarrassed asking her about Julia McNulty.

“Well, John and I are still here. We’ll be here all night so it’s Chinese takeaway time of course.” He knew he was babbling. “But...well...John said...D.I. McNulty was looking for me earlier and ...”

He gathered himself, finishing briskly. “I just wondered if it was anything important? About the case.”

Nicky smiled to herself at the other end of the line.

“Now, sir, you know I’d have told you if it was.” He knew she was right. “But, as you’ve called. I think she came to apologise for being stroppy.”

He was astounded. “Did she actually say that?”

“Not in so many words, but it was definitely in her manner. She’s actually very nice you know.”

Craig greeted her comment with the snort that he felt it deserved, and she snapped back at him.

“Don’t be rude...sir...she was very nice. I was all upset about Liam and she made me tea, and sat with me for nearly an hour.”

He was surprised by the kindness, but didn’t trust it. “Was this before or after she knew I was unavailable?”

“Oh, you’re far too cynical these days. It was after. And she could have just got on the road home and left me there, but she didn’t. She stayed, knowing she’d hit the traffic back to Limavady. Then she dropped me up to the hospital. And another thing...”

Craig smiled to himself; she was on a roll now. “Yes Nicky.”

“You know the way you thought she’d be short, fat and have a helmet for hair.”

God, Liam must have told her he’d said that. He’d kill him when he was better.

“Well she’s not. She’s gorgeous – slim, red-hair and a real looker. So sir, if I were you, I’d let her come back and apologise. Or... if you were feeling like a gentleman...”

“Yesss, Nicky...”

“You might even take a trip up to see her. Good night, sir.”

Then she ended the call before he had time to argue back...

Forty-Love.

Wednesday. 9am.

The two little girls looked up at her tearfully, sure that they wouldn’t see their mother for a very long time. It would only be twelve hours, but it felt endless to Jessie as well, and she turned away quickly, wiping her eyes, careful not to let them see.

Fiona was waiting outside, affording them a few private moments before they parted – they couldn’t let tears draw attention to them at the airport.

She stroked each of their cheeks in turn, tracing the shape of their faces as if it could imprint them on her brain. Who knew, with her brain, maybe it could? Her numb fingers denied her their softness, but her vision was still un-blurred enough to see their white smiles.

“Now, you know you must be good girls for Fiona, don’t you?”

“Yes, Mammy.” Their duet was echoed by the baby’s gurgles.

“And you know that we’re playing a game and we all have nice new names now, don’t you?”

Ruby’s strong voice spoke out first. “Yes, Mammy, I’m not Ruby any more, I’m Rosa.”

“And I’m not Anya, I’m Ambra.”

“Good girls, and remember Pia is Pietro. Tell me again, when I point to you, tell me your new name.”

“Rosa.”

“Ambra and baby Pietro.”

“And what’s Fiona’s new name?”

“Fina Morales.”

“And my name?”

“Juan...Juanita Morales.”

“And remember those names whoever asks you, even a policeman, until Mammy tells you different. Fina is your granny, you live with her, and you’re going on holiday. Can you both remember that?”

They nodded vigorously, making their shiny hair fall in loose tangles. Jessie gently pushed the curls behind their ears and straightened their coats, hugging them tightly, unable to bear their loss even for a day. Then she deposited them into the mess of car-seats and toys in yet another new car that Fiona had bought for anonymity, and they started their final trip to safety.

Chapter Seventeen

The doctor’s crumpled scrubs and stubble said that he’d been up all night, saving lives, one of them hopefully Liam Cullen’s. They had all gathered in the ward’s tiny rest room, waiting for Danni.

Annette looked around the warm room. She’d nursed on intensive care once and she knew that relatives often lived and slept in these rooms, afraid to leave in case their loved one’s next breath was the last. She idly noticed that someone had placed red and white flowers in the corner and she was surprised; in her day, red and white meant blood and death, and was only ever seen in wreathes. Things had changed.

Just then, the door swung open and Nicky entered with Danni, who she’d met on the stairs. Craig had a fleeting, incongruous thought about who was answering the phones before he realised they’d be diverted, and that he didn’t much care anyway. He stood up as they entered, then they all sat as the doctor began to speak.

“Mrs Cullen, would you like me to speak to you privately?”

Danni looked around the room at all of them, her large green eyes and blonde hair in bright contrast to the tired pallor of her skin. She looked fifteen and frightened instead of thirty-five and the strong woman she really was. She shook her head. “Liam would want everyone to hear.”

She indicated Craig and John. “They’ve been here all night, poor things.”

The young doctor nodded and then started to explain, in as un-technical a language as Liam’s condition and I.C.U. procedures would allow, exactly what the poison was, and how it had affected Liam’s body.

“As you know, Mr Cullen ingested approximately 10mls of aconite, a neurotoxin derived from plants. Principally a plant called Monkshood, common in northern temperate zones like the U.K.”

He paused, looking at them kindly before delivering the most frightening piece of information. “The fatality rate for ingesting 20-40mls of Monkshood is one hundred percent.”

Danni opened her mouth in a silent scream and Annette squeezed her hand, as the doctor realised what he’d just said and moved quickly to reassure her. Like John, his people skills were a bit on the thin side.

“The good news is that Mr Cullen only ingested a small amount, less than 10mls, and that he’s physically a very strong man. Both of those things saved his life. He’s not completely out of the woods yet, but thanks to D.C.I. Craig getting the ambulance and poisons unit alerted, and thanks to hemoperfusion with charcoal and the use of cardiac drugs, he’s stable. The rest is being dealt with by his considerable powers of healing.”

He turned to face Danni directly, with a tired smile.

“Without making any promises, Mrs Cullen, we’re cautiously optimistic and should know more this evening. Meanwhile, the very good news is, he’s awake and asking for some ‘decent food’.” A subdued laugh went round the room.

“For some reason he thinks the enteral feed we’re giving him is ‘pig’s swill’ – although it certainly doesn’t say that on the bag.”

Craig laughed dutifully. John had told him that when the doctors started telling feeble jokes, it was a sure sign that the patient was recovering.

They waited behind as the others went in to see Liam, and John saw the new glint in Craig’s eyes, knowing what it meant. Now that Liam was on the mend, he would hunt Jessica Adams down relentlessly.

In a strange way, Liam had also given Camille her rightful importance. If Craig did agree to see her, John had the impression it would be completely on his terms now. They walked out as the others returned, Annette’s thumbs up saying that Liam could be subjected to some well-deserved banter about his messy eating, and whatever other handy ammunition sprang to mind.

***

The traffic noise was rendering his hands-free phone nearly inaudible, but Craig thought that he’d better tell Nicky where he’d gone, if only to save a lecture about ‘always disappearing‘.

“Nicky, I’m heading up to Limavady now. I’ve arranged a meeting with Inspector McNulty at 1pm.”

Nicky could hear that he was already on the motorway. He was keeping his own diary again and she raised her eyebrows silently, biting her tongue hard.

“Ask Davy to phone me with any results as soon he gets them please. I’ll be back about eight tonight if you need me.”

“OK, sir. But Dr Winter mentioned something about the theatre tonight, just in case you’d forgotten?”

Oh, crap – Camille. He had forgotten.

John had bought two tickets to her play last week, and Craig had promised, grudgingly, to go with him, worrying it to death all weekend. That was before Liam, but he still couldn’t believe that it had slipped his mind so completely. He wasn’t sure what that meant.

“OK, leave it with me. I’ll call him on my way.”

“Alright, sir. And just to warn you, we’re doing diaries first thing tomorrow...”

Belfast City Airport

They pulled off the M3 into Belfast City Airport and Jessie gathered their things quickly, trying hard not to cry. She was desperate to grab Pia and get out of the car, so she started unfastening her seatbelt as they drove into the drop-off zone, hurriedly refastening it at the sight of two police officers at the barrier. The last thing they needed was some eagle-eyed constable giving them a ticket.

She needn’t have worried; they were too busy checking out a pretty flight attendant running for a departure. Thank goodness for nature.

Fiona pulled in, idling the engine, as if not actually turning it off would make their parting easier. Jessie turned round to the back seat, quickly kissing each older girl with her fingers, before she climbed clumsily from the high front seat onto the ground, and lifted Pia out. Then, with a single wave behind her, she walked quickly towards the terminal building, hot tears running down her cheeks, as Fiona pulled out through the barrier and accelerated towards the motorway exit.