The Shooting (26 page)

In a daze, she’d called the police and had then found the number for Brady’s dad. She couldn’t even remember what she’d screamed at him, but her anger had found its head. It was all his fault. Instead of providing guidance and being a good role model for their son, he’d given him the gun and then allowed him to play out his fantasies with a violent video game where the heroes shot others indiscriminately for pleasure and sport.

What kind of man and father would misguide his son in such a way? And to think it had all been done in secret behind her back. The guilt of not knowing what her son had been involved in would be with her for the rest of her life. She’d taken out her despair and anger on her husband and had cursed and slung every possible venomous word that came to her. She’d ended the conversation by telling him that Brady’s blood would forever be on his hands.

A low howl of pain now started deep inside her and worked its way through her bones. With her head in her hands, she fell to her knees and screamed out her agony and desolation. Despite her ranting and raving at her ex, it was
her
fault Brady was dead. He’d said as much when she’d last tried to discuss it with him. If she’d intervened at school, if she’d listened and given credence to his pleas… How would she ever forgive herself? How would she live with the guilt?

She couldn’t.

It was as simple as that.

* * *

Royal North Shore Hospital

Not long after the nurse had called for someone to escort Tom back to his ward, an elderly male porter with a grizzled face and kind eyes arrived in recovery, accompanied by a nurse. After the nurse collected his paperwork from Tessa, the man eased off the brakes on the gurney and began pushing it out the door. Relieved, to be heading back to the ward, Tom stared at the white paneled ceiling above his head and prayed for good news about Lily.

Now that his medical emergency had been dealt with, he was eager to return to her side. With a
ding
and a
swish
, the doors to the elevator swung open and he did his best to reign in his impatience. The porter whistled a quiet tune and seemed in no hurry to arrive at his destination. Tom guessed it was probably hard work pushing him and the gurney and tried to distract himself with conversation.

“So, have you worked here long…Mohammed?” he asked, spying the man’s name on his hospital identification.

“Twenty-five years this summer,” the man replied with a toothy grin, his teeth as white as his hair.

“Wow, you must have seen a lot of people come and go. Have you always worked around the theaters?”

“Nope. I had a stint in the X-ray department back in the nineties. Even worked in rehab for a short while, but I like the theaters the best. I take people down from their wards, all stressed out and concerned about their pendin’ surgery and then I get to take them back again when they’ve woken up and it’s all over.”

He gave Tom a wink. “Take you, for example. I pushed you down here a few hours ago and you never said a word. I bet you didn’t even notice me. I was just some dumb old man pushin’ your gurney. Now, when the drama’s over and you’re headin’ back to your loved ones, you’re all talkative and friendly.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“Hey, don’t get me wrong. I ain’t complainin’. I’m just makin’ an observation. It’s not just you. It’s everyone. I’ve learned not to take it personally.”

Tom’s smile was a little strained, still embarrassed that what the porter had said was true. He hadn’t paid any heed to the man who transported him to the operating room. His head had been full of the upcoming surgery and the risks involved. Now that it was over and had apparently gone well, his thoughts were on anything but.

“You’re right, Mohammed, and I’m sorry. I was a little distracted earlier, but I want to thank you for what you do. A lot of people forget about all the staff behind the scenes. When we think of hospitals, we think of the doctors and nurses, but without people like you and the kitchen staff and even the cleaners, the place wouldn’t run. You need more recognition, Mohammed.” This time, Tom’s grin was genuine.

“Ain’t you right about that, Mr Munro,” Mohammed grinned back at him.

A moment later, the elevator dinged again and the doors slid open. Mohammed wheeled Tom outside and into the corridor that led to his ward. Another nurse met them at the entryway.

“Welcome back, Mr Munro. You’re looking good.”

“Thanks. I’m relieved it’s all over.”

“You’ll need to take it easy for the next little while. I’ll get Mohammed to take you to your room. I think your brother’s there waiting for you.”

Tom nodded. At the mention of Brandon, his thoughts flew to Lily and he couldn’t help but wonder if there had been any news. He’d been away from the ward a good chunk of time. Anything could have happened. Good or bad.

His mind shied away from the possibility that she’d gone downhill in his absence. He had to remain positive. After all, his operation had gone well. There was no reason Lily couldn’t be so lucky.

Mohammed swung the gurney into the private room and Tom spied Brandon in one corner, lounging against the wall. The television was on but tuned so low it was nothing but a murmur. Upon registering Tom’s arrival, Brandon pushed himself off the wall and came toward him.

“Tom! It’s so good to see you. I take it the operation went well?”

Tom slid across from the gurney to his bed and nodded. “Yeah, at least, that’s what everyone’s been saying.”

In silence, Mohammed pushed the gurney out of the way and headed toward the door. The nurse who had accompanied him pulled out a thermometer.

“Hey, Mohammed?” Tom called and waited for the man to turn around. “I just wanted to say thanks. For everything. None of this,” Tom waved around the hospital room, “would be possible without you.”

“Thank you, Mr Munro. I appreciate your sayin’ so.”

Tom acknowledged his thanks with a nod. “You have a good afternoon, Mohammed.”

“You, too, Mr Munro. You, too.”

The minute Mohammed cleared the door, Brandon moved closer to Tom’s bed. “I’m so glad to see you and to hear that everything went well and I can’t wait to tell you the news.”

“I’m just going to take your temperature and blood pressure, Mr Munro. I won’t be a minute.”

Tom stared up at Brandon and took note of the grin that widened his brother’s lips. Chafing at the delay caused by the nurse, he counted the seconds while she recorded his vital signs. Brandon seemed to be humming with excitement and a tiny spark of hope ignited deep down in Tom’s gut. He did his best to tamp down on it in case the news had nothing to do with Lily, but as soon as the nurse departed, the words fell out of his mouth in a rush.

“News? About Lily? Did she… Did she wake up?”

Brandon’s grin turned into a
whoop
of glee and he punched the air. “Hell, yeah, she woke up! And not only woke up, but is asking for you. She’s going to be all right, big brother. She’s going to be all right.”

Brandon’s voice turned husky with emotion and he leaned down and gave Tom a fierce hug. Tom winced from the pain in his breast, even as a tumult of emotions battered him from all sides. He blinked away a sudden rush of tears.

Lily was awake. Lily was okay. Lily was asking for him.

“I need to see her,” he croaked. “Bran, I need to see her.”

“Yeah, mate. I understand. I’ll go and speak to the nurse and tell them what’s happening. Maybe they can work something out.”

It seemed like forever until Brandon returned with the same pretty young nurse in tow who had accompanied him from the operating room. Her shiny brown hair had been pulled back in a bun that nestled at the top of her spine. Her badge identified her as Sarah. Tom sat up a little higher in the bed and waited to hear what she had to say.

“Wow, is it true, Tom? Is your wife in the ICU?”

Tom nodded. “Yes, she was shot by one of her students earlier in the week. She’s been unconscious since they brought her in. My brother…” He indicated Brandon who stood a few feet away. “Just told me she’s awake. I-I really need to see her.”

Sarah nodded, her blue eyes flooding with compassion and understanding. “It’s wonderful that she’s regained consciousness. Terrible that she’s in the ICU, but great that it sounds like she’s on the mend. I understand why you want to see her, but you’ve just undergone some fairly major surgery. You’ve barely been back on the ward five minutes. I think you might need to take a moment and catch your breath. It’s probably not such a good idea to be rushing down to the ICU. Let’s give it awhile, all right?”

Disappointment surged through Tom at the nurse’s response and his hands clenched into fists.

“No, Sarah, please. You don’t understand. I don’t just
want
to see my wife. I
need
to see her. I’ve been sitting by her bedside night and day, not knowing if she’s going to pull through. Now that I know she’s awake, I can’t lie here another minute without talking to her. I need to see her, touch her, kiss her. I need to find out for myself that she’s okay.”

The nurse made sympathetic noises, but continued to shake her head. “I’m sorry, Tom. I can’t have you up and about like that just yet. Bathroom visits only, you understand, but I tell you what. I’ll speak to the doctor and see what we can do. If you feel up to it, I’d like to see you eat. You’ve been fasting all day.”

At the mention of food, Tom was suddenly ravenous. He hadn’t eaten since the meal he’d shared with his parents the night before. Now knowing that Lily was going to be all right, his appetite returned in full force.

“I’ll eat whatever you give me,” he said and then begged her one more time. “Please, Sarah. It’s really important I see my wife. I would appreciate anything you can do to make the doctor agree. I mean it.”

Sarah smiled gently and turned to leave the room. “I’ll do my best. I promise.” With that, she disappeared from view.

Tom slumped back against his pillows and sighed.

“Hey, don’t feel too bad. Don’t worry, you’ll get to see her.”

“Yeah, thanks. And thanks for being here, Bran. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem, bro. You’d do the same for me.”

“Who’s with Lily?”

“Mom. She’s been with her for most of the day. She was the one who called me with the news.”

Tom nodded and thought about how lucky he was to be surrounded by a family who loved him and offered their support whenever they could. There were plenty of people a whole lot less fortunate than he.

“Hey, Bran. Have you spoken to the kids?”

“No, I wanted to tell you first.”

“Can you call them for me? Tell them both their mom and I are okay? I didn’t tell them last night about my surgery, but let them know something about it now.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“Just tell them I had to have a small operation while I was waiting for their mom to wake up. They’ll know there’s more to it, but I’m sure the excitement of having their mom awake and talking will keep their curiosity in check. I’ll tell them more about it later, after we’re all back at home safe and sound.”

“No problem, Tom. I’ll do it right away.”

“Thanks.” Tom closed his eyes, all of a sudden overcome with weariness. He guessed it had something to do with the residual effects of the anaesthetic, not to mention his lack of sleep since the shooting. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept the night through. Maybe now that the stress of the past days was over and both he and Lily were on the mend, he could relax and finally catch up on the rest he desperately needed.

With a sigh of relief, he succumbed to the succor of sleep.

* * *

Cassie heard the distant ringing of the telephone down the hall and buried her face in her pillow. Her granddad was around somewhere and Joe had stayed home from school. Surely one of them would answer it?

Her head felt thick and foggy after the alcohol and the pills. She didn’t know why people took the stuff. She’d felt a little better for a short while, but that had worn off hours ago. Now all she felt like was
yuck
.

Opening her eyes, she rolled onto her back and peered through the sheer, white lace curtains that covered the floor-to-ceiling window that stood beside her bed. With a frown, she noticed the sun had crept way low in the sky. The day was nearly over. She hadn’t even noticed.

She reached for her phone where it sat on her nightstand and held the button down to switch it back on. Her friends would no doubt have been trying to reach her. She’d switched it off right after swallowing the second pill. She didn’t want to have to make conversation with anyone while she was trying to get wasted, not even her friends.

The phone buzzed with message after message, vibrating against her hand. She scrolled through them and bit her lip. Most of them were from her best friend. She’d known Madeleine since kindergarten and they were still as close as two friends could be. After reading through Maddy’s increasingly concerned texts, Cassie was flooded with guilt.

Maddy knew about Cassie’s abduction at the hand of her mother’s stepbrother and Cassie had shared a little of the horror of it with her, but not the full story. Never the full story. To tell anyone the truth of what really happened that day would tear open her wounded soul and throw her into a dark oblivion from which she’d never return. Better to live life dulling the pain than risking losing what little life she had.