Ultimate Justice (14 page)

“Lorne?” Her father rested his hand on her face.

“Sorry, Dad, I was just thinking. I’ve put too much on your shoulders—please forgive me.”

“Stop it! There’s nothing to forgive. Maybe that meningitis a few months back took more out of me than I first thought.”

“Do you want me to ring the doctor?”

She knew what his answer would be before he said it.

“Nope.”

“Okay. Bear with me a couple of days. I’ll try and sort things out this week, Dad, I promise.”

“Shoo—go now. Give Charlie a kiss for me and tell her I love her.”

Lorne bent down and pecked him on the cheek. “I will, Dad. Stay in bed for a while. Tony said he’ll take care of the dogs this morning.”

“Maybe I will have a bit of a lie in, love,” he replied, his voice as weary as his smile.

Lorne closed the door to her father’s room gently behind her and made her way back in to the kitchen, where Katy was waiting for her.

“Hey, why the sad face? You should be happy Charlie is awake.”

“I am, Katy. It’s Dad I’m worried about. You saw how quiet he was while we were eating last night. That’s unheard of when we’re discussing a case. I just took a coffee to him and he looks spent, totally worn out. Maybe I better rethink the two businesses and my family’s parts in them. I’m not sure what’s going to happen with Charlie yet,” she said, concerned she reached for the jacket that she had hooked over the kitchen chair and put it on.

“I’m sure Charlie will be fine once she’s home safe, and well. I’m guessing your dad will be fine too, once his granddaughter is out of hospital. Keep positive, girl.” Katy smiled and gave Lorne’s arm a reassuring rub.

“Damn!” She cuddled Katy. “Happy birthday, sweetie.” Lorne released Katy, whose cheeks had turned a fetching crimson.

“Some birthday. I’m not likely to forget this one in a hurry, am I?”

“Sorry, hon.”

Katy raised a hand. “Enough already. Let’s go see how that daughter of yours is.”

•     •     •

They walked into the
ICU to see Charlie crying as she spoke to a doctor. Lorne rushed to her bedside. Gripping Charlie’s shaking hand in hers, she asked the doctor, “What’s going on?”

Katy stood back, but Lorne beckoned her friend to come forward. By the serious expression on the doctor’s face, she was going to need all the support she could get.

“Mrs. Simpkins, I take it?” the young male doctor asked. His tone was offhand and as far away from caring as she could imagine.

“That’s right. I said: what’s going on? Why is my daughter crying?” Her tone matched his.

Between sobs, Charlie spoke instead of the doctor. “Mum, I can’t feel my legs and they won’t tell me how Simon is.”

They were the worst words she could have imagined hearing. Her beautiful daughter was paralysed because she’d been foolishly coaxed into a boy’s car. Lorne forced the tears back, adamant that she should stay strong for Charlie’s sake. The Simon issue would have to be dealt with later. She brushed the hair out of her daughter’s eyes and delved into her pocket for a tissue to wipe away the tears that were coursing down Charlie’s pale cheeks. “Hush, baby. I’m going to talk to the doctor alone. Look, Katy’s come to see you.” Lorne glanced over her shoulder at Katy and gave her a pleading look.

The doctor tutted and turned away from the bed. Lorne followed him, her legs trembling beneath her.

“What’s the meaning of this? How dare you tell her something like that!”

“Now, wait just a minute. I walked on the ward a few seconds before you arrived. I told your daughter nothing.”

His whole body appeared to stiffen in front of her. She was conscious of Charlie’s sharp hearing and lowered her voice. “Then why would she say such a thing?” Lorne asked, confused.

“Maybe because it’s a fact—she
can’t
feel her legs. It sometimes happens after a bad crash. However, that does not mean it’s permanent. She could regain the feeling soon; the nerves could spark into life at any moment, or there could be a delay of a week or so. We’ll need to carry out further tests to be sure.” His face cracked into a forced smile and his voice appeared to have softened a little. So much so that Lorne felt the need to apologise for her behaviour.

“I’m sorry, I misconstrued the situation. I suppose it was a gut reaction to think she could be paralysed. What percentages are we talking about here?”

“I’d say your daughter has a fifty to eighty percent chance of walking again, but the tests will tell us more. Let’s see what the results say and then we’ll be more certain about our facts. Sit with her for a while. I’ll see if we can find the staff I need to carry out the relevant tests; on Sundays, the staffing level is lower than during the week.”

Lorne nodded and turned to see Katy and Charlie watching them. She smiled at her daughter and blew her a kiss. “Thank you. Is there anything we can do for Charlie in the meantime?”

“No. Just comfort her, try to take her mind off her injuries. It won’t be easy, I know, but it’ll help her recover. I’ll be back soon.” He exited the ward and Lorne returned to sit on the edge of her daughter’s bed.

“Well? What did he say? Will I have to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair?” Charlie asked as fresh tears fell from her eyes.

“They have to run some tests, darling. Hey, I had a word with the doc, told him we need you mucking out kennels before the end of next week. I’ll tell you what—I’ll make a deal with you: I won’t clean the kennels out all week. That’ll keep you busy for a couple of hours next weekend, won’t it?”

Charlie cringed at the thought but a smile settled on her face. “Eww…‌at the rate those guys poop, I’ll have a pile the size of Everest to contend with.”

Lorne laughed. “You haven’t met the new recruits yet—a Great Dane and an Irish Wolfhound—now those guys can poop for England.” She pulled a face and held her nose for a second. “And the smell…”

The three of them laughed and chatted non-stop about girly things for the next fifteen minutes or so until the doctor returned. He motioned with his head for Lorne to join him near the sister’s desk at the end of the ward.

“Tests will begin in an hour. We’ll have a clearer indication of what we’re dealing with then.”

“Thank you, Doctor. I’m sorry about what happened before.”

“Don’t worry. Dealing with irate parents goes with the job.”

Lorne found herself smiling, despite the mild insult. “Will Charlie be awake during the tests?”

“Of course—they are primarily to measure the amount of pain your daughter is in. I’d like you to be there to comfort her, if that’s all right.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The doctor gave a brief nod. “We’ll come and collect her when we’re ready.”

Lorne went back to let Charlie and Katy know what was going to happen next.

“Well, while that’s going on, I’ll go and visit Croft,” Katy said.

“Makes sense. He’ll probably be more lucid today. You might even get a description of the men who beat him up.”

“Hey, what’s this?” Charlie piped up, her mood seemed a little brighter after their girly chat.

Lorne tapped the end of Charlie’s nose and winked at her. “Never you mind, Miss Nosey Parker. Your number one priority is getting yourself better.”

Charlie eyed her suspiciously and murmured, “What, no major telling off for being stupid?”

“Were you stupid, Charlie?”

Her daughter’s head slipped round to face the wall. “Yes. I didn’t mean it. Simon wanted to show me the car his father had bought.”

Katy stood up to leave. “I can sense a heavy mother-daughter talk coming on. See you in an hour or so.”

After Katy left, Lorne sat on the edge of her daughter’s bed and put a finger under Charlie’s chin, forcing her daughter to look her in the eye. “We’ve talked about this, haven’t we, Charlie?”

“I know I’ve let you down, Mum, but Simon said it would be a quick spin around the block…‌I tried to make him stop. He kept laughing at me, calling me a wuss. In the end, I tugged on his arm to try and force him to take me home and…‌and that’s when it happened. Why did I mess around while he was driving? Why? Now this!” She pointed down at her legs.

“Hush now. What’s done is done. You’re alive. That’s the main thing.”

Charlie narrowed her eyes. “Meaning? No! Simon’s not…”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but Simon didn’t make it.”

Charlie buried her face in her trembling hands and sobbed. Lorne ran a hand over Charlie’s head, and a small lump formed in her throat.

The awkward silence between them was disturbed by footsteps approaching on the tiled floor. Lorne glanced up at the doctor, who was observing them with a look of concern. Lorne shook her head, silently telling him not to worry.

“We’re ready for you now, Charlie.”

•     •     •

Katy knocked on Croft’s
door and walked into the room.

The injured man stirred and opened a bruised eye to look at her. He seemed briefly scared by her entrance, but then recognition registered on his face and he visibly relaxed and motioned for her to sit beside him.

“How are you feeling?”

“Sore.” He sat up and grimaced.

“I’m sorry this happened to you. Will you take heed of the warning now?” Katy asked, lowering herself into the wooden chair next to his bed.

“If you think that, you don’t know me.”

Katy sighed. “These are very serious people you’re dealing with, Croft.”

“Have you come here to reprimand me, or would you like me to share the new information I’ve just received?” A teasing look manifested in his eyes.

Katy sat forward and teetered on the edge of the seat. “Information? What information?”

“The information I received about half an hour ago from one of my informants,” Croft said with a smirk that he quickly seemed to regret.

Katy snapped into detective mode, delving into her pocket and pulling out her pad and a pen. “About the traffickers, I take it?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, come on. Don’t draw it out,” Katy said impatiently.

“There’s talk on the streets that another delivery is due.”

“Due? When?” Katy asked, her pen poised ready to jot down the details. Her heart started to race at the thought of finally bringing this gang down.

“Look at you. Your heart’s pumping like an express train, isn’t it? If we swapped places, you wouldn’t be able to give this case up, either, would you?”

“Where?” she demanded, ignoring his comment.

“Same place—the warehouse out on the trading estate.”

“When? God, are you always such a pain in the arse?” Katy doodled on the pad as a way of venting her frustration.

“I have my moments.”

“Croft, you would try the patience of a saint. When?”

“Okay, you win. Tonight, at nine o’clock.”

“This source of yours—is he kosher? Guaranteed tip off, is it?”

“Give or take on the time; it’s a guesstimate. Depends on the authorities, etc. But yes, you can take my word that this is a guaranteed tip off.”

“Anything else?” Katy asked, her mind already forming the foundation of a plan.

Surprised, he asked, “Isn’t that enough? In the future remind me to tell my informants that they must do better for this pretty detective I know.”

Katy refused to blush, used to dealing with jerks like him, she shook her head and gave him one of her ‘you sad bastard’ looks.

He got the hint and gave her a cheeky wink as she stood up to leave. “We’ll let you know what happens.” Katy waved her notebook at him before tucking it back into her jacket pocket. “Thanks for the tipoff.”

“Let’s hope something comes of it, for the girls’ sake. Be careful out there,” she heard him say as she closed the door behind her.

Lost in thought, she made her way through the long, narrow corridors back to the ICU, completely unaware that someone was following her.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

L
orne settled her daughter
into bed, consciously holding back her own tears. For poor Charlie the dam had broken; she was sobbing and gasping for air between sobs when Katy returned to the ward.

“Can you stay with Charlie for a minute, Katy? I need to have another chat with the doctor.”

“Of course.” Katy sat on the edge of the bed and held Charlie’s trembling hand, squeezing it between hers.

As Lorne walked over to the sister’s desk she heard Katy asking Charlie about the latest music groups she liked. She felt relieved when Charlie’s crying stopped and her daughter responded enthusiastically.

The doctor was looking at the test results when Lorne joined him. “Well?”

“It doesn’t look good, I’m afraid. Charlie appears to have no feeling in her legs at all. Whether that will change over the coming weeks, we have no idea. The X-rays didn’t really show us anything, either.”

“Could it be a trapped nerve?” Lorne asked more out of hope than anything else.

“It could be. I’m sorry, but it’s going to be a waiting game over the next few weeks. A physiotherapist will get to work on Charlie tomorrow. It’s surprising what results can be obtained from manipulating the muscles, joints, and limbs.”

“I see,” she mumbled, downhearted by the news.

“Don’t give up—we won’t. Is her father around?” the doctor asked with a slight smile.

“We’re divorced. Actually, Charlie lives with him.”

“In my experience, the burden of keeping her spirits up shouldn’t be down to one person. Can you take it in turns to visit? I wouldn’t advise being here all the time; she should have different people around her—it’ll aid in her recovery in the long run.”

Lorne cringed at the thought of asking Tom to share in the role of visiting and encouraging Charlie. It was going to be a tough enough task for her, let alone him. He wasn’t blessed with an abundance of patience, and he was in the process of expanding his mechanics business after buying a second garage. She knew his time at present was limited.
But hey, so is mine. If I can visit our one and only child, then I’m sure he can do his share, too.

“I’ll have a word with him. I’m sure we can come up with some kind of workable schedule.”

“Excellent. If you ever need to chat, the sister or her staff can page me. I’m always around—during the day, at least.”