Night's Favour (39 page)

No
.
 
“What about Valentine?”
 
Danny's fingers whitened against the side of her glass.

“I don’t think he needs our help.”
 
Carlisle picked up one of the bullets, turning it over in her hand.
 
“Not yet, anyway.”

“How come?”

“Because he’s not here.
 
And when I saw that thing —”

“Valentine.”

“When I saw Everard on those tapes?
 
He was pretty fast.
 
We’re not going to catch him until he wants to get caught.
 
The one thing we got?
 
He knows where we are.
 
He’ll come to us.”

John looked at his watch.
 
“It’s three in the morning.
 
How does this work, do we keep watch or something?”

Carlisle looked at him sideways.
 
“You watch a lot of movies?”

“Some.”

“Right.
 
Sure.
 
Ok, you can keep watch.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Do I get your gun?”

“What do you think?”

“Right.”
 
John looked at the door, then put the bottle down.
 
“I’ll be outside.
 
On first watch.”
 
The door clicked shut behind him.

Carlisle reached for the scotch.
 
“Refill?
 
Waiting’s going to be hard, Kendrick.
 
Really hard.
 
This’ll help.”

“It will?”
 
Danny met her eyes over the bottle.

“Yeah.”
 
Carlisle nodded.
 
“A little.”

Danny held her own glass up, her hand —
they’ve got my little girl!
— shaking.
 
She’d take all the help she could right now; she was going to need more than a couple of glasses to get through the night.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Adalia’s head felt fuzzy, like she’d had too much sleep.
 
She tried to open her eyes, but they were very heavy.
 
She caught a glimpse of a ceiling, plain and white, before letting her lids fall shut again.
 
The bed she was in was soft and warm.

“She’s coming around.”
 
It was a man, flat and mean.
 
Something tugged at the edge of her memory, but she lost it, falling back to drifting.

“I don’t understand why you felt the need to sedate the child, Captain.”
 
A woman, used to talking in the Mommy Voice.
 
“She’s hardly a danger to you or your men.”

“It was for her own safety.
 
There were… complications.”
 
There was a pause.
 
“It’ll help a little as she wakes up.
 
Soften the edges of last night for her.”

“Propofol?”

“Amongst other things.
 
A little cocktail we sometimes use.”

“Hm.
 
I wonder what else was in that cocktail, Captain.
 
She’s a bit young for an amnestic.”

Adalia avoided thinking about the big words, and what they might mean.
 
It was nice just to lie here, thinking about nothing much at all.

She heard steps coming closer to her bed, and tried to open her eyes again.
 
She saw a woman, tall and thin, standing over her bed.

“How are you feeling?”

“Mmm.
 
My head feels funny.”
 
Adalia slurred a little, giggling.
 
“I’m all floaty.”

“I can imagine.
 
My name’s Elsie.”

“I’m Adalia.”
 
Her mother told her not to talk to strangers, but she felt too relaxed to worry about that now.

“Do you know where you are?”

“I’m…”
 
She thought about it.
 
“I’m staying at Mandy’s house.”

“Hm.
 
Mandy had an accident.”

An accident?
 
Adalia remembered something, a door crashing open, a loud noise.
 
Mandy…
 
“I remember.
 
Mandy fell down.”

“That’s right.
 
So we had to come in.
 
You’re in a hospital.”

“A hospital?”
 
Adalia hadn’t been in a hospital since she broke her arm.
 
She’d had to wear a cast for weeks, and it itched.
 
“Will Mommy come to visit me?”

“Soon.”
 
Elsie paused for a minute, which was ok because it let Adalia float for a bit longer.
 
“There’s a young woman in here, a little like you.
 
Just a bit older.
 
Would you like to meet her?”

“Maybe.
 
I think I should get up first.”

“Yes, that’s right.
 
She’s still having breakfast anyway.
 
But after you get up, you can meet her.
 
Her name is Birkita.”

“Bir-“
 
Adalia tried to get her tongue around that.
 
“Birkita?
 
I haven’t heard that name before.”

“It’s a little unusual, you’re right.
 
You’re very clever, Adalia.”
 
Elsie got up.
 
“Rest now.
 
Someone will be back a little later, when you’re awake.”

That sounded nice.
 
Adalia let her eyes close again.
 
The bed really was nice and warm.

☽ ◇ ☾

She woke with a start, scrambling inside the blankets.
 
She felt trapped, and she had to get away.
 
She had to run!

“It’s ok, love.
 
I’ve just brought some breakfast.”
 
An old woman wearing white closed the door behind her, carrying a tray to Adalia.

“What’s happening?
 
Where’s Mom?
 
Where’s Val?”

“Oh, hush now.
 
I don’t know those people.
 
But I’ve got your breakfast.”
 
The old woman put the tray down on the table next to Adalia’s bed, then sat on the edge of the bed.
 
She had an easy smile, her face wrinkling around surprisingly white teeth.
 
She didn’t smell bad like most old people.
 
“Little one like you, you’re too young to carry so many cares.
 
A little chocolate milk will help with that, I think.”

“Chocolate milk?”

“Just as I said.
 
Some toast too, if you’re wanting it.”
 
The woman nodded at the tray.
 
“Or I can bring it back later.”

“No!”
 
Adalia bit her lip.
 
“I mean, no thank you.
 
I’m really hungry.”

“Toast it is, then.”
 
The woman settled the tray in front of Adalia.
 
“Don’t go knocking this over on the ground.
 
If you like, you can watch TV.
 
The remote’s here.”
 
She opened the top drawer on the bedside table, pulling out a rectangle of black.

“Thank you.”
 
Adalia chewed on some toast.
 
“Where am I?”

“Here is where you are.
 
Ain’t no where else you could be right now.
 
Oh!
 
I almost forgot.”
 
The woman patted her gown, then pulled something out of a pocket.
 
“You had this when you came in.
 
Took it off you so I could get you cleaned up, but I was only minding it for you.
 
She looks a little banged up.
 
Like you.”
 
The old woman smiled again, brushing a lock of hair off Adalia’s face.

Prancer.
 
Adalia scooped up the toy, hugging it briefly to her chest.
 
Then she put it on the bedside table, so Prancer could be part of the conversation.

“I’m Adalia.
 
This is Prancer.
 
Val gave her to me.”

“Well how do you do.
 
I’m Belle.
 
Mr. Val is awful generous.”

Adalia smiled.
 
“He’s nice.
 
He was…”
 
She wanted to remember something, but it wouldn’t come.
 
“Do you want some toast, Miss Belle?”

“Oh, it’s just Belle, sweetie.
 
And no thank you.
 
I’ve had my breakfast.
 
Been up a few hours now.”

“What time is it?”

“It’s time enough for you to eat your breakfast, and don’t go minding about that.
 
Time is as time does.”

“I meant, have I been here long?”
 
The chocolate milk was good, thick and creamy, not really a milkshake and not really plain milk either.
 
It was a little cold.
 
She’d never had chocolate milk for breakfast before.

“A little while.
 
A night at least.
 
You weren’t here yesterday, and why, this morning here you are, bright as a button on Sunday.”

“I…
 
I can’t remember stuff.”
 
Adalia thought for a moment.
 
“There was a woman here.
 
She said her name was Elsie.
 
And the captain.”

“Ms. Morgan was here?
 
Fancy.
 
She usually comes here to visit her…
 
To see Birkita.”
 
The old woman sighed.
 
“That poor girl.
 
Never you mind about that though.”

“She said I could meet her.
 
Bir…
 
Birkita.”

“Well, that would be a rare treat.”
 
The old woman stood up, taking the empty tray from Adalia.
 
“I’ll most likely see you at lunch.”

“I’d like that.
 
Thank you, Belle.”

“You’re most welcome, Adalia.
 
Pleased to meet you.”

Belle walked out the door, leaving Adalia alone again.
 
Where was she?
 
There was a window with the blinds drawn, and her room had a big mirror in one wall.
 
A black box with a white button and a grill was on the wall next to the mirror.
 
The TV sat on the wall, but she didn’t feel like watching TV.
 
She checked the bedside table, and found her clothes there.
 
She dressed, folding up the hospital gown she’d been wearing and placing it neatly at the foot of the bed.
 
Walking up to the blinds, Adalia looked for a bit until she found a stick she could turn, opening the louvres.

Outside was lush and green, woods as far as she could see.
 
There weren’t any woods around where she lived.
 
She was sure she hadn’t seen that many trees in her life.
 
There weren’t any landmarks she could see that she knew.

“Are you awake?”

Adalia almost jumped out of her skin.
 
There was no one in the room with her.

“You have to press the button.
 
By the mirror.”
 
The voice sounded like a girl’s.
 
“If you’re awake, that is.
 
I can’t tell.”

Adalia moved to the black box with a white button, and pushed it down.
 
“I’m awake.”

The mirror lit up, then her reflection faded away into a view of another room.
 
A girl was standing there, looking at her.
 
When she saw Adalia, she smiled.
 
“Oh great!
 
You’re up.”

Adalia stepped back a few paces, looking up at the view into the other room.
 
“This was a mirror before!”
 
The room behind the other girl had a big bed, and toys scattered everywhere.
 
It looked like a playground, not a bedroom.

“Yeah.
 
It’s a big TV.
 
It lets you see me, and I can see you.
 
So we can talk, without you needing to put on a suit.”

“A suit?”

“No one can come and see me without a suit.”
 
The other girl scratched her head, ruffling big locks of red hair.
 
“It’s because I’m sick.”

“Oh.”
 
Adalia looked down at her feet.
 
“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, silly.
 
I’ve been sick for a while.”
 
The girl tipped her head sideways.
 
“Do you like my hair?”

Adalia looked closer.
 
“It’s very nice.”

“It itches.”
 
The other girl looked sad.
 
“It was supposed to make me beautiful, but it just makes me itchy.”

“Maybe it made you itchy and beautiful.”

The other girl brightened.
 
“You think?”
 
She spun around, locks flying out a little ways.
 
“I picked the colour.”

“Do you know where we are?”
 
Adalia looked around her room, then pointed out the window.
 
“There’s a forest out there.”

“We’re in my hospital.”

“Your…
 
You mean we’re at the hospital.”

“It’s my hospital.
 
Mom built it for me.”
 
The other girl looked at her feet.
 
“My name’s Birkita.
 
But you can call me Scarlett, if you like.”

“Because of the hair?”

Birkita paused.
 
“Ok, yeah, because of the hair.
 
Is that ok?”