The Grotto's Secret: A Historical Conspiracy Mystery Thriller (18 page)

69

Olaf flexed his biceps and studied his tattoos. The red dragon was by far the best. It brightened his bulging muscle, bringing attention to it everywhere he went.

He glanced at Barker’s mansion. No movement for the past hour.

He had only been watching Barker for a day, but already interesting cockroaches had come out of the woodwork. Barker, the cat and a devil. Interesting.

Settling down for the night in his new Lexus, Olaf thought about his former life. Being a bouncer had its benefits. Busty tramps in tight mini-skirts desperate to get into an exclusive club would do just about anything. A quickie around the corner in the dark alley would buy their night’s entrance. A joust up the
aars
bought them a month’s free ride. But he’d left that life. 

Being a pharma rat exterminator paid higher bonuses. This job paid twice. First, Gorden gave him a pile of cash, then, when he took the same information to Jurgen, the old bastard paid as well. Luckily, he had sussed neither trusted the other.

Now he didn’t have to take any old clubbing slut up the back.

Picky. He loved that English word. He’d become picky. Money could get anything. If he wanted to admire a red dragon while he bent over some slut, he ordered it. The escort agency had a long list of tarts with dragons tattooed on their backs.

But being an exterminator had its downsides. No gambling with the other bouncers to see which slut wanted a month’s club entry. No quickie around the corner to spike up his night.

Glancing at his Rolex, Olaf sighed. It was going to be a boring night.

Yet his
animaal
instincts were calling.

70

Kelby’s eyes fluttered open. The constant flurry of activity had woken her. Machines beeped. A medicine trolley rattled past. Patients coughed, their families offering them soft whispers of reassurance. Somewhere along the corridor a baby cried. As a machine alarm went off, a nurse’s feet shuffled with her shoes squeaking on the floor.

From the bed alongside hers, a persistent rush of air tunnelled into someone’s chest every few seconds. It was followed by a subtle sucking sound and a long gurgle. Kelby grimaced, imagining blood and pus being sucked out. She wanted to roll onto her side, away from the sounds, but her body ached too much to move.

Everything was a blur. A nightmare where she couldn’t escape. She began to recall the accident, the two people helping her get away from her car, being brought to the Surrey County hospital by ambulance.

A reek of vomit mingled with detergent and body odour wafted around her. The air hissed as a nurse sprayed sanitiser to remove the smell of misery and sickness and despair.

Kelby closed her eyes again; it was easier to keep them closed.

‘What are the baseline obs please, Karen?’

‘Pulse 80 and regular, BP 120 over 70, O2 sats 98% on air, resp rate 14 and GCS 15.’

Kelby’s eyes shot open to find Doctor Robson leaning over her.

‘You again!’

‘I get around.’

She smiled at his wriggling eyebrows. ‘You’ve left St Adelaide’s?’

‘No. I consult privately there. My NHS practice is here.’ He glanced at his watch, ‘In fact, I was leaving when I saw you lying here. Thought you might be relieved to see a familiar face.’

‘Thank you.’

Karen glanced between the two of them, fiddled with the knobs on a machine beside her bed and showed him some notes.

After he had finished taking her pulse and scrutinising the bump on her forehead, he asked, ‘Can we call your husband to help you home?’

‘Why do I need a husband?’

‘Okay. So, no husband. Anyone else?’ His eyebrows moved up and down his forehead.

Those eyebrows again! She wanted to reach out and hold them still. ‘I don’t need anyone to chaperone me. I’m perfectly capable —’

‘If you stop chattering, and listen for a moment, I will explain.’ He waited, watching her face.

Feeling like a naughty child who’d been scolded, she nodded.

‘You’re pretty shaken and you shouldn’t be alone. I could keep you in here for the night to check on you.’

She threw her hand in the air, her fingers quoting a headline. ‘Prisoner Wade held hostage. Her crime: being a lonely old hag. Her punishment: locked in hospital for the night.’

His chest expanded as he straightened.

They stared at each other.

Finally, she gave in and whispered, ‘I’ll call Hawk.’

‘Your …’ he shook his head hoping she’d finish the sentence, but she couldn’t think of how to describe Hawk. Maybe she should fess up and tell the doctor about the threats and Teresina’s murder.

‘Good night, Kelby. We’ll give you a sheet on post-head injury advice and precautions to heed at home.’

As he turned, he pulled the curtain back around her cubicle bed and said softly so only she could hear, ‘We wouldn’t want anyone recognising you, now, would we?’

Kelby’s cheeks flared. With a dull drumbeat thumping inside her head, she muttered, ‘I have to get out of here.’

No way was she staying the night in hospital. Even if she wasn’t safe at home. She should call Hawk, but she needed someone close to be with right now.

Only one person outside her family fitted the bill.

71

Kelby watched Jimmy packing her things and mumbled, ‘Thank you for collecting me. I couldn’t face asking Stacie.’

‘Sure, but you’ve gotta listen to your man in the white coat. He knows what’s best. Everything he said back there could happen. You could be alone and get a dizzy spell and no-one would know.’

‘You’re normally not a drama queen, Jimmy. Don’t listen to him.’

It took ages to be discharged and collect her belongings. When at last the nursing staff handed over her briefcase and gym bag, Kelby dived in and checked her laptop.

‘Phew. I had visions of it being cracked.’

‘That’s all you’re worried about?’ Jimmy grabbed it from her and shoved it back into the briefcase.

‘Can you get me a hire for a few days until we sort out my car?’

‘Kelby, I drove past your beamer on the way here.
That
will not be fixed any time soon. Consider it a write-off! Besides, you have Big Boy.’ He stopped packing her things and swivelled his head to frown at her. ‘Why didn’t you call him? He should’ve taken you to find Stacie.’

Her teeth went into action and scrubbed along her thumb nail while she considered her options. ‘You know what Stacie’s reaction would have been.’

Jimmy rolled his eyes with suspicion. ‘Come on, let’s get you home. The Big Boy will be worried sick about you.’

‘Later. We’re going to see Annie first.’

‘You heard what your man said. Home, bed, rest. I’ll cancel your meetings for the next few days.’

‘Thanks Jimmy. But I have to see Annie first.’

‘Okay, a quick visit. But then you’d better keep out of trouble.’

72

Kelby hobbled out of the lift. She normally took the stairs to Annie’s ward, but her whole body still ached. She shuffled close to the wall so she didn’t topple over.

Jimmy was right; she needed to rest, but Annie always came first. Jimmy had stayed in the car to call off her meetings.

When Kelby limped into her niece’s room, she found Roy examining the charts while Annie slept peacefully.

A sensation of pleasure belted through Kelby.

‘Hello again.’ Roy whispered, ‘I thought as much. Can’t put you to bed, can we?’

‘What’s wrong with visiting my niece before going home to rest?’ She smiled and stroked Annie’s thin leg over the hospital blanket. ‘What are
you
doing here?’

He tapped on Annie’s charts. ‘Annie’s doctors have treated her asthma symptoms with inhaled corticosteroids.’

Kelby glanced at the notes, not understanding any of them.

‘Mm,’ Roy mumbled, ‘although they’re the preferred treatment for young children, they can possibly slow —’ He stopped in mid-sentence and cleared his throat. ‘You know I shouldn’t be discussing Annie’s treatment with you.’

She stared at him, her eyes pleading for help.

He lowered his voice, ‘Have you worked out her triggers?’

‘Yes.’ She whispered, ‘Sadly for poor Annie, it’s pets, and she so desperately wants a kitten or a puppy. Even a rabbit.’

‘And pollen from grass and flowers?’

‘Not as bad as pets, but yes, they’re there too. And smoke.’ Kelby glanced over her shoulder, then whispered, ‘I keep telling her mother to stop smoking. She has a fag as she gets here and hugs Annie reeking of smoke.’

‘That may be an irritant. She may not actually be allergic to it —’

‘I know! But it does bother her. Like her skin,’ Kelby pointed at Annie’s hands, ‘Sometimes the red, scaly skin gets thick patches of white scales. She gets so upset about it.’

‘There’s no way of predicting the next flare-up. And worrying about it will get Annie to pick up on the anxiety. A laid-back approach is best.’

Kelby touched his hand, forcing him to look directly into her eyes. ‘What can I do? I can’t stand seeing her in this state.’ Her voice was barely a whisper, ‘Ever since her father —’

Roy put his hand on her arm. ‘I know. It’s a terrible worry.’

‘The doctor said the stress of Gary’s death caused the eczema.’ She cleared her throat, ‘Annie didn’t know the ins and outs. She just knew her daddy wasn’t coming home anymore.’

Kelby watched as he moved effortlessly around Annie. Without waking her, he checked her drip and the tubes going into her nose.

‘Anaphylaxis is the worst. With Annie’s weak heart, a severe allergic reaction can cause respiratory arrest.’

‘At least it’s not likely to kill her.’

His look showed her how wrong she was.

73

Still searching around their home for her mother, María’s breath jumped in rapid gulps. She crept across the cobbled toft on which Padre had built their home. Madre would have tried to escape if soldiers came to their house.

Her mother’s soft melodious tone would single itself out from the crude voices. Although some of the shutters were rotting, María strained to peek through them into the narrow windows. As she tiptoed backwards, around the rear of the house she bumped into something.

¡Bah!

María sighed in relief. The water barrel, almost empty after a poor winter’s rainfall, stood in her way. She ducked behind it and headed towards the front door.

Suddenly someone booted the door wide open. María slipped back into the shadows and sneaked behind Padre’s workshop. Her dry mouth felt as if she’d eaten a sheet of her writing paper. Standing in the dim light from the front door, the soldier, wearing a leather jerkin, fiddled at his groin.

¡Uf!

María slapped her hands against her cheeks and watched in shock as he relieved himself right on their doorstep. Within plain sight of the privy!

After a few vile body noises, the leather jerkin soldier went inside.

María wondered if Madre was hiding in the underground cellar. Padre had built it to store the wild boar and buck he smoked or salted after being paid in livestock by local villagers for building more rooms onto their homes. As if he were creating a treasure trove, he had buried it inside the back of the stable. As a child María had loved to hide in there. Now it shrouded the second copy of the herbal journal. And the rizado papers she had removed from the copy Tío sent to Barcelona.

But it would have taken Madre too long to lift the heavy wooden door, scramble down the stone steps and secure it quietly behind her.

With the stealth of a snake, María slunk between the donkey’s stable, the goat’s shelter, the pig stye, and the hen and goose houses. The animals recognised her light tread and didn’t cry in alarm. In the day the animals grazed in the lower croft, but María penned them in at night, especially the hens and geese, to keep them safe from wild animals.

Careful not to bump into the pile of firewood or step on any of the sprouting vegetables and sprawling herbs in Madre’s garden, María searched the bake house in the middle of the croft. A heavy feeling in her stomach made her nauseous. Her mother was nowhere to be found.

¡Por dios! By God, what will I do now?

Trembling, María took sanctuary behind Padre’s workshop and picked at the splintered wood. She watched the cottage for a long time and listened for her mother’s voice.

Finally, it came.

In a piercing scream.

74

Kelby swallowed the lump in her throat. She couldn’t stand the thought of any more harm coming to her family.

Roy cleared his throat. ‘I’m not trying to frighten you.’

She dropped her chin and peered at him over the rim of her glasses. ‘Or to get me to try your herbs?’

He chuckled. ‘When we find rizado, it would be great to try it on Annie’s skin.’

Kelby tried to get a word in, but he protested again.

‘Seriously, Kelby, she’s on the wrong treatment.’ He tapped the charts again. ‘I won’t interfere. Get her mum to talk to the doctor. It’s not good seeing her vitality crushed by what they’re pumping into her. Try natural alternatives.’

‘I’ve been saying this for ages, but I can’t get Stacie to agree.’

‘I’m not an expert on sister-in-law relationships so I can’t help there.’

A smile tugged at Kelby’s lips. He had obviously heard the rumours of bust ups with Stacie. ‘What else can I do?’

Roy said, ‘I can authorise new tests if that’s okay with you.’

Kelby nodded, ‘Yes, please.’

‘And make sure there are no triggers at home. Get her outside as much as possible to adjust to what’s around her. She must learn to live normally, without being cocooned inside.’

Kelby’s face lit up as though seeing the light for the first time.

‘Being vigilant with Annie’s skin protection is vital. But there’s so many other benefits, such as natural vitamin D found in sunlight.’

‘We could all do with a dose of that.’

‘She has a lovely little personality.’ Roy came closer.

That first spark that connected them on the plane twined around them one more time.

‘You’re so good with kids.’

The thread became taut and Kelby wanted to sit and talk to him without any interruptions.

‘Probably from growing up with two kid sisters. Annie needs to get out there and take life by the horns.’

‘Funnily enough, she has been talking about a bull. She has this imaginary friend who lives near a waterfall and is going to teach her to swim. She said May-ree has hidden secret treasure beside her bull in a cave …’

Roy frowned at her. ‘May-ree?’

Kelby read his expression and chuckled. ‘Not the same one, obviously.’

‘But a strange coincidence.’