‘If these things had been taken, we could consider that it was a robbery,’ DCI Brent said. ‘But that doesn’t appear to be the case.’
‘Then what?’ Tony said. ‘What the hell could it be?’
‘That’s still under investigation.’ His phone rang, and Fraser stood rigid with fear. DCI Brent looked at him. ‘I’m afraid they had to call off the search for the night.’
‘No!’ Fraser protested loudly as fear and anger surged through every part of his body. ‘We have to keep looking. I’ll go…I’ll find her.’
‘Fraser,’ DS Grant said. ‘You’re needed here.’
Fraser’s chest felt as though it would burst as he gasped in short, ineffective breaths, and his vision blurred into a red fog. ‘I can’t leave her out there. I have to go.’
DCI Brent put his hand firmly on Fraser’s shoulder. ‘Try and calm down a bit, so we can explain.’
Fraser responded and fixed his eyes on the detective. ‘Explain what?’
‘She might not be there, Fraser. She could be anywhere. And you need to be here in case somebody calls.’ He kept his eyes fixed on Fraser and added, ‘Unless, of course you’ve already had a call? And maybe that’s why you want to get away.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Have you had a demand for cash?’
Fraser was stunned by his question. ‘What? Why would I?’
‘You think she’s been kidnapped?’ Lizzy suddenly called out in fear and moved from the window.
Tony put his arms around her. ‘We don’t know yet, sweetheart. Just hang on until we can work out what we should do.’
DCI Brent continued, ‘If your fiancée has indeed been kidnapped, it’s important you tell us whether anybody has contacted you.’
Fraser shook his head. ‘No, I’ve had no calls, not even from Claudia. I was expecting her to walk in any…’ His voice faded, and then he braced himself and continued. ‘Nobody’s called.’
‘Does she normally call in?’ DCI Brent asked.
‘She never leaves loose ends about our son’s care,’ Fraser told him.
DCI Brent took his phone from his pocket. ‘The local police found some photographs on her phone and sent them through to us. It looks as though an old pickup van was blocking her way, and she took these.’ He found the pictures on his phone. ‘Does this vehicle look familiar?’
They looked, but nobody recognised it. Nor did they recognise the man in the pictures, but tension increased even more, knowing that they were taken by Claudia. Fraser’s fear turned him cold, and he became quiet.
‘You must wait here, Fraser, if a call comes, we assume it’ll be for you. The search will resume at daylight, but, for the moment, we’re treating this as a kidnap.’
Fraser sat on the edge of the sofa, his elbows were braced on his thighs, and his head rested on his hands as he prepared to wait for the phone to ring. He even found himself hoping that Claudia had been kidnapped because it was the lesser of the unthinkable evils that were possible.
The family sat and waited hour after hour.
Daylight began to creep across the lake. Suddenly DCI Brent’s phone rang, giving everybody a severe jolt. ‘Yes…. In the valley?’ He listened a moment and then added, ‘Halfway down. We’ll leave straight away.’ He looked at Fraser. ‘They’ve found her.’
It sounded as though it was a body and not a living person. Fraser could hardly breathe. ‘Are they sure it’s Claudia?’
‘Identification is confirmed because she’s wearing an ornamental ID tag round her neck, with your contact details. Air ambulance is taking her to casualty at Bowbury.’
‘Casualty?’ Fraser said, grasping at the hope that she was alive.
‘She’s unconscious and hypothermic.’ He looked at DS Grant. ‘We should get over there.’
Chapter Twenty
Fraser ran, from the hospital car park, to the emergency entrance and saw the two detectives.
DS Grant approached him, she spoke quietly. ‘All we know is that Claudia was found halfway down the ridge and some distance from the vehicle. She’s in the trauma unit, they won’t allow us in yet. She’s still being processed.’
‘Processed?’
‘She’s still unconscious. We’ll get back and run checks on the photographs.’ DS Grant handed Fraser a card and lowered her voice even more. ‘For Claudia, just in case this turns out to be…what I mean is…’
‘I know what you mean,’ Fraser said quietly, but it was a horrific fact that he hadn’t yet considered. ‘I’m sure the doctors will detect the signs and let me know.’
‘She can call me any time. For now, we need to find out who this guy is in the photographs. I’m so sorry about all this, Fraser. If there’s anything I can do, just call me.’
Eliot caught Fraser up, but he didn’t ask any questions, he just stood quietly.
Fraser continued to claim that he was Claudia’s fiancé and mentioned once again that they had a child. Someone showed them to a relative’s room. There were times when the invitation to take a seat was not a welcome courtesy. Sitting was definitely not going to happen. Eliot’s silent, strong and compassionate presence continued, as it had all the long hours of waiting through the night.
Fraser gulped down the tension in his throat and looked at Eliot’s face. ‘Times like this,’ he said, ‘you think of all the things you should have said to somebody when they were fit and well.’
‘It’s usual to feel like that.’
‘I love her…so much. What’s wrong with me for God’s sake? I couldn’t even tell her that.’
‘You’ve got the rest of your life to tell her.’
‘But what if this is already the rest of her life? What if it’s all going to end in there?’
‘You can’t speculate, Fraser. Concentrate on keeping yourself together. Claudia’s alive, she’s strong, and, by all accounts, she’s stubborn. The qualities a person needs to beat things like this. You should be the same.’
Fraser gripped Eliot’s shoulder and said, ‘You’re right. I shouldn’t leave it all up to her.’
After a while, they allowed Fraser to see Claudia, but they were still assessing her condition. His gut clenched like a vice as he approached the bay where she lay on a bed that seemed to be covered with tubes and wires. Her head was braced, and a mask covered her mouth and nose. There was a swelling on one side of her forehead. The rest of her body was covered in a blanket.
‘Just a couple of minutes, Mr…?’
‘Fraser Gallier. Can you tell me anything?’
‘We’re trying to find out the extent of her injuries. She can’t tell us where the pain is. She’s had a blow to the head, and she’s hypothermic. We have to take her for a scan now to check for internal injuries.’
Fraser watched as they wheeled Claudia’s bed away.
He re-joined Eliot in the relative’s room. ‘I should arrange for a private room for her.’
‘Clearly, the care and attention she gets won’t be any different, but it might make you feel better.’
‘It would if I have to arrange ongoing care for her.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘She’s still unconscious. What if she’s going to be in a coma for weeks, months…?’ He gasped in a shuddering breath. ‘Who knows how long? I must make plans for that…take care of her. But what about Justin?’ His eyes closed tightly as he winced at the thought of trying to make Justin understand.
Eliot gripped his shoulders and stopped him pacing about. ‘For goodness sake, stop rambling. Wait until you know more before you commit her to a permanent sick bed.’
Two hours later, the registrar brought an update. ‘The good news is that her temperature’s rising slowly, and she has no spinal injury but has bruising to her legs and her left shoulder. She has a head injury and that appears to be the main cause for concern. All the procedures requested by the police have been completed.’
‘And…?’
‘I can’t tell you anything
about that, I’m sorry. I’m sure the police will let you know. You can see her now, but I’m afraid she still isn’t conscious.’
Eliot accompanied Fraser when they were shown to the side ward. Fraser approached the pale, still body that lay on a bed with rails on each side of it. She was covered with blankets. He had never seen Claudia so lifeless. In his mind, he scooped her up from that clinical bed, held her close to his chest, kissed her face, whispered against her beautiful curled hair. But in fact, he didn’t know if he could even touch her hand. Her eyes were closed, her breath was shallow. He gently rested the back of his fingers on her cheek and wondered just how cold she would have been before the improvement. A monitor, by the bed, made beeping sounds, and he began to fear that they might stop.
Claudia’s eyes flickered and slowly opened. Fraser harnessed the urge to react. He quietly leaned towards her and said, ‘Hello, my love.’ Claudia stared at him blankly, but he smiled at her. ‘You’re doing really well, sweetheart, really well.’ But the beautiful, brown, shining eyes, that he knew and loved, were now vague and dull. They could be staring at any other man in the world, a total stranger. His throat jerked, and his chest tightened as he stood upright again. ‘She doesn’t know me,’ he whispered. ‘There’s no recognition on her face, she doesn’t know me,’ he repeated.
‘It’s far too soon to expect it, Mr Gallier. Give her time,’ the registrar said. ‘You must be exhausted yourself, waiting all this time for news. Why don’t you go and get some rest? Come back later. We’ll call if there’s any change.’
Chapter Twenty-One
Molly told Fraser that she would give Justin his supper and get him to bed. So, Fraser returned to the hospital, sat by Claudia’s bedside and watched as she drifted in and out of consciousness. Time passed, measured by the metronomic bleeps of the monitor. He pressed a faint kiss on Claudia’s face and rested his hand gently on her fingers where they laid on the bed. ‘Come back, Claudia,’ he whispered. ‘I love you, please come back.’
Justin was confused, the next afternoon, when Fraser picked him up from Molly’s, because they didn’t go straight to the cottage. His hand reached back towards it as he cried out for his mummy.
‘Mummy’s at work,’ Fraser lied.
‘Mummy work,’ Justin echoed tearfully. He knew what it meant, and it comforted him for a while. Fraser was amazed how Claudia had prepared their child with as much self-empowerment as his age allowed, taught him little things that helped him through confusing times. He knew that the word “sore” meant pain or unwell. He knew a couple of signs for when he was thirsty or hungry. Claudia lay in a hospital bed, injured and shocked, but even in that situation, she shielded him. She had always made sure Justin would be protected, still wore her ID necklace.
Lizzy had arranged to put a cot by Fraser’s bed, at Larchwood, so Justin could be close to his daddy.
When the child’s bedtime arrived, it was clear that even well thought-out plans could go very wrong. The cries for Mummy and the bedtime song returned, and there was no way he would be fobbed off with the expression, Mummy work, any longer. Every tear that spilled down the child’s face stung Fraser’s heart as he stood by the cot, trying to comfort his fretful son. He came to realise that a baby can be exhausted and still fight sleep, so he made a decision.
He picked up Justin, gathered up the comfort items, along with the many things that fitted into a baby’s bag, and went down to the kitchen. Once he had a mission, things looked better.
It was Stella’s evening off, so Tony and Lizzy had eaten early with the children. Tony was making coffee, a sign that his children were already settled in bed. ‘Can I help?’
‘No, I’m fine, thanks.’ Fraser put Justin in his high chair and got him a chocolate chip biscuit, he would stop breaking the rules at a more convenient time. ‘How’s Lizzy?’
‘Distraught, stressed, but putting on a cheerful face for the children.’
‘Give her my love, I’ll let her know as soon as there’s any change.’ He located the first-aid kit, took out some plasters and a small bandage and placed them on the table, along with a small Teddy. Justin didn’t understand enough words for a full explanation, but with the help of his little repertoire, he would understand a simple one. Teddy was going to be the patient. He was sore, he needed a plaster on his head. Together they applied the plasters and then a bandage.
‘Sore,’ Justin said, and his little brow puckered.
Fraser sighed with relief that Justin understood. He smiled. ‘Yes. Teddy’s sore.’
‘He seems much calmer,’ Tony said. ‘That was a good move. He might settle now.’
‘No, he’s going to see his mummy.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘Yes, positive. She has no visible injuries other than the bump on her head and some bruises. She hasn’t recognised me yet, so that might be a problem. But it’s worth a try. She looks peaceful, he’ll cope with it a lot better than not seeing her at all. He can get a glimpse of her to see that she’s sleeping before the nurses kick us out again.’
‘It’s getting late now. We can take care of him.’
‘It’s OK, we’ll make it. She’s in a private room now, so we won’t be disturbing anybody else.’
‘Fraser―’
Fraser flashed a determined look at his cousin. ‘He wants his mummy! Who am I to tell him he can’t see her?’
‘What will you do if he kicks off? He’s exhausted.’
‘We have to try. Come on, Tony, put Lizzy in that hospital bed and little Eddy in this chair. What would you do? This might not be a good idea, but he wants Claudia, and he’s going to see her. I have to stop his little heart breaking somehow?’
‘And how’s your own heart?’
‘Battered,’ Fraser said with a weary smile. ‘But I’m getting hold of the priorities now.’
The teddy was wrapped up in a little blanket and put in Justin’s bag, along with his cat, two books and a drink. He glanced around to check if he had everything and noticed the birthday cake on the worktop. He shut his eyes and sighed, ‘For Christ’s sake it’s Justin’s birthday.’
Tony embraced him and said, ‘It’ll keep. We’ll get it together tomorrow. Lizzy and I will make sure he gets his party. You’re right, you’ve got to do something. Take care, and keep your mind on the road.’
When Fraser arrived at the hospital, the nurse questioned his decision to bring Justin.
‘If he doesn’t get a glimpse of his mummy, I’ll have a sick child on my hands. We just want to sit with her for a couple of minutes, and then we’ll go. If it doesn’t work, I’ll take him straight out.’
‘OK, give it a try.’
In the room, Claudia seemed unchanged. Justin’s body jerked up and down when he saw her. Fraser held a finger to his lips. ‘Shh! Mummy’s sore.’
Justin’s chin crumpled, but he remained quiet. Fraser carefully put down the bag, sat on the chair by the bed and put Justin on his lap. ‘So far so good,’ Fraser whispered to himself, but he knew that confusion about the strange surroundings was contributing to Justin’s quiet behaviour.
‘Mummy sleep,’ Justin said.
Fraser smiled at his little hero son. ‘Yes, Mummy’s asleep.’ He fumbled in the bag and took out a book. Justin was drawn to it, and they talked about the animals in the story. The child almost fell asleep but deliberately jolted himself awake.
Fraser reached into the bag and found the cat in the belief that it was the missing detail. Justin was delighted to see it and let out a loud cry of ‘Cat!’ His voice pierced the clinical silence.
Fraser winced and feared that their visit would be over. He looked at Claudia. Her eyelids flickered, and her head turned towards them. For several seconds, she looked at them, her eyes still blank. Fraser watched and waited. Claudia blinked and stared, and then her mouth tweaked into a faint smile. Fraser hardly dared think that the smile was for them. Claudia would smile at any child, and Justin was very softly calling to her. Then her arm s
tretched out towards him.
‘Hello Justin,’ she whispered, her voice was croaky and tight. ‘Hello, my lovely boy.’
Fraser almost passed out with relief, but he drew a long breath and said, ‘He’s been so brave. He was desperate to see you.’
She looked at Justin and smiled. ‘I need a cuddle,’ she said softly.
Fraser protested. ‘I don’t think the nurse would agree to that.’
‘I wasn’t going to cuddle the nurse,’ she said, ‘I was going cuddle my little boy.’
Fraser’s heart pounded as he hardly dare believe this was happening. Her eyes were still not so clear, but her brain was very much intact. She was shaken and unwell, but even in that state she could make a sharp comment. He stifled a shuddering sound that rippled through his vocal chords. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’
‘He might hurt you. Do you have any pain?’
‘Only because I can’t reach him.’
Fraser gently put Justin on the bed. The exhausted child nestled against Claudia, as she put a bruised arm around him and held him.
‘Din, din, din,’ Justin uttered.
Claudia’s husky voice, muffled against his head, whispered the song, and within seconds, Justin was asleep.
Fraser sat back in the chair. Relief swam over his body and threatened to make him sob like a child. He held back this urge, yet large tears spilled over his lower eye lids and down his face to his jaw.
Claudia raised her arm from Justin’s back and reached out to Fraser. ‘Hold my hand.’ It was like the video, when she reached out to him, but this time he was there. He stood by the bed, grasped her fingers and bent to press his lips on them. Then he placed her hand back on Justin’s body. He knew he had taken a big risk, but it turned out to be a moment of healing for all three of them.
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