by Mel Sherratt
‘Ruby!’ Naomi waved at her from the kitchen.
Ruby pointed to the ceiling. ‘Just going to change.’
Naomi nodded before turning back to get another drink.
She nipped upstairs to Naomi’s room. Every time she went into it she had to stop herself from jumping up and down on the colossal bed covered in white drapes and cushions. Naomi was a lover of lilac and it was everywhere. She had her own ensuite so Ruby could change in there and also stash her bag.
Once she’d applied full make-up, and changed her lipstick to Vampire Red, she slipped on the heels and gave herself the once-over in the mirror.
‘Looking good, Rube.’ She pouted and blew herself a kiss.
Downstairs the music had changed to a more R&B vibe. After grabbing a can of lager, she wandered around until she found Naomi. She draped her arms around her friend.
‘What time do you have to leave?’ Naomi shouted to her.
‘Eleven.’ Ruby rolled her eyes. ‘My dad’s picking me up.’
‘Ugh, well at least you’re here. Let’s dance!’
As Naomi pulled her to the middle of the room, Ruby felt glad to have her. As a friend Naomi was so understanding of her controlling father and often covered for her with the odd white lie so that she could stay out late.
She danced along to the music, sipping from her can and waving it in the air. It wasn’t long before she felt eyes on her and turned to see someone standing on the far wall. The boy looking at her was tall, with a tight black T-shirt showing off an athletic build. Dark sultry eyes and hair shorn close to his head. A stud earring glistening in his right ear, and a gold chain around his neck were the only things she didn’t particularly like. She reckoned he was no more than a few years older than her.
Ruby recognised him vaguely too. She continued to dance before chancing another look. He was still watching her – not in a leery way, she decided, but in an interested way.
‘I need another drink,’ she shouted to Naomi. ‘Want one?’
Naomi shook her head.
When she glanced in the boy’s direction again, he was gone. Disappointed, she made her way through the crowd to the kitchen. There the music was quieter, the crowd thinner, and after grabbing a can of coke this time, she decided to go out into the garden to get some air.
The night was warm, the garden lit up and inviting. She wandered over to sit on a bench, looking back at the house. The music was blaring and it was lit up like Blackpool illuminations, but there were no neighbours nearby to complain.
It was there that he found her. She watched him walk along the path, and looked up as he stood in front of her.
‘I think we had the same idea,’ he said. ‘Loud in there, isn’t it?’
She nodded.
‘Mind if I join you?’
‘No.’
He sat next to her, throwing his long legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles.
‘You’re Naomi’s best friend, aren’t you?’
‘Yeah, we’ve grown up together since junior school. I don’t remember who you are, though.’
‘I’m a few years older than you, and as you’re sixteen that makes a huge difference.’
‘I’m not sixteen for another three weeks. July fifteenth. I’m starting sixth form in September.’
‘You look so grown up.’
She smiled, looking away for a moment.
‘I used to hang around with George and Will.’ George and Will were Naomi’s older brothers. ‘I’m Finn.’
‘I’m Ruby.’
‘Yeah, I know.’
She smiled shyly at him, wondering where the night was going.
FOUR
In the relatives’ waiting room, Luke Douglas kept his head in his hands, unable to look at his partner Ruby for fear of breaking down. How had things gone so terribly wrong?
He gave an involuntary sob as he pictured his son lying on the icy ground, unable to make a sound. Usually Tyler was so vocal they were always telling him to be quiet. He was a real live wire. And now his boy, his two-year-old son, might not even see his third birthday next month. He might not even get through the night.
Luke would give anything to be telling him off right now. It had been such a shock to see him lying there. But when the police had turned up so quickly, well, he could have easily run the opposite way. This was all down to Seth Forrester, he knew it. But he couldn’t say anything about him or Ruby would find out what he’d been up to.
He ran through what he’d been doing over the past few months. Who knew about it? He’d been clever to cover his tracks, or so he thought.
Getting involved with Seth had been a mistake. Like a fool, he’d ignored all the rumours about him putting people in hospital. Despite seeing how much damage Seth had done on a mate of his, Luke had still gone along with getting reeled in. There was even talk of Seth being involved in the disappearance of a few men. He worked for the Steele brothers, a known criminal family who should never be crossed. But Luke had been desperate for money.
Seth lived next door but one from him at Harrison House. He could do whatever he wanted to Luke – or Luke’s family – as he lived so close. Luke had never been more aware than he was right now that he couldn’t protect everyone. He needed to be at home, to keep an eye on Lily: Seth hadn’t threatened her, nor Ruby, yet he wouldn’t put it past him.
But he couldn’t leave the hospital. Not without Tyler.
The room they’d been put into was drab, all pale creams and beiges. Luke wondered how many other families had sat in here waiting to hear good or bad news. He couldn’t even think of the possibility of Tyler dying. He closed his eyes and held back his tears. He couldn’t be responsible for his son’s death.
He just couldn’t.
Allie had told Grace that it was fine to go and see Tyler Douglas’s parents. Usually, she wouldn’t be investigating this type of incident but as she was first on the scene, Allie had given her instructions to speak to them and report back to her in the morning.
On the drive to the hospital, a message from control came in for her.
‘Go ahead,’ Grace answered.
‘Just to update you, there’s been an anonymous call about a commotion in the car park at Harrison House as well as the incident you’re dealing with. We have nothing reported on that but we do have a witness who said they saw a man running away from the scene shortly after the little boy’s accident. The caller wouldn’t leave a name, nor any contact details.’
‘Copy that, thanks.’
Grace wondered what, if anything, either of them could have to do with Tyler Douglas. Could the man have been someone late to be somewhere else – racing across to their car, or running for a bus? Could the commotion be kids hanging around making too much noise?
It was during regular visiting hours so the car park at the Royal Stoke was busy. Once she found a space, she headed to A&E. Before going to the parents, she asked how the little boy was. A nurse on the station went to check for her. Grace sat down while she waited, immediate memories of sitting in hospital anxious to hear about Matt flooding back to her. She didn’t think about her late husband all the time any more. There were days when she hardly thought of him at all, which both saddened and pleased her as she had to move on. But it was times like these that brought her right back to a period in her life that was wracked by so much pain she sometimes wondered how she had got through it.
It had been unbearable to see him suffer. Acute myeloid leukaemia had taken him when he was thirty-five. She had been thirty-two and even now, five years later, a smell of disinfectant could bring back instant memories of loss and grief.
‘DS Allendale?’ A man dressed in blue scrubs, wearing round rimmed glasses, and white clogs on his feet approached her. He sat down beside her and crossed one leg over the other, turning to her slightly.
‘Yes, how is he doing?’ she asked, checking out the ID badge that hung around his neck to discover he was a paediatric consultant.
&n
bsp; ‘Tyler’s brain is swelling at the moment so we’ve sent him off for a CT scan. We may need to put in a peg to reduce the pressure and drop him into an induced coma, but for now we’re monitoring him closely.’
Grace blew out a breath. ‘Any life-changing injuries?’
‘We’re running tests. Physically he has a fracture to his left ankle, which we’ve put in a cast for now.’
‘Is that it?’ Grace frowned. ‘He fell nearly five metres. I know he landed on grass but it would have been hard owing to the weather we’ve been having.’
Winter storm Nigel had been with them for two days before leaving a cold blast of air behind. Temperatures for the past few nights had dipped below zero. Grace recalled not wanting to get out of her warm bed that morning.
‘You’d be surprised how many children are fine afterwards. I’m sure some of them bounce.’ The man’s smile was warm. ‘But most children tend to break the fall themselves, catching on something else on the way that stops them landing so hard. In Tyler’s case there was nothing to do this and he dropped in almost a straight line. My guess is he landed on his feet and then fell to his side where he hit his head. It’s this that we’re most worried about.’
Grace grimaced. ‘Is he likely to have damage to his brain?’
‘It’s possible and we won’t be clear on that for a while yet. Like I said, we’ll know more in the morning.’
Grace nodded as the doctor turned to leave and then spoke again, calling him back. ‘Wait a minute, you say he fell in a straight line?’
‘Yes.’
‘Surely he would have gone head first and landed on his hands, or flipped over onto his back?’
‘I don’t think he fell over. He would more than likely have landed on all fours if he’d done that. Although nothing is certain.’
Grace said her thanks and stood up as he left. Gut feeling had told her at the scene that this wasn’t an accident, and now she felt even more certain. It was crucial they get to the bottom of things as soon as possible.
It was time to speak to the parents.
FIVE
Ruby Brassington sat across from Luke, her right leg jangling as it rested on her knee. The skin around her thumbnail was bleeding, she’d been biting at it so hard; the tissue in her hands balled up, wet and almost in shreds.
A sense of déjà vu came over her as she sat waiting. Things happening around her that were beyond her control. Another loved one in danger. She pushed away the images trying to settle in her mind.
She glanced across the room, to where Luke was sitting forwards in his chair, head in his hands. She wanted to talk to him, to see what story he thought they should stick to until they had time to be alone and she could deal with things the only way she knew how.
Luke was good-looking when he wasn’t under duress, appearing to be a lot younger than his thirty-four years. With olive skin and dark hair, he had a look of an Italian without any of the nationality in his blood. Their son had the same dark colouring too, with brown eyes that would melt any heart.
Ruby thought about her life with him, how they’d met. She’d been living in Sheffield then. The flat was the second one she’d moved to and much better than the first and the cheap B&B that she’d spent months at before that. She felt safer in the new flat. She’d made friends and got herself a part-time job at the newsagent while Lily started nursery classes at the local school. Both of them were enjoying life, settling in.
Luke had been doing some temporary work on the garden in the flats and had popped into the shop most mornings. After a while, they’d started chatting and then he’d asked her on a date. She’d been wary at first, telling him she had a child but he insisted they went out for a meal and took Lily with them. Lily had been sick everywhere after picking up a tummy bug, bringing a halt to everything, but Luke had been undeterred and they’d arranged to meet again.
That had been the start of their relationship. Within a few months, they were an item; within a year, they had moved in together. Two years later, Tyler came along. Everything had been fine until Ruby had got another letter. This time, she’d had to persuade Luke to leave too. Now, she feared they would have to move again. It was so much of an upheaval for the kids, for them all, every time she was in danger. She was tired of looking over her shoulder but she’d have to do it, to keep herself and her family safe.
She kept waiting for the door to open, for someone to tell them what was happening to Tyler. Please let him be okay, she repeated inwardly.
Ruby had never wanted any more children after Lily had been born. It had seemed too risky. Keeping one child safe was hard, but she had at least been able to become mobile as quickly as possible. Yet, when she’d been caught pregnant, there was no way she could have had a termination, and it just seemed right. But with two children it had become a problem keeping them both out of harm’s way, as she’d seen today.
She found she couldn’t cry. How could there be tears when she didn’t feel anything but guilt? It should have been her that went over the railing that evening, not Tyler. He was a helpless little boy. He hadn’t done anyone any harm.
She still couldn’t believe it had happened. It was hard to take in. If she closed her eyes, she could picture it in slow motion. Him falling; her looking over the rail to see him lying there; quiet, vulnerable, crushed.
Everything caught up with her eventually. Why was she always in a mess? Because of her past she was a wreck, a useless specimen of a person, and yet she tried so hard not to be. Things had even been looking up recently – now nearing twenty-seven, at least she had a decent roof over her head rather than living hand-to-mouth as she had before she’d met Luke.
Ruby longed to be at home with Luke in the armchair and Lily and Tyler curled up on the settee with her, laughing at something on the TV. All of them together, safe. She’d rather be anywhere than here, really, waiting for news.
Her boy was a fighter. She had to believe that.
Her conscience was playing tricks with her, frowning upon her for leaving Lily with her neighbour. She needed her here; she wanted to be the one to comfort her. She had to keep an eye on her in case he came back. But she hadn’t been thinking when Norma said she would look after Lily.
Or maybe she had. She hadn’t wanted to cause distress to Lily if … if … No, she wouldn’t think like that. Her son was not going to die.
Luke lifted his head and caught her eye. She wondered whether to go to him. Would it be more obvious that they were wracked with guilt if they weren’t sitting together? She moved quickly to him. He gave a half-smile as he grasped her hand, tears instantly forming in her eyes.
Why had the police been so near? She wouldn’t be letting anyone know the truth, that was for certain. She was in enough trouble without that.
Grace took in the two forlorn figures sitting together and tried to keep her anger at bay. The mother couldn’t be much older than mid-twenties; the father a little older. Both were well-dressed but nothing too flashy. Clean and healthy looking, which always pleased her where children were involved. They looked like any normal couple, except for the fact that their child was in grave danger right now.
Grace stepped further into the room, noticing they leapt apart as if they’d been stung. The movement felt suspicious, almost a guilty reaction, as if they didn’t trust each other. Grace didn’t know what to make of that just now.
She needed to know what had gone on at their flat that evening.
Ruby sat upright, waiting to hear what she had to say. Luke had his head in his hands, as if he didn’t want to listen.
‘How is Tyler?’ Grace asked, even though she’d already spoken to the consultant.
‘Still unconscious. He’s gone for a scan.’ Ruby shook her head. ‘We won’t be going home until we can take him with us, will we, Luke?’
‘No.’ Luke wiped at his nose with the back of his hand. ‘We’re waiting here until we can see him.’
Grace sat down across from the couple. Spotting them
glancing at each other, she looked at them each in turn. Then she spoke into the loaded silence.
‘I’m so sorry for what happened to Tyler but for now I need to ask you a few questions.’
‘They shouldn’t put tenants with kids in a first-floor flat,’ Luke complained. ‘It’s their fault. I’m going to sue them.’
‘Even so, Mr Douglas, how did Tyler get out onto the walkway?’ Grace asked. ‘Did he unlock the front door and go out unsupervised? Or was the front door open?’
‘You’re blaming us already.’
‘No, I’m not. I just need to understand what happened. You didn’t see?’
Luke shook his head, his eyes landing everywhere but on her.
‘Can you explain to me why? Where were you at the time?’
‘We were in the living room. Me and Ruby were watching TV. Tyler was with his sister, in their room. The next thing we heard was a yell from Lily. We rushed into the hallway to find the front door open and Lily looking over the railings. She said Tyler got out and climbed over the rail; that she couldn’t grab him in time to stop him falling.’ He stood up. ‘He is going to be okay, isn’t he?’
Ruby began to cry and Grace felt a pang of guilt for upsetting them. But she had to press on.
‘Just a few more questions, please.’
‘Look, she’s upset and we’re both tired. Can’t this wait until the morning? Our son is unconscious, and we can’t think of anything else right now.’
Grace nodded. There was so much she wanted to ask and for them to answer, but they’d suffered a huge trauma.
‘I’ll come and see you in the morning. We have your details.’
Once the detective had left, Ruby grasped Luke’s hand, wiping at her tears with the other one.
‘What is wrong with you?’ she asked.
‘What?’ Luke looked confused.
‘We wanted her to think it was an accident!’
He looked sheepish. ‘Did I say something I shouldn’t?’
‘You said way too much. If we don’t stick to our story, we’ll both be in for it.’ She waited for him to look at her. ‘You think I don’t know what’s been happening with Seth Forrester? Why you’ve been hanging around his flat? If you’ve put any of us in danger, then I swear I’ll be out of that door and you won’t see me again.’
