Liam smiled. “Hope so. I’m looking for Zac Payne? He was brought in yesterday.”
“Date of birth?”
Liam repeated the date Jamie had told him. The receptionist typed it in, then frowned at her computer screen. “Are you a relative?”
“No, I’m his employer, and this is Jamie, his next of kin.”
Beside him, Jamie squirmed. Liam trod on his foot, and he stilled with a startled yelp, but the receptionist didn’t seem to notice. She tapped her keyboard a few more times, then pointed to a sign above a nearby set of double doors. “He’s on the HDU ward. Go through those doors and turn left. Give your details to the desk there and they’ll help you.”
They went through the doors and braved another reception desk, where a stern-faced nurse directed them to a waiting room. Then they were alone briefly until a doctor and a female police officer joined them.
The policewoman acknowledged Jamie. “Is this the man you were talking about?”
Jamie nodded. “Zac works for him. He’s going to help us.”
Liam extended his hand. “I’m Liam Mallaney. Zac is doing some work experience with my company. Do you need to see ID?”
It was obvious the woman recognised him from God-knew-where, but she nodded anyway. Liam produced his driving license and the tense atmosphere in the small room faded a touch. “Jamie said you won’t let him see Zac. Is there a reason he can’t have visitors?”
The doctor and policewoman exchanged a glance before the doctor met Liam’s gaze. “Zac has been in surgery overnight. We wanted to stabilise him before we let anyone in.”
“Is he stable now?”
“He lost a lot of blood. We gave him a transfusion and repaired the artery, but he has shown some signs of hypovolemic shock. We’re going to need to keep an eye on him for a few days, check his kidney function and electrolyte balance.”
Jamie leaned forward. “But he’s okay, right? He’s not going to die?”
“He’s better than he was this morning, but he’s still quite unwell,” the doctor said. “We’ll know more in the next twenty-four hours.”
“Is he awake?” Liam asked.
The doctor shook his head. “No. I wouldn’t expect him to come round until the morning at least.”
There wasn’t much else to say. The doctor agreed to move Zac to a side room reserved for private patients so that Liam and Jamie could sit with him, and, after handing Liam the paperwork to pay for the privilege, left them in the care of the severe-looking nurse.
The policewoman lingered, eyeing Jamie. “If I leave you with Mr. Mallaney, are you going to behave yourself? No more shouting at nurses or disturbing the other patients?”
Jamie’s brooding frown turned sullen. “I only shouted because you wouldn’t let me see Zac.”
“The doctor explained why you couldn’t see Zac. And I kept you at the flat initially because I needed your statement. We’re on your side here, Jamie. We just want to know what happened to Zac so we can ensure whoever was responsible is caught. You understand that, don’t you?”
Jamie grunted, and the policewoman admitted defeat. She gestured for Liam to follow her out of the room. In the corridor, she turned her probing gaze on him. “How well do you know Jamie?”
Liam shrugged, choosing his words carefully. “Enough to know he’s close to Zac. Don’t know much else.”
“How long has Zac worked for you?”
“A month or so.”
“Seems a little overboard for you to come down here for an employee you’ve only known a month. Your company must keep you busy.”
So she had recognised him, and now she was trying to rattle him. Fuck you, lady. “Zac’s been doing work experience at my home office. We’ll be offering him a permanent contract soon. And anyway, we treat our employees as family. Google us. You’ll see.”
She was clearly far from convinced, but as a nurse appeared in the corridor, Liam ran out of patience. He called Jamie forward and left the policewoman behind, following the nurse to Zac’s new room.
“Here he is,” she said. “We’ll be in and out to check on him through the night. Don’t worry. We’ll tell you if there’s anything to worry about.”
She left the room. Jamie appeared about ready to drop, so Liam directed him to a chair before he found the balls to take a proper look at Zac.
