‘Not the best. They took away my morphine pump,’ Graham smiled unconvincingly, ‘and as you can imagine, it’s a bit of an adjustment to be the patient and not the doctor.’
‘I understand that. And how are you Mrs Ashcroft?’
Tabitha looked past Henley as she spoke. ‘Tired, stressed. It’s so hard to see Graham like this.’
‘It can’t be easy for you at all,’ said Henley. ‘Even though Graham is the one in hospital, it probably feels as though it’s happened to both of you.’
Henley caught the look that passed between the couple,and finally she was able to attach a word to the emotion that was squeezing the air out of the room. It was an emotion she recognised. Guilt.
‘Graham, I’m going to leave you with DCs Ramouter and Copeland,’ said Henley as she stepped away from the bed. ‘We had a quick word with your doctor before we came in and he was confident that you should be able to give a more detailed statement about what happened to you.’
‘I don’t think that I’ll be able to,’ Graham said. ‘I’m a bit tired.’
‘We’ll take it easy,’ said Ramouter. ‘No pressure. We’ll go at your pace.’
‘Mrs Ashcroft. Tabitha,’ Henley said as she moved around the bed and faced her. ‘You’re coming with me.’
‘No. I should stay with my husband,’ Tabitha said quickly.
‘Your husband is in really good hands. Let’s go,’ Henley said in a tone that suggested there was no room for negotiation or argument.
Tabitha’s shoulders sank with resignation as she picked up her bag, placed the strap on her shoulder and audibly sucked the air through her gritted teeth. Henley watched intently as Tabitha dropped her bag into the crook of her arm.
‘Are you ok?’ Henley asked.
‘I’m fine. I’m fine,’ Tabitha replied but when she walked out of the room she did so with a visible limp.
‘It must be difficult, seeing your husband like that,’ Henley said, stopping for the second time in the corridor for Tabitha to catch up with her. ‘Are you sure you’re ok?’
‘I’m fine. I twisted my ankle when I was coming out of the shower this morning,’ Tabitha said quietly.
‘I broke my ankle last year and it still plays up,’ Henley replied, unconvinced by Tabitha’s explanation. She opened the door to the empty family room. ‘This should be fine. Unless you’d prefer to go downstairs to the café and get a cup of coffee?’
‘Here is fine,’ said Tabitha. She lowered herself onto a chair and sat ramrod on the edge of the seat.
Henley sat down on the chair opposite Tabitha. ‘Why did it take you so long to come and see your husband?’
‘I was in Bath,’ Tabitha said quickly, twisting her bag straps.
‘It doesn’t take a week to travel from Bath to London.’
‘I … I didn’t want to disturb Graham. He’d been through a lot. Surgery and he needed to rest.’
‘Your husband has been asking for you.’
‘I’m here now but what I don’t understand is why I’m talking to you and not DC Copeland.’
‘Because this is my investigation and I’m trying to find the person who nearly killed your husband.’
‘Kill him?’ Tabitha exclaimed. She squinted her eyes as though she’d experienced a jolt of pain. ‘Why would anyone want to kill him. He’s a good man. It was a burglary.’
‘Tabitha,’ Henley said firmly. ‘There are no signs that whoever entered your house was attempting to steal anything. Everything, all your jewellery, bags, laptops were untouched, but your husband was violently assaulted. Someone entered your home and stabbed him. His blood was found in the hallway and outside on the doorstep.’
Henley paused as Tabitha sniffed noisily and ran her hands across her face to wipe away the tears.
‘And then he was attacked again,’ Henley continued.
Tabitha heaved as though she’d been thrown into the sea and was gasping for breath. Henley steeled herself as she pushed away the feeling of wanting to comfort a woman who was reliving a painful experience.
