Nine
Lara locked Tom’s front door and returned the key to the key safe which she also secured. In the lane, the ambulance moved off, sirens blaring and lights flashing. After they had carried Tom to the ambulance, she had asked one of them if Tom would be okay, and he had reassured her. But the sirens and lights knocked her confidence.
She hurried up the lane to her cottage and was met in the hall by Ula and Greg.
‘We hear wailing bells,’ said Ula, a look of concern etched on her pretty face.
‘I saw the ambulance,’ Greg informed her. ‘So you were right about the lights then?’
‘It would appear so. Although the paramedics seemed to think that he hadn’t been there all night. He was on the floor when we found him, and they said his body didn’t show signs of having been there for that many hours. They think he might’ve had a fall this morning. They’ll know more when the doctors examine him. I managed to contact his grandson. He’s coming down this afternoon. But I said I’d go to the hospital. Just in case Tomwonders where he is or something. Is it okay if I leave you two here? I should be back before five-thirty.’
‘Of course it is,’ said Greg. ‘And don’t you rush back. We can slam the door so it locks behind us.’
‘Thanks. I’ll leave my number on the notepad on the front of the fridge freezer, just in case you need to reach me.’
‘Give our best to Tom,’ Greg said.
‘Please, yes,’ Ula added.
Lara grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge freezer and wrote her mobile number on the notepad and then dashed into the dining room where Greg and Ula were now cleaning.
‘I’m off. Thanks for this. In case I don’t see you later, I assume I’ll see you tomorrow?’
‘Yes,’ Greg said. ‘Just for an hour or so. We’ll be finished by then. Unless you’re unhappy with our work.’
‘From everything that’s been done so far, I’ll be over the moon. See you both tomorrow.’
The rain was really coming down again and Lara raced to her car. Once she had started it, and the digital display had sprung to life, she entered the name of the hospital into the navigation system. It shouldn’t take her long to get there by the look of it.
First, she had to manoeuvre her car carefully so that she didn’t hit Ula’s car or Greg’s van when she pulled out. The lane was just wide enough for two vehicles to pass and she didn’t want to end up on the muddy grass verge because if she did, there was a good chance she would be stuck there.
It took her a couple of seconds more than it should have but she managed it and was on her way to the hospital not that long after the ambulance had sped away in the opposite direction with Tom. She would have gone the same way if it hadn’t been for that pothole. But she probably wouldn’t have caught up with them in any event. Hopefully, her navigation system would get her to the right place.
Poppleton District General was just ten miles away but the weather and the traffic made it slow going and Lara was beginning to panic. She didn’t enjoy driving in torrential rain. She knew her parents’ accident had been on a motorway and was caused by an articulated lorry jack-knifing but nevertheless, driving in adverse weather still made her anxious.
Why did it have to be raining today?
Why couldn’t it be like yesterday?
Would Tom’s grandson be okay?
He was coming from London. That meant motorways … and articulated lorries … and…
‘Stop it, Lara!’
She tightened her grip on the steering wheel and then took several long, slow breaths.
‘Everything will be fine. Tom will be fine. His grandson will be fine. You will be fine.’
Her mantra seemed to work and she turned the audio on to listen to her favourite music.
By the time she arrived at the hospital, the rain had stopped and patches of blue sky were visible through the clouds. She parked her car in the sprawling car park and found her way to the main reception, joining the short queue. It was only when it was her turn that she remembered she didn’t know Tom’s surname.
‘I need more than just Tom from Old Oak Lane in Bluewater Bay,’ the receptionist informed her in a rather dismissive manner.
‘But I don’t know his surname.’
‘Then I’m afraid I can’t help you, unless you can give me more details. You said the ambulance left his address around thirty minutes ago?’
