Jen turned to Avril. ‘Jack? Please will you try to get hold of Jack for me?’
‘Of course,’ she said, reassuringly. ‘If he answers my calls, that is,’ she said.
‘I know you two don’t get on, but Avril, thank you,’ said Jen. ‘I don’t know what I would have done without you.’
Avril shook her head, and Jen could see that she was embarrassed.
‘Why did you come out to see me this morning?’
‘Oh, nothing for you to worry about, just a personnel check and to bring you a gift for the baby,’ she said. ‘Look, let me get Jack for you.’
‘Avril?’
‘I can’t have children Jen. I know you think I’m a cranky old thing,’ she smiled, nervously. ‘But my work is all I’ve got. I’ll never have what you and Jack have.’
‘But Hugo?’
‘Hugo only thinks about himself, Jen. He is far too selfish to want children,’ she sighed. ‘But at least he won’t leave me.’
‘Well, I can never thank you enough – and, believe me, Jack will be just as grateful.’
Avril raised an eyebrow.
Jen smiled. ‘You should get to know each other, you’re both as stubborn as each other.’ she said. ‘Oh Lord I think that’s another contraction.’
Questions were being put to Frederick Wainstall thick and fast in the second interview but he didn’t tell them any more than they already knew and Dylan knew the interviews were going nowhere. With a heavy heart and a banging headache Dylan reached into his pocket for his handkerchief. His phone vibrated. Damn, he should have turned it off and he did so immediately with an apologetic nod.
Dylan reached for the paracetamol as soon as they got back to the office. Vicky slumped in her chair in the CID office, both were exhausted.
Lisa took the call that came into the office. ‘Wainstall’s shoes have tested positive for blood and the wooden handle knife recovered from the bin did too,’ she said. Dylan breathed a sigh of relief. Forensics would in due course identify whose blood it was. ‘Another positive indication sir, is that the initial comparisons showed the piece of metal recovered from Greenwood’s body appeared to match the knife blade in a perfect fit.’
‘You’re required at the hospital, sir,’ shouted Vicky. ‘Jen’s gone into labour.’
Dylan’s head was in a spin. Did he have time to charge? No, there was too much paperwork remaining to do.
‘Get a pen, Vicky. I want you to charge him for me. Nothing is going to stop me from seeing Buttons born,’ he grinned, his face aglow.
‘Buttons?’ she said.
‘Oh, yeah, the baby’s name we’ve given her, you know,’ he said with a flush to his cheeks.
‘You, big old softie,’ she teased.
‘Just charge him, will you. Attempted murder, murder, threats to kill and then charge him with the double murders in a week’s time if I’m not back.’ Dylan grabbed his keys and ran to his car. Vicky followed him.
Grace and Winston had been knocked down and a catalogue of events had followed in which Denton and Greenwood had been the catalyst – but right now he was going to see the start of a life for a change.
Jen was in agony and Avril Summerfield-Preston was right by her side.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’ Dylan asked.
‘Jack, don’t. If it hadn’t been for Avril I would still be laying on the floor at home. She got an ambulance… please. Argh,’ she cried out.
‘But why?’
‘I bought you a present for the baby. Is that okay?’ Avril said, with tears in her eyes. ‘And further to your belief that I don’t earn my salary I do follow my job description to your annoyance to the letter and Jen was due a visit.’
Jen squeezed Jack’s hand tightly and started panting furiously. ‘Oh, no, another … argh,’ she screamed again.
‘I think my job here is done and I wish you both well,’ she said.
‘She’s six centimetres dilated,’ the nurse told the doctor.
Jen shook uncontrollably. ‘I’m freezing,’ she said to Dylan through chattering teeth.
‘Her temperature’s shot up to 39.8,’ the nurse continued in her assessment as she wrote on the chart hung at the bottom of Jen’s bed.
‘Infection,’ the doctor said looking at Dylan in a serious manner. Dylan caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror over the doctor’s shoulder and saw the eyes of his victim’s families looking back at him. Is this what it felt like for them when they waited for every word to come out of his mouth to update them on their loved ones?
‘Take the drip down and wrap her in ice packs, nurse,’ the doctor demanded.
Dylan didn’t have time to think, as a sponge and a bowl of cold water was thrust in his hand to mop Jen’s brow. He could hear Buttons' heart racing on the monitor.
‘It’s just hit 190 beats per minute,’ Dylan said in amazement.
‘I want a caesarean section, please,’ Jen begged. ‘I just want the baby out, now,’ she screamed.
‘The baby is safe enough and it is so much better for you if you can avoid having a major operation. Look,’ the doctor took Jen’s hand in his and sat beside her on the bed as a contraction subsided. ‘Trust me, please. We’ll try to proceed as we planned and I’ll give you an epidural.’
Dylan stood next to Jen mopping her brow when she allowed him. She tossed and turned her head on the pillow rubbing her cheeks that now looked red and sore. The nurse gave her the gas and air apparatus for pain relief, but she was too weak to hold it. The doctor could see she felt everything as he internally examined her. By the early hours of the morning Jen was ten centimetres dilated and started to push.
The doctor tried desperately to get the ventouse on the baby’s head because it was lying slightly skew-whiff, but it proved impossible.
‘Prepare her for theatre, nurse,’ said the doctor much to Dylan’s disbelief. Dylan’s heart was in his mouth and he prayed. He prayed so hard. He thanked God for what he had and begged him not to take it away from him. He even promised to be nice to Avril from now on.
‘Jack, don’t worry,’ Jen told him in her drug-induced state. ‘I’m not … I just want to see Buttons now.’
Dylan kissed her forehead and held as her best he could in his arms.
The spinal injection seemed to take ages to take effect from the mid-chest down. Then there was a cry and Buttons was out in the big wide world. Boy did the baby howl.
‘You’ve got a beautiful little girl,’ the nurse said as she handed Buttons to Dylan. Jens eye's filled with tears as she saw her two favourite people in the world together for the first time.
‘This is what matters, darling. Nothing else,’ Dylan said through his sobs.
Jen started laughing through her tears. 'Until the next murder,’ she said.
‘And Jack, make sure you send Avril an update and flowers from me. No...from us all.’
Jack nodded. ‘Hello, little Maisy,’ he said to his daughter with tears spilling down his cheeks.
About the Authors
Carol and Bob Bridgestock were both born and lived in West Yorkshire until they relocated to the Isle of Wight in 2003. Between them they have a staggering 47years employment with the police, Carol being a member of the Civilian support staff and Bob being a Senior Police Officer.
As a career detective Bob worked in the CID at every rank. For over half of his service he was a senior detective, retiring at the rank of Detective Superintendent.
As a Senior Investigative Officer (SIO) in charge of homicide cases he took command of some twenty-six murder investigations, twenty-three major incidents including shootings and attempted murders and over fifty suspicious deaths and numerous sexual assaults, some of which were extremely high profile in his last three years alone.
In 1988 Carol commenced working for the Police as a member of the support staff in the Administration Department. As a supervisor she received a Chief Constable’s commendation for outstanding work for her determination and drive creati
ng a poster competition for an Autumn Fall Crime initiative.
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White Lilies Page 29