Luke Adams Boxset 1

by Dawson, H A

  ‘It’s a pleasant spot,’ Imogen said, following his gaze. ‘I’m surprised more people aren’t outside given the weather.’

  ‘I suppose the opportunities don’t always arise.’

  He scanned the building at the rear of the setting, which was positioned ninety degrees from their location, and looked to the door a little further away, and to a male nurse guiding a tall, skinny man outside. The man flapped his arms and vocalised his distress.

  ‘Doesn’t that door lead to the mental health unit?’ Imogen asked.

  ‘It might do.’

  ‘I think it does. We should go out and see if we can learn anything about Kim.’

  ‘That’s not ethical.’

  She grinned. ‘Since when did you develop a conscience?’

  Making eye contact, he sipped his coffee, choosing not to reply.

  ‘We need to do something. Kim is up to something, and we need to learn what it is.’

  ‘What makes you certain she’s the one we’re after?

  ‘Intuition? She has mental health issues stemming from the loss of her son, she supports disabled charities and is working in Nick’s ward.’

  ‘Then you’d think she’d be supportive of Stacy.’

  ‘That’s where my thoughts breakdown. To gain understanding, we need to learn what happened to her son.’

  Luke sipped his coffee, his gaze thoughtful. They had learnt from his records that her son was alive and living with his father. What wasn’t certain was the reason for the breakup. Given what Kim said at their interview, she had done all she could to repair their relationship. What was difficult to determine was whether her mental health issues had clouded her comments.

  Assuming Kim was responsible for hurting Stacy, something horrid must have happened in Kim’s past to turn her into what she was. Of course, her instability could be part of her innate character and may have been present before her family breakdown. However, the history of her instability wasn’t an issue. What mattered were her reasons for being drawn to Stacy.

  His guilt rose from his gut. Stacy was missing. Had Kim disappeared too, and what about Christie or her partner? He should have been making calls, and not drinking coffee in a café with Imogen.

  ‘I’m going to ring Kim,’ he said, dialling her number. ‘I should have done it earlier.’

  After a couple of rings, she picked up. He asked her if she had seen Stacy.

  ‘No. She wasn’t at yoga yesterday, and that’s a first. Although she did send me a text beforehand which was nice.’

  ‘Did she say what she was doing?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘And you have no idea where she is?’

  ‘No sorry.’

  ‘Okay, thanks.’

  He ended the call and stared at Imogen.

  ‘What did she sound like?’

  ‘Calm … normal.’

  ‘Do you think she’s with her?’

  ‘Hard to tell. I’m going to try Christie.’ He dialled the number and waited for her reply, eventually giving up. ‘Damn. It’s gone to voicemail.’

  ‘You’re probably worrying about nothing,’ Imogen said. ‘Look, whilst you consider our plans, I’m going to chat to that nurse who’s arrived outside. She looks a bit green.’

  ‘What are you going to say?’

  ‘I’m going to find out Kim’s history, presuming that is, that she’s knows her. If I lead her on and claim to know all about her mental health issues, she’ll fill the gaps.’

  ‘That’s not very moral.’

  ‘Since when did you develop a conscience?’ she asked and started away.

  Luke loved her confidence and audacity and watched as she exited the café and strode across to the nurse, her hips swaying and her head high. Initially, the young nurse’s suspicions were aroused, but then her expression settled. Soon, they were involved in what looked like in a deep and sympathetic conversation. He couldn’t help but smile.

  Just as she was starting back, his phone sounded. It was Christie.

  ‘Thanks for returning the call,’ he said. ‘I’m concerned about Stacy. She’s not turned up at school today.’

  ‘Really?’ Her surprise was evident. ‘I assume from what you’re saying she’s made no contact.’

  ‘None. The school tried her mobile and landline. No joy from either.’

  ‘She missed yoga last night too. I’ve never known that to happen. She sent the class an apology beforehand via email about her behaviour with the meal. It was very touching. I wanted to thank her.’

  ‘That’s good.’

  ‘Kim wasn’t there either.’

  ‘Really?’ He glanced at Imogen. ‘I’ve just spoken her about it. She never said anything.’ Luke paused, considering his next question. ‘I don’t know if I should say anything, but we’ve learned the reason for her regular visits to the hospital.’

  ‘She suffers from psychosis. It started when …’ her voice stilled. ‘Oh no! I’ve just realised what’s happening. Kim’s the one causing Stacy trouble. There are similarities with her son. Oh, hells bells!’

  Luke glanced up. Imogen was before him, and she had a worried look on her face. She seemed as though she wanted him to end his call. Ignoring her, he returned his attention to the phone.

  ‘Have you tried Stacy’s house?’ Christie asked.

  ‘No. We were going to pop in, on our way back to the office.’

  ‘Do it now. I’ll ask for an early break and meet you there as soon as I can.’

  ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘I’ll explain later. Just go.’

  The click sounded in his ear.

  ‘We have to find them,’ Imogen said. ‘I’ve learned Kim’s motive.’

  ‘Christie knows it too.’ He stood up and followed her along the corridor, weaving around the loiterers. ‘Do you care to fill me in?’

  ‘Her son was severely injured in an accident, and just after it happened, her husband left her.’

  Chapter 13

  Kim dangled the rope noose before her. There was an evil intent in her eyes, a smugness Stacy had not seen before from her quiet, unassuming friend. It was difficult to accept her as the same person she had shared her deepest fears with, the one she had enjoyed her small Thursday night pleasures.

  Choked with dread, her words stuck in her throat, limiting her clean breaths of air, a sickness rose up her throat. Instinctively, she wriggled her hands, urging them to release. The rope burn on her wrists intensified. Desperate to get away, she shot Kim a quick sideways glance.

  A self-satisfied look passed across Kim's face as she climbed onto the arms of the armchair and tied the rope onto a beam in the centre of the room. Once secured, she jumped to the floor and gave it a quick tug.

  Stacy’s heart was hammering. She had to do something and forced her words out of her dry throat. ‘I’m sorry. Please … can’t we talk about this?’

  ‘You want to talk? It’s all you ever do. How about you listen for a change?’

  Stunned by the bitterness of Kim’s tone, she clenched her jaw and lowered her head.

  ‘Do you know how many times I’ve tried to talk to you and failed? Whenever I start to say anything, you always interrupt.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘Sorry? That doesn’t cut it. How many times have you said you value our friendships? Just about every week. Yet look at how you treated Christie? You don’t care about anyone but yourself.’

  ‘I made a mistake, and I’ve apologised for it. I was in a bad place. Nick had-’

  ‘Save it!’ she yelled. ‘Just bloody save it! We’re passed apologies. You’ve had your chance. You weren’t interested.’

  The silence extended, with Kim’s eyes boring into her. Stacy sensed Kim’s troubles related to something other than the situation that had arisen with Christie, but she didn’t know what it was. Saying the wrong thing may inflame the situation unnecessarily. However, saying nothing wasn’t likely to produce positive results either.

  ‘It
’s never too late to talk. We can sort this out.’

  Kim shot her a stern glance.

  ‘I admit, there are times when I’m wrapped up in my own life and fail to pay others attention, but it doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.’ She paused, studying her impassive expression. ‘Are you angry with me for leaving Nick, because if you are-’

  ‘He’s paralysed! You caused his accident and now you walk out on him. Do you have a clue how that feels?’

  Stacy stared, voiceless.

  ‘Well! Do you?’

  ‘He told me to. I was doing what he wanted.’

  Even as she said it, she knew she sounded feeble. It was a pathetic excuse, and regardless of Nick’s affair and how he had claimed to love Kirsty, she should have tried harder to repair their relationship, and, more importantly, to be certain of his motives.

  Kim too, disapproved of her words, and her anger was rising visibly. Her blood coloured her skin, her veins were prominent in her neck, and her eyes bulged. ‘That’s no bloody excuse! You’re his partner! What’s happened to “for better and for worse, in sickness and in health”?’

  Stacy clenched her jaw, stopping herself voicing any facetious comments

  ‘You can’t just walk out because things get tough! Who the hell is going to support Nick now? Hasn’t he enough to deal with? You’re such a bitch!’

  ‘He loves someone else.’

  Kim puffed out. ‘I’ve heard that one too as well.’

  ‘He told me! It wasn’t my decision. I didn’t leave him voluntarily … I wouldn’t.’

  ‘Then where is she? I’ve visited several times and I’ve never seen her.’

  Conflicting thoughts rotated through her head, started with visions of the woman she had seen at his bedside, through to remembering Nick’s surprise when she had agreed to their separation. Could it have been lies, to save her the pain of dealing with his paralysis? But there again, he had mentioned Kirsty in the car just before the argument. That wasn’t a lie. It couldn’t be. There was another woman in his life. However, the seriousness of their relationship seemed to be uncertain.

  ‘You’re just like Gary,’ Kim said, ‘self-obsessed, a coward, and too bloody precious to get your hands dirty when it counts.’

  ‘No, that’s not true. I’d do anything for Nick.’

  ‘That’s what he said too.’ She shot her a concentrated stare. ‘Oh yes. Just like you, he was all talk and no action. “I love Benny,” he’d say. ‘I don’t care if he’s disabled. I’m not ashamed.’ She shook her head, her eyes drifting. ‘He thought I was stupid … thought I would believe him. But I saw the look in his eye when they were together. He was forever checking what everyone thought of him, and if they had the wrong look or said the wrong thing all hell broke loose.’

  Stacy frowned. Even though there were differences in their situations, it was easy to see why Kim felt such hatred towards her. Nonetheless, her defensive comments were lost in her throat, appearing inappropriate and callous. And it wouldn’t take much to push Kim over the edge, not when she still held the noose in her hand.

  ‘What do you think it was like for me having to deal with Benny’s accident alone?’

  Silence.

  ‘Well? I’m waiting?’

  ‘Hard?’

  Kim laughed. ‘Hard? That is such an understatement. My little boy had just been knocked from his bike, suffered paralysis and brain damage, and you think it was hard. It was a living hell! I’d rather have been dead myself. Day in, day out, I had to watch him struggling to do normal things, like eating and speaking. I had no one to support me.’ Her voice strained, her words choking. ‘All Gary cared about was himself.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘I was falling apart, but he didn’t care. He walked off into the sunset, into another life.’ She sniffled back nasal mucus. ‘Oh, it was so easy for him. How I wished I could have switched off my emotions and done what he’d done, but I had a responsibility to my son … to our son.’ Kim ran her hand across the rope, feeling the twists and the thickness. ‘One day Benny was running around, playing, laughing, enjoying his Playstation games, and the next he was nothing. Watching him day in, day out was killing me.’ Tears trickled down her cheeks. ‘He’d had his life ahead of him.’

  ‘Where is he now?’

  Kim turned to her and blinked, seemingly surprised both by her presence as well as her comment. ‘With Gary.’ She laughed. ‘Would you believe it? Suddenly, just because he’d started a new relationship, and not just with anyone but a nurse, he wanted him back in his life. And guess what, I’m not allowed to see him.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Why not indeed?’

  Kim did not offer an explanation, with the noose hanging from a beam, and Stacy tied to the radiator beneath the window, she left the room

  As she waited, the conversation repeated in her mind. Kim had undergone a horrid experience, and her anger was understandable. Nothing could be worse than watching one’s child life change so entirely, and she tried to imagine what it would be like. Yet she considered it a situation she would never truly comprehend. Benny was no longer a boy who could interact with his friends. He was a child with specific needs, someone whose path had taken a completely different course to the one he had appeared to be taking on the day before his accident.

  How could she not have known? Kim must have talked about it. Had she blanked it from her mind? Had she been too obsessed with her own life to pay attention?

  The silence extended. Fearful that Kim had departed from her house, she cried out her name.

  There was no reply.

  ‘Kim?’

  A scraping noise sounded, followed by weighted footsteps.

  ‘I’ll help you get him back.’

  Kim appeared in the room carrying a hard-backed chair and placed it beneath the noose.

  Then she climbed onto the chair.

  Stacy’s heart pounded in her throat, her blood surged and her breathing quickened. ‘No … please Kim, no. There has to be another solution. Untie me and we’ll talk about it.’

  Kim appeared to be in a trance, and did not cast her the faintest of glances, nor did she show she had heard anything that had been said.

  Stacy’s body trembled. Frantic, she struggled for release, repeated her plea, this time adding the option of hiring Luke.

  Kim paid no attention and placed her head in the noose.

  ‘Stop it Kim. Stop it!’

  She tightened the rope and shut her eyes.

  ‘Please Kim, listen to me. It doesn’t have to be this way! We’ll get your son back. We’ll do it together.’

  She kicked away the chair.

  Stacy’s scream filled the air.

  Chapter 14

  Luke had departed hastily from the hospital, and was at a roundabout a couple of miles further on, waiting for the traffic to clear. It seemed extremely busy given it was still morning, and unable to see the reason for the holdup, opened up the window, and peered onto the road. A truck a couple of vehicles further on, at a bend in the road, prevented his view. Given the traffic was absent from the oncoming lane, he feared an accident had occurred. When the car in front edged forwards, he steered the car a little towards the middle, allowing him to see more clearly. He was right; two cars had had a collision.

  He turned to Imogen. ‘Why do these things happen when we’re in a rush?’

  ‘Is it a crash?’

  ‘Yeah.’ He leaned out of the window. ‘One of the cars has been hit sideways on.’

  ‘Ouch. Sounds serious.’

  ‘I think it is. A few people are out of their vehicles. Some are stopping the traffic and guiding cars away from the danger.’

  ‘Will we be moving?’

  ‘I can’t tell … I don’t think so.’

  He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and stared blindly at the vehicle in front. The driver was standing next to the door, scanning the scene, and talking on his phone. Moments later, he returned to his v
ehicle and switched off his engine. Luke considered doing the same, but given the fact that Stacy was missing, his preference was to find a way out of the queue and another way around the city. However, unless there was a slight shift in traffic, he had no escape. If only he hadn’t edged forwards to within a metre of the car’s bumper and then he would have been able to do a u-turn in the road.

  ‘I think we should try to locate Kim.’ Imogen said.

  ‘What do you suggest?’

  ‘I could ring her again. I might be able to talk her out of doing something stupid.’

  ‘She’s not going to tell you what she’s doing, though, is she?’

  Imogen sighed. ‘I feel as though we should be doing something.’

  ‘Me, too.’ He ran his hand across his head. ‘Did you get the impression from the nurse that Kim was dangerous?’

  ‘It’s hard to say. Mia confirmed she was on medication for psychosis and depression, but she wouldn’t tell me any more. I doubt she’ll know all of her details.’

  ‘I’m amazed you learned what you did.’

  Imogen grinned. ‘I have my ways.’

  ‘I must say, I’m impressed.’ He paused and passed her a sly smile. ‘She’s not lesbian is she?’

  ‘Really Luke, there’s no hope for you.’

  A siren sounded. Luke peered through the rear view mirror, and unable to see either a police car or ambulance, poked his head through the side window. The police vehicle was trying to get through the traffic along one of the other junctions.

  He returned his attention to his colleague. ‘Did you find out how Benny, her son, is?’

  ‘I wanted her to believe I was a close friend so I had to be careful with my questions, so no, I didn’t ask. I did learn that his accident happened about nine years ago, but as far as Kim is concerned, it happened recently. At least that’s how it is when she’s undergoing one of her episodes.’