Out Of The Red

by David Bradwell

  Once through, Finn followed the signs for the intensive care unit until he came to a locked set of double doors. He’d expected this. He didn’t want to press the buzzer to gain access. That would only draw attention, and make sure he was noticed. He had to get to his destination without being seen by anyone. Somewhere, very close, lay Leah and her secrets. Holly needed to make sure those secrets were never revealed, and Finn was not going to let her down.

  He found a dark corner. Somebody would go through the doors soon. And when that happened he’d sneak through before they swung closed again. It didn’t matter how long it took, but he could feel his heartbeat quickening while he waited.

  40

  IT was weird driving through the streets of north London with a wanted murderess in the passenger seat, especially as she’d so recently shown that she hadn’t lost her knack, but I was very pleased she was with me. We agreed we wouldn’t yet tell Danny the full details of what had happened as we didn’t want him to worry about me unnecessarily. Personally, I was feeling surprisingly upbeat. I had my very own ninja assassin to look after me.

  We did, however, agree that we’d need to cover the basics as they related to the case: specifically that we’d discovered more about Mitch, that he was a duplicitous shit, working for Jacqui at the casino, and that we’d now blown his cover. We decided to tell him that Mitch’s entire pursuit of me had been one big scam and fact-finding mission, but opted to not mention that I’d invited him back to the flat for morally dubious purposes or that Clare had come to my rescue. We may one day have to reveal the last part of that, but I was very keen to keep the former a secret forever.

  It felt equally strange to be working hand in hand with Clare on matters of subterfuge. She was, of course, the master of such dark arts. I reconciled it in my head by convincing myself it was a little white lie, designed not for personal gain but instead to protect Danny from any extra, unnecessary stress. And of course, the side benefit would be that he wouldn’t think I’d been a complete idiot. I think it will be a very long time before I ever go out on a date with anyone again, although a girls’ night out with Clare wouldn’t be out of the question. Wow. I could hardly believe my complete transformation over the last thirty or so hours.

  The hospital didn’t have much of a car park, but there were plenty of spaces outside, so I left the Prelude safely under a street light and together we walked in, past the night security man who only gave us a cursory glance, and then through to Danny’s ward. There was another new policeman on duty outside his room. He asked for ID before letting us through. Clare left me to do the talking, for obvious reasons. I was able to show him my bank card and a business card, but he wasn’t having any of it. In the end, I just had to suggest he open the door and ask Danny personally if he’d like to see us.

  Danny was sitting up in the bed, typing on his ThinkPad. He closed the screen when he saw us and waved us in. I felt like saying “told you so” to the policeman, but managed to resist. The last thing I needed to do was start the mission by alienating anyone that I didn’t need to.

  “Brilliant to see you. Did you manage to sleep?” he asked.

  “For a little while,” I replied. “It’s been an interesting night.”

  I took the uniform and hid behind a screen to get changed while Clare filled him in on the details. To her eternal credit she didn’t let me down, even when Danny probed for more. She was good, I’ll give her that.

  I have to admit, a nurse’s uniform is not my best look. The dress was cornflower blue with white trim and a zip up the back, and despite it theoretically being my size, it wasn’t particularly comfortable. My huge respect for nurses grew again. I stood there, behind the screen, evaluating the madness of the plan before I dared to emerge and face the ridicule of my so-called friends. Eventually, though, I picked up the courage, took a deep breath, and stepped out.

  “Don’t start,” I said, with a look that hopefully conveyed a severe warning to contain their hilarity. To my deep surprise, however, neither laughed. They both seemed to have adopted a business-first, professional detachment. Clare came over to check the positioning of my little upside-down watch and name badge and then started work on my hair, tying it back so it lost most of its usual volume.

  “You look perfect,” she said, giving me a final appraisal. “Thank you so much for doing this.”

  I smiled at her. After last night it was the very least I could do.

  “I can’t promise it’s going to work, but I’ll give it a go.”

  “You can only do your best,” said Danny. And then he thanked me too. I felt extremely nervous, but proud, in many ways.

  “Let me give you this,” said Clare. It was a tiny Sony NT-1 voice recorder. “It may not look much but you can fit an hour on each side of the tape. You may not get in at all, or you may only have a couple of minutes, but it’s good to know you’ve got it if you need it.”

  I felt a bit like James Bond. I was half-expecting her to follow up with a pen that fired poisoned darts, but then realised I was maybe losing my marbles. She showed me the basics of how to use it and then gave me a clipboard with some hospital notes attached.

  “What’s this for?”

  “It’s all part of the bluff. If you look like you know what you’re doing and you’ve got a purpose, you’re much less likely to get stopped. It’s like a hi-vis jacket. It’s amazing how many places you can get into just by wearing one of those.”

  “I’ll bear that in mind,” I said with a grin.

  “Do you know where you’re going?”

  “I was wondering about that. No idea, sorry.”

  “Don’t worry. She’s in the ICU, the intensive care unit.”

  She drew me a little map. It began to look familiar from the night Leah was admitted, although my memories of that whole episode were vague at best.

  “The key thing to remember is to look like you belong there,” Clare continued. “As soon as you hesitate or look around you, you’ll start to look suspicious. If you’re not sure you’re in the right place, it’s best to continue past and then double back rather than pausing to check. Leah will have a private room, but you’ll hopefully spot it because there’ll be someone from the police outside. You may have to buzz through to get through to the ward, but just say you’ve been sent down from admissions to check that she’s in there, if you’re asked. Blame a mix-up in the paperwork. I don’t know. Something like that. I don’t think it’ll be an issue, though. Getting past the policeman will be your biggest challenge but I’m hoping they’ll be used to nurses going in and out at all hours.”

  “It’s not very secure, is it?”

  “We don’t know. It’s probably more secure than it looks. You’ll be all right, though. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t look particularly scary.” There was a cheeky look in her eyes.

  “What if she’s still unconscious?”

  “We’re stuffed. But you know what? Don’t worry. There’s nothing you can do. This is all a bit of a long shot. There’s probably a 90% chance you’ll come back with nothing, but it’s worth a try. If we can get to her before the police, we’re in business. The most important thing, above all else, is to be careful. First sign of trouble, get out of there. If you start to think your cover’s blown, just abort. Okay?”

  I nodded.

  “Right,” I said, when everything seemed in order. “Wish me luck.”

  Danny levered himself out of the bed and stood up, but looked a bit unstable. He gave me a hug. I turned and gave Clare a rather formal handshake. And then I gave her a hug too. Then I was on my way.

  * * *

  Finn had been waiting for nearly an hour without success. He was fairly convinced he couldn’t be seen. The lighting was subdued, although the first rays of daylight were starting to creep in via a skylight further down the corridor. He’d found a hiding place, out of sight to anyone approaching the double doors from the outside, but close enough that he could make a dash for it, if an oppor
tunity arose.

  And then, in the distance, he heard a noise like a door closing. He stiffened, heart rate increasing further, but he was used to that. He was a professional. There was silence. Then he started to hear the squeak of shoes on the polished floor, getting closer. He tried to control his breathing, to be as quiet and as unobtrusive as possible. He got ready to make his move.

  The footsteps got louder still. Finn shrank back further into the corner. The walking stopped, and he edged his head out of the corner, looking in the direction of the doors to the ICU. A small nurse, with her hair tied back, holding a clipboard, was pressing the entrance button. There was a pause. This was his chance.

  A buzzing sound came from the door. The nurse pushed it open. The door opened wide and she walked through. Timing now would be critical. He had to catch it before it closed. The nurse disappeared and the door started to swing back.

  He made a dash for it. Progress seemed agonisingly slow and the door was closing quickly. But just as it was about to close completely, he reached out with his foot and caught it, stopping its motion before it could lock again. Now he’d just give the nurse a moment to disappear and then he’d enter in his own time.

  The toughest challenge lay ahead, but Holly had stressed the importance of silencing Leah. And now he had the element of surprise.

  41

  SO far, so good. Getting access to the ward was relatively painless. I just pressed the button and the doors buzzed open. The next bit was likely to be trickier. I walked on, trying to look confident, consulting my clipboard to try to avoid direct eye contact with anyone who might see me. I walked past several private rooms with closed doors, but none had a policeman outside, so I didn’t bother to look through the windows.

  In the distance, I could see the ward sister sitting at the main desk in a darker blue uniform, presumably keeping watch, on call in case of emergency. The ward was almost silent apart from my footsteps, the familiar electronic hum and occasional bleeps emanating from the rooms as I passed them.

  By a huge stroke of good fortune, the ward phone started ringing, just as I started to approach. The sister answered it. It was just the break I needed. I could see her looking at me as I walked past so I just nodded, and pointed at the clipboard.

  “I’ll come back,” I whispered. She acknowledged me and returned to her call.

  I continued on, trying my hardest to look like I knew what I was doing, but increasingly feeling that it could all go horribly wrong at any moment. I heard a door close behind me, but didn’t look back. Any form of hesitation could be fatal to the plan.

  I turned a corner. On the right I could see what I thought was my destination. There was a uniformed police officer sitting on a chair in the corridor, reading a magazine. Close to him was a door to a private room. I just had to hope it was Leah’s.

  He looked up as I approached.

  “Good morning,” I said, barely louder than a whisper. He returned the greeting.

  “Peaceful night?” I asked. I hoped my voice sounded more confident than I felt.

  “Very quiet,” he replied. I got the impression he wasn’t really the conversational type.

  I checked my clipboard, to give the impression that I was doing something official, and then my hand moved to the door.

  “Sorry, I can’t let you go in there,” he said. That wasn’t a good development.

  “To see Miss Haddon? Leah?” I asked.

  “Sorry, strict orders.”

  “Glad to hear it,” I said. “Can you come in with me? I just need to check a couple of details before she starts to get prepared for theatre.”

  He looked at me, assessing me.

  “I wasn’t told about this.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “There was a cancellation late last night. You should have been informed. I can come back, though. What authorisation do you need?”

  “What do you need to do?”

  “Just check her bloods and temperature readings from last night. I don’t need to take new ones. They’ll do that before surgery.” I had no idea where all that came from.

  He nodded.

  “Okay then, just for a minute. I’ll have to come in with you.”

  It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than nothing. At least I’d know if she was awake or still out for the count.

  He unlocked the door and followed me in. Leah was sleeping. She looked terrible, even in the dim light of the room. So pale and small, and so fragile. A drip was connected to the back of her hand. I made a show of reading the reports clipped to the end of the bed, which was difficult in the near-darkness, and copied a few notes onto my own clipboard. Then I moved over to the machines and monitors by the bedside, and pretended to check the various readings. I had no idea what I was doing, but I wrote things down there, too.

  “Has she been awake at all?” I asked the policeman.

  “Don’t know, sorry,” he said.

  “I’ll see if I can wake her,” I said, then turned to Leah and spoke slightly louder. “Leah. Leah. Can you hear me?” I rested my hand on her shoulder. Her breathing was steady but she didn’t stir. It was hopeless. I hadn’t been arrested but I hadn’t managed to speak to her either. I was running out of time. I knew Clare and Danny had said it might all come to nothing, but I was so very frustrated. I just wanted to do a good job, but there seemed to be nothing more I could do with the policeman standing beside me.

  “Okay, that’s everything,” I said. “Somebody will be along shortly.”

  We moved back to the door. He opened it and then followed me through, and then I was back out in the corridor, mission complete, but nonetheless a complete failure.

  Suddenly we heard raised voices from further down the corridor. I could hear footsteps. It sounded like somebody was running. A door banged. A moment later the ward sister came running around the corner. She saw us. I thought I was about to have my cover blown completely, just to add an extra layer of disaster. Instead she called out for the policeman, asked him to come quickly, and he ran off in her direction.

  This was my chance. I went back into Leah’s room. It was now or never.

  “Leah!” I called, much more loudly. I gave her a shoulder a more vigorous shake. She moved under my touch. I tried again, and then her eyes opened slightly, as though squinting at the sun, despite the subdued lighting in the room. She looked terribly confused. I just hoped I wasn’t doing anything to harm her recovery.

  “Leah,” I said again, kneeling down beside her. “It’s Anna.”

  Her eyes closed again. I had no idea what painkillers she was on, but I suspected they were keeping her very well sedated. I could hear noises in the corridor outside. I didn’t know how long I had, but I suspected my time was running out, fast. More noises outside. Voices. Shouting.

  “Leah, can you hear me?” I pressed record on the tape machine, just in case.

  I took her hand, urging her to wake up, just for a moment. The noises outside stopped for a moment. I was getting desperate. I shook her shoulder again. Still nothing.

  Then she spoke, in no more than a whisper.

  “Anna?”

  Everything seemed to happen in an instant. There was a noise at the door. I could see the handle moving, so I instinctively ducked down, out of sight. A split second later, the door to the room flew open. This is it, I thought. I’m about to get arrested. But from what I could see it was neither the policeman nor the nurse, but a black-clad figure in a baseball cap. He didn’t seem to notice me on the floor on the other side of the bed, but instead rushed towards Leah.

  To my absolute shock, he grabbed the pillow from beneath Leah’s head, then placed it over her face and started pressing hard. It took me a second to realise what was happening.

  “What the fuck?” I shouted, getting up as quickly as I could. I reached forward to grab the pillow, trying hard to pull it away. The man looked at me, snatched the pillow, then threw a punch in my direction. I got out of the way just in time. More noises from outside
. More banging.

  The man looked at me then turned to the machines standing beside the bed, and started pulling out wires, trying to create havoc. I rushed to his side of the bed, and jumped on him. He was twice my size and shook me off easily. I got up again, tried to grab him by his jacket, taking a grip on layers of fabric. I pulled hard, trying to drag him away. He turned to hit me again. The blow connected with my ribs. It hurt. I lurched forward, trying to overpower him, but I’m not really big enough for that kind of thing. He pushed me away, then suddenly, as he turned to hit me again, I saw his face properly for the first time. He stopped mid-punch as he seemed to be assessing me too. There was a vacant sense of evil in his eyes.

  And then he really did punch me, hard to the face. I was dazed, ringing in my ears. I stumbled, reaching out for the bed, trying to regain my balance. But before I could do any more, he turned, ran to the door, threw it open, and was gone.

  Within seconds there was an almighty bang from outside, as though something was being smashed open. A moment later the policeman came running in, looking panicked.

  “Where is he?” he shouted.

  “He’s just gone,” I replied. He ran off again.

  I had no idea what was happening, but I still had a mission to complete. I lifted Leah’s head to replace the pillow. Her eyes opened again, but she looked dazed.

  “Leah, talk to me,” I urged.

  “Anna?” she said again, her voice still barely audible.

  “Yes, that’s me. Don’t mind the uniform. I shouldn’t be here but I need to talk to you. I need to know what happened.”

  But still she looked confused. I tried again. She looked at me. Finally, she spoke.

  “Anna, what’s happening?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to find out,” I said. “Can you talk to me?”

  But then her eyes closed again. It looked like she was drifting back off to sleep.

  “Leah,” I urged, giving it one final try. “Tell me, what happened to Steve? Who did this to you? Was it March?”