Ultimate Dilemma (Justice Again Book 2)

by M A Comley

  But one question remained prominent in her mind…who did this? Two actually: who and why? Why would anyone attempt to take her father’s life in such a callous way? Was it an intruder? How did they get in?

  The doctor came to get her an hour later. By that time, her mind was as tired as her body had been when she’d left work almost two hours before. He escorted her to the recovery room where she held her father’s hand until she drifted off to sleep.

  She was awoken by the sound of the ventilator alarm going off. She shot out of the chair and hovered over him. “Dad, Dad, stay with us.”

  His eyes flickered open. She squeezed his hand and bent her head to listen to what he was attempting to say.

  “I didn’t mean to do it…”

  “Dad, do what?”

  The machine flatlined.

  He’d gone.

  1

  Katy and Charlie said farewell and left the station. They hadn’t even reached their cars before the night desk sergeant bellowed for them to return. Katy made a point of looking at her watch. It was gone midnight—she and her partner had already put in a fifteen-hour shift and were both exhausted.

  The sergeant shrugged. “Sorry, ma’am, thought you’d want to hear about this one.”

  “Go on, I’m waiting with bated breath.”

  Charlie sniggered. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”

  Katy turned to look at her. “For the record, I wasn’t. I was more concerned about getting home to my saint of a husband.”

  “Oh right, yes, of course,” Charlie mumbled.

  Katy thumped her arm. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. I can handle it if you want to go home.”

  “No way. It would be playing on my mind anyway, so I might as well stick around.”

  “Now that’s settled…” Ray said. “We received a call a few hours ago about a man having his throat cut. I didn’t bother you about it back then in case it didn’t come to anything, but now…”

  “Don’t tell me, the guy has since died, hence you getting the Murder Squad involved.”

  “Exactly. The hospital called it in. The daughter is still over there with him.”

  “Still? Was she there when the attack took place?” Katy queried.

  “Apparently she rang for an ambulance after coming home from work and finding her father in that state.”

  “Interesting. We’ll drop by and see her. Do we know what ward?”

  “Her father had just had an operation and was in the recovery room, I believe.”

  “We’ll find them. Thanks, Ray. What’s the name?”

  “The victim is Bruce Crawford, his daughter is Nadia.”

  “Thanks again. We’ll take my car, Charlie.”

  They arrived at the hospital around ten minutes later and parked in one of the numerous available spaces.

  “Makes a change not to be hunting for a space around here, I’ll see that as a good omen.” Katy got out of the car and jabbed the fob to lock it once Charlie had joined her.

  “If you say so. Nothing about this seems ‘good’ to me,” Charlie muttered.

  “I hear you. Let’s see if the daughter is up to speaking to us. I doubt it. If she’s not, we can arrange to call round to see her in the morning and trundle off home to bed.”

  “Wishful thinking on your part, I fear,” Charlie said with a grin.

  “We’ll see. I’ll ask at reception where we’re likely to find her.”

  The receptionist furnished them with lengthy directions which Katy lost halfway through. She smiled and thanked the woman, and they set off. “I hope you remembered the latter part of those instructions because she lost me after the seventh right turn.”

  Charlie grinned. “Yep, don’t worry.”

  There was a nurse exiting the room when they eventually found it.

  Katy flashed her ID. “Hi, we’re looking for a Miss Crawford. Is she in there?”

  “She is. I’m not sure she’s in any fit state to talk to the police, though.”

  “We’ll be gentle with her, I promise. Is it all right if we go in?”

  “I suppose so.” The woman spun on her heel and dashed up the corridor.

  Katy inhaled a few deep breaths and entered the room. There was a young woman sitting beside a man who was obviously no longer alive.

  Katy was shocked to see him lying there uncovered. “Hello, Miss Crawford, is it? Sorry for the intrusion.”

  The woman slowly turned to look at them. “Yes. Who are you? No, please, don’t take him away from me, not yet. I haven’t had the chance to say goodbye to him properly. I’ve just been sitting here numb…”

  “I can understand that. No, we haven’t come to take him away. I’m DI Katy Foster, and this is my partner, DC Charlie Simpkins from the Met Police. Would it be possible to have a word with you?”

  “Now? Right now, you expect me to answer your questions?”

  “Just a few, if you don’t mind.” Katy studied the woman. Her clothes were covered in blood, which could only mean one thing: she’d probably contaminated the scene back at the house. Or there could be another scenario for her to consider, that the woman was the perpetrator. She’d come across cases like that in the past. It wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility, nothing was in this day and age. Not when the perps seemed to be getting cannier by the day.

  Nadia let out a shuddering breath. “If you must. I’m not leaving this room, you can say what you have to say right here.”

  “That’s all right. Can you tell us what happened?”

  The sergeant had given them a brief rundown of events, but Katy wanted to see if the woman came up with the same account of what had gone on.

  “I came home from work just after ten-twenty and found him lying on the living room floor. I tried my hardest to help him.”

  “You touched him?”

  The woman glanced up, seemingly appalled by the question. “Of course, what would you have done in the same situation?”

  Katy acknowledged Nadia’s rebuttal was probably a valid one. “You’re right. Go on.”

  “I’m a nurse, if that helps you to assess things more accurately. I took an oath to help those in distress or injured.”

  “Ah, well, that definitely sheds a different light on things. Thanks. Was there anyone else in the house when you got home?”

  “No. I only managed to search the house briefly while the paramedics worked on him and couldn’t find anything wrong. The back door was shut. I think the front door was closed when I got there, I would have remembered if it hadn’t been.”

  “Was your father due to see anyone this evening?”

  “No, he rarely goes out or accepts visitors, not nowadays. He goes to work and that’s it. He had heart problems and was awaiting a bypass.” She stared at her father’s snow-white face and ran her hand down his cheek. “Maybe he didn’t have the strength to fight back. Had he been twenty years younger he would’ve throttled the person before they had a chance to lay a finger on him.”

  “Did you live with your father?” Katy needed to ask the question. She reckoned Nadia was in her late twenties to early thirties, which seemed old for a young woman to be at home still.

  “Is there a law against that?” Nadia bit back defensively.

  “No, it wasn’t a judgement, just an enquiry into why you were at the house, really.”

  Nadia’s gaze fell on her father once more. “I see. Yes, I’ve always lived with my father. Have you seen the price of property in the area? Out of my reach on my paltry nurse’s salary.”

  “Yes, I get that. What about your mother, is she still with you?”

  Her gaze lowered to her hands. “No. My mother died when I was four and my sister was three.”

  “Sister? Does she live with you as well?”

  “No, Penny has her own life up in Scotland. She’s married to Adam; he works on the oil rigs up there.”

  “Do you see her much?”

  “Not as often as I’d like. I’ve rung her, she’
s on her way to be with me. She’s promised to help me with the funeral arrangements. I’ve never had to deal with any of this crap before and I wouldn’t know where to start.” Tears dripped onto her flushed cheeks.

  “It’s difficult losing a loved one, grieving and doing all that’s necessary for their funeral. Don’t you have anyone local who can help you? Relatives or close friends?”

  “No, Penny will be here tomorrow. We’ll bounce some ideas around between us, she’s far more organised than me. I’m sure she’ll have it all figured out within a few hours.”

  “That’ll help take the pressure off your shoulders.”

  “That’s what I thought. I miss her, it’ll be nice seeing her again, even if it is in these dreadful circumstances. I can’t believe he’s gone. I thought they might be able to save him. The surgeon told me the wound was very deep and had severed his voice box and even nicked his cervical spinal cord, so I doubt he would’ve been able to walk again even if he had survived the attack.”

  “Sorry to hear that.” Katy was tempted to add that maybe it was a good job he hadn’t survived with such debilitating injuries, but kept her mouth shut instead, unsure how callous that might have sounded, coming from a complete stranger.

  “The whole thing is a mess. Why kill him? He’s never done anyone any harm, not from what I can remember.” Nadia’s shoulders shook as her grief overwhelmed her again.

  Katy took a step closer to the bed to try to comfort Nadia, but she pulled away. “Would you rather we leave this until the morning?”

  “No. I’m on duty at nine, doing a twelve-hour shift. We’re short-staffed, I refuse to let my colleagues down.”

  “You can’t work, it’s too soon. You need time to come to terms with your loss first. I’m sure your bosses will understand, in the circumstances.”

  “You don’t understand, I want to work. What else would I do? Sit and stare at the four walls of our lounge? That reminds me…” She stood and placed her chair against the wall behind her. “I need to go home, to clean up, ready for when Penny arrives.”

  Katy raised a hand. “Hold on a second, I’m afraid you won’t be able to do that. Your house is a crime scene. SOCO will need to examine it thoroughly, searching for clues to tell us who did this to your father. You’ll be allowed to gather some personal belongings to see you through the next few days. If you don’t have any relatives or friends you can stay with then my suggestion would be for you to get a hotel room for at least two days.”

  “Great, as if I have funds for that. Maybe I’ll do my long shifts here and then crash in my car. That’s all I’m likely to be able to afford. Can’t you section the house off? I promise not to go in the living room, if that’s what you want.”

  “It’s not as simple as that. I’m sorry for any inconvenience caused, needs must, I’m afraid. Every surface will have to be examined and analysed if we’re to secure a conviction against the person responsible. I know that’s an inconvenience to you.”

  “It is what it is. I don’t want to cause any trouble. I’m sorry if it came across that way.”

  “It didn’t. Why don’t we take you home now, so you can pick up some of your belongings, and then we can drop you off at a hotel?”

  She shook her head. “No, I don’t want that. Yes, I’ll go back to the house to gather some clothes and essentials I need but I refuse to waste money on a hotel room.”

  “I hate to say this, but what about your sister? You can’t expect her to sleep in your car, can you?”

  “She can sort herself out when she gets here. I shouldn’t have to make her arrangements for her. Bloody hell, I’ve just lost my father, don’t do this to me. All I want to do is sit here with him, and you’re causing all this anxiety. I. Don’t. Want. It.”

  “Okay, would you rather we leave you alone? It’s late, we can complete the questioning tomorrow, if you’d rather.”

  “Say what you need to say and leave me alone. Isn’t your job to be out there looking for the vile person who did this to him?”

  “Of course it is, and we’ll get around to doing that once we have a clearer indication of what we’re searching for. At the moment, we have nothing.”

  Nadia grunted and held her arms out to the sides. “Are you blaming me for that?”

  “No, I really wasn’t. Nadia, we’re on your side here. I’m sorry if you’ve misunderstood what I’ve said. My intention was to try and ease your burden.”

  “No, it should be me who is apologising. It’s the grief talking. I’m not usually snappy, my colleagues will tell you that. All this is too much. To find my father in that state, to sit around here for a few hours, waiting to hear news, and for him to come out of surgery only to go and die on me. I guess the stress has just got the better of me.”

  “It’s fine. It’s also extremely late. I can pay for a hotel room for the night, if that will help you out?”

  Nadia gasped and swept her hand, still spattered in dry blood, through her long auburn hair. “I’m not a charity case. I can rob Peter to pay Paul if necessary. The thing is, I shouldn’t need to. Not when I have a perfectly good house waiting for me.”

  “In our defence, a house which is running alive with forensic technicians in an attempt to find your father’s killer swiftly.”

  “There’s no easy solution. I’ll be fine. I can see if there’s a room available in the nurses’ quarters attached to the hospital.”

  “If you’re sure.”

  “I am. I’m tired now, can we put an end to all this?”

  “Sure. I’ll leave you my card, in the hope you get in touch with me if you can remember anything else about what happened during the incident that you believe we should be interested in.”

  Nadia took the card and tucked it in her small handbag nestled on the floor beside her. “Thank you. Again, I apologise if I’ve come across obstructive and unhelpful. I have truly told you everything I know about what happened tonight.”

  “We’ll leave you to it and be in touch soon. Sorry, would it be okay if we get a contact number for you?”

  Nadia reeled off her mobile number, and Charlie jotted it down in her notebook. “It’s mostly turned off because of the length of time I’m at work, so please be patient if you try to contact me and there’s a delay in me getting back to you. It won’t be intentional, I swear.”

  “I have no reason to doubt you. We’re sorry for your loss, you have our sincere condolences. Take care of yourself. We’ll be in touch soon.”

  “Thank you for being so understanding, both of you.”

  Katy and Charlie left the room.

  Outside, Katy exhaled a large breath. “Shit! I hate dealing with grieving relatives.” She raised a hand to prevent Charlie from answering. “I know what you’re about to say, most of our job entails just that…well, I’m stating, here and now, that I categorically abhor that side of our job.”

  “It’s not easy, I grant you. But you handled yourself well in there, just saying.”

  “Charlie Simpkins, are you sucking up to me?”

  Charlie placed a hand over her chest. “Would I? By the way, I thought it was very magnanimous of you to offer to pay for a hotel room.”

  “Ooo, such a big word for this early in the morning.” She glanced at her watch to check the time and nodded. “Jesus, it’s almost two, hardly worth going home, is it? Oh, and for your information, I wouldn’t have footed the bill personally, I would have taken it out of the petty cash tin.”

  “Ah, thought it sounded too good to be true.”

  Katy swiped at Charlie’s arm. “Sodding cheek. Okay, let’s call it a day and get home. I’ll drop you back at the station first.”

  “We should have thought about that and brought both cars. You’re not going out of your way, are you? If you are, I can grab a taxi from the rank, there’s sure to be a few outside.”

  “Now you’re being downright silly. Come on.”

  They set off back to the car, neither of them choosing to speak about the c
ase on the way.

  Once they were in the car Katy asked, “What did you make of her?”

  “Nadia? Why, don’t tell me you have suspicions about her?”

  Katy waggled her hand in front of her and then slipped the key into the ignition. “I’m not sure about her. Yes, I felt sorry for her for losing her father, but did you see the state of her clothes?”

  “About that…shouldn’t we have taken them for analysis?”

  “You’re right, I didn’t have the heart to ask her to strip off while we were there. My mistake. I’ll take the rap for that with Patti in the morning. I’ll get SOCO to contact her and ask for her clothes. Come on, what’s your gut telling you?”

  Charlie puffed out her cheeks then chewed on her lip for a few moments. “I don’t know, it’s hard to say. She’s a nurse, so her story about trying to save him is plausible, I suppose.”

  “If you found a member of your family bleeding out like that, I’m guessing you’d react in the same way, right?”

  “Without a doubt. Not everyone has the time to stop and think about their dubious actions, do they?”

  “True enough. It’s going to add to SOCO’s burden, there’s no doubt about that.”

  “Yeah, I think you’re right. However, the fact she still lives with her father struck me as strange. What about you?”

  “Yes and no. She has a point, property prices are the pits in the London area. It’s the same for everyone, young and old.”

  “We’ll discuss it more in the morning. I’m shagged and need some kip.”

  Ten minutes later, after dropping Charlie off, Katy was heading in the opposite direction towards home. She parked the car and snuck into the house. A light was on, seeping under the lounge door, and she eased it open to find AJ fast asleep on the couch. She ran a hand down his cheek. His eyelids flickered.

  “Hello, you. What are you doing up?”

  “Silly question. What time is it?”

  “I stopped looking at the clock around two, it was depressing me. Come on, let’s go to bed. I need a cuddle.”