Soul to Keep

by Clare Revell

  Zander laughed, sipping his drink. “But you had fun, right?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. We should do it again at some point. Haven’t played squash either in a while. And no, you can’t beat me at that as well.” She finished her drink. “I play for fun, not to win in case you were wondering. So, what next?”

  “Go and see Gramps,” Zander said. “And maybe check in on Will whilst we’re there.”

  Isabel nodded. “I want to go home and change first. Not really dressed for visiting anyone. Oh, and I need to pop into the office for a second and write down my thoughts from last night’s prayer meeting. They might be important.”

  Zander nodded, glancing at the pouring rain outside. “Least we won’t need a shower,” he said with a short laugh. “The rain will give us one as we dash back to the car.”

  ~*~

  The quick trip to the office had lasted several hours as they both found other things to do whilst they were there. It was gone four before Zander pulled into the last parking space in the hospital car park and glanced over at Isabel. At least she no longer squashed herself against the door when he drove. She was finally beginning to trust him. Whether she trusted his driving remained to be seen. “You didn’t need to come with me.”

  “Sure I did.” She pulled change from her bag. “Here, have some parking money. Besides, coming here with you gets me out of the office and avoids the chaos.”

  Zander smirked. “Work was a little fraught with the wives and teenagers, not to mention a toddler in the one office.”

  She laughed. “Oh, yeah. But honestly, that’s what I’d do if my husband wanted me where he could see me. I’d sit on the other side of his desk and stare at him.”

  Zander laughed. He had to admit the scene was rather comical. The Guv’s office had been commandeered by a very pregnant Mrs. Philips, Mrs. Holmes and her dog, two packs of playing cards, whilst three teenagers and a toddler ran rampant around the main squad room when they weren’t watching the TV set up for them. “I still have no idea what that card game the wives were playing is called.”

  “Double Patience. It’s a lot of fun. I used to play it with Gran.”

  Zander got the parking ticket and put it back in the car. “We need to stop at the shop. Get some flowers.”

  “You can’t have flowers in the ICU,” Isabel reminded him. “And anyway, Will wanted grapes.”

  He chuckled. “One year, Easter fell on April Fool’s Day. I got a whole load of mini chocolate eggs, and replaced the chocolate with grapes, wrapping them all up individually. I wasn’t very popular.”

  She laughed. “That’s funny.”

  “My sisters didn’t think so.” He paused, looking at the array of soft toys in the small hospital shop. Kind of like a service station on the motorway, this shop sold almost everything a patient would need, from books and magazines to snacks, chocolate, fruits, and toys. “I ate all the chocolate myself. Figured since I’d bought it, I should eat it.” He picked up a monkey. “He’ll do.”

  Isabel grabbed the zebra. “Oh, he’s so cute. How about him? Mr. Mac could call him Zander. Zander the zebra.”

  “Oh, really?” Zander grabbed a green iguana. “How about this one instead? Call her Isabel the iguana.”

  She poked her tongue at him. “Well if you’re not getting the zebra, I will. He can sit on my desk and help me work.”

  Zander rolled his eyes. “Fine, then I’m buying the iguana and naming it after you. She can sit on my desk and be the silent partner I’ve always wanted.” He headed to the cash desk, pausing only to pick up grapes for Will. He added a packet of chocolate eggs as well. He paid for his shopping and waited for Isabel.

  They headed up to ICU. Grace sat outside. Zander hugged her. “Hello, Gracie. So glad I get to see you again before you head home.”

  Grace kissed him. “I’d stay longer, but you know Jonah. The kids have driven him nuts and it’s only been a day. Well, not even that.”

  He turned to Isabel. “This is my partner, DC York.”

  Isabel shook her hand. “Hi. I’m Isabel.

  “Grace. You need a medal to put up with this one.”

  “Some days.”

  Zander coughed. “I am right here. How’s Gramps?”

  Grace’s face fell. “Not good. Laura and Carrie are with him. They only let two in at a time. Mum’s gone back to yours for a few.”

  Zander frowned. “I’m on duty. I only have a few minutes.” He glanced at Isabel, silently requesting that she not contradict him. Truth was he wanted to go to the church this afternoon and check out the grounds properly. Something he’d never done in all the years he’d been a church member. So he’d be sussing out a crime scene before a crime had been committed, therefore technically, he would be working.

  He crossed to the door to the unit and rang the bell. A petite brunette opened the door and he smiled. “Hey, Patti. I didn’t know you worked here.”

  She nodded. “What can I do for you?”

  “I’m here to see my grandfather. Francis McNally. Isabel and I found him after the assault. I don’t have long because I’m on duty.” He showed his ID. “I don’t suppose I could have a couple of minutes, could I?”

  “It’s only two per bed, and he has people with him right now. Give me a minute.” She shut the door.

  Isabel crossed over to him. “Why are you lying?” she whispered. “We’re not on duty until tonight.”

  “I have work related stuff I need to do before the ‘you know what’ later,” he whispered. “Suss out the area and so on.”

  She nodded and raised her voice a little. “He’ll be all right, you’ll see.”

  “I just…I’m praying too, but the answer’s not always yes, you know.”

  The door opened and Laura and Carrie came through. Laura hugged him. “Hey, Zander. Long-time no see. Almost forgotten what you look like.” She rubbed his beard. “What is this?”

  He grinned. “Months of hard work to perfect. How are you?”

  “Doing all right.” She swung her gaze at Isabel. “Who’s this? New girlfriend?”

  Zander snorted. “Hardly. This is DC Isabel York, my work partner. We’re joined at this hip whilst working this murder case.”

  Carrie frowned. “That’s made the national news. It’s a nasty one. Didn’t realise it was yours.”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Is, this is Laura, one of my other sisters.”

  “You and Isabel go and see him for a few minutes,” Laura said.

  “OK. We won’t be long. Coming, Is?”

  She nodded. “Sure.”

  Zander took a deep breath and headed into the ICU. He washed his hands and covered them with the antiseptic gel. He treaded softly across the ward to Gramp’s bed by the window.

  The nurse looked up and smiled. “You must be Zander, his grandson. I’m Juliette. I’m looking after him today.”

  Zander nodded. “This is DC York, my partner. How’s he doing?”

  “He’s still sedated for now, but his blood pressure is stable, which it wasn’t first thing this morning. The surgeons repaired his leg and hip. They also removed his spleen. He’ll be with us for a while I’m afraid.”

  Zander stared at the bruised and battered figure. Whoever had attacked him had done a stellar job, if it could be described as such.

  Gramps face was black and swollen. His nose looked broken, and even if he were awake, Zander doubted the eyes would open.

  He sank into the chair beside the bed and gently took hold of the old man’s hand, mindful of the wires and IV. “Hello, Gramps. Isabel and I have popped in for a few minutes before we head off to work for a really long night shift. Been a weird Saturday, actually because we’ve worked it on and off all day.”

  “And your grandson is a big cheat when it comes to table tennis,” Isabel said quickly. “If he ever asks you to play with him, say no.”

  Zander chuckled. “Gramps has more sense. Headley Rovers lost last night. Again. Good job it was a friendly and not a real match. I
can remember you telling me when you were a boy the football season ran from September to May. Now it’s more like all year around. Anyway, I was thinking. When you get out of here, you can come and live with me.”

  He paused, imagining the old man’s response. “Yeah, I knew you’d say that. But it’s not a bother. We can convert the dining room into a bedroom, and I can easily have a shower fitted into the existing downstairs bathroom. I can almost hear your objections, but you won’t lose your independence. The study can become a separate sitting room with all your books and things in. Best thing, it’ll all be on the ground floor. No more stairs or broken lifts.”

  Isabel’s phone vibrated and she tugged it free. “Zander, we have to go. Will’s asking to see us.”

  Zander nodded. “OK. We’ll be back tomorrow, Gramps.” He looked at the nurse. “If there’s any change, can you let me know. You should have my numbers, but just in case…” He pulled out his card and gave it to her. Then he leaned over the bed and kissed Gramps on the forehead. “Night, I love you. Be good.”

  ~*~

  Isabel headed down the short corridor between ICU and HDU. “So what do you need to do that’s so important?” she asked. “Only from the amount you kicked off at having to work on a Saturday in the first place, I was expecting you to want to stay longer with your family.”

  Zander shrugged. “I want to go over the church grounds properly. See how many ways in off the street there are. Make sure every exit is covered and so on.”

  “Surely the Guv has already done that.”

  “Maybe. But I want to do it for my own peace of mind.”

  Isabel studied him, but his face gave away nothing. Fine, if that’s what he wanted to do, she wasn’t going to stop him.

  Zander rang the bell. “Hi, we’re here to see Will O’Conner.”

  The nurse looked him over him. “His parents-in-law and children are here, so perhaps just one of you.”

  Zander gave Isabel the bag of stuffed animals and kept the grapes. “I won’t be long. You said he was asking for me?”

  She nodded. “Give me the keys and I’ll go and wait in the car.”

  He frowned. “Are you sure? You don’t want to wait here?”

  Isabel nodded. “Yeah. I’ll take the bag with me.” She took it and headed away, before he could stop her. As much as she liked Will, she couldn’t spend another moment in a hospital. She hated them to begin with and even more now.

  They’d be forever etched on her mind as a place of trauma, loneliness, knowing that she was now alone, and that she’d never see her mother or Gran again. All she could do was pray that Will’s children wouldn’t have that impression as well. She didn’t even know what his kids were called. He’d never spoken about them, instead choosing to keep work and home totally separate. She’d been sat in the car for about ten minutes when Zander appeared. “That was fast.”

  He nodded. “The kids were demanding his whole attention, but he said thanks for the grapes. That’s if Alicia and Jordan leave any for him.”

  She smiled. “Have to get him some more. I assume those are his kids.”

  Zander started the car. “Yeah. Alicia is ten and Jordan is seven nearly eight.” He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “And time’s gone. We need to get to the church. Start working.”

  “Do you still want to walk the perimeter when we get there?”

  Zander reversed out of the parking space. “Yes. There’s a flaw in the Guv’s plan, I can feel it.”

  She shook her head. “He’s covered everything, but if you want to double check I’m not stopping you.”

  ~*~

  Zander and Isabel arrived outside Headley Baptist Church just before six thirty. Several uniformed officers stood on the path outside the chapel. Marked and unmarked police cars scattered the car park and main road.

  DI Holmes strode from the church hall over to them. “We have this for now. The youth group finishes at nine thirty, so come back then.”

  Zander waved a hand at the marked cars. “I know you want the kids to feel safe, and prove to the pastors that we were right not to close the building and cancel everything until this is done and dusted, but won’t this scare our killer off? I thought the whole point was to lure him in and catch him.”

  “And we will, once the kids are all inside, the marked cars pull back and are replaced with unmarked ones.”

  Zander nodded. “Yeah. That will fool him. Not. Has your wife calmed down yet?”

  DI Holmes laughed. “Adeline never stays mad for long. Go and eat. It’ll be a long night.”

  Zander turned to Isabel. “Best not defy a direct order. And dinner is on you, remember?”

  His partner snorted. “Oh, no, you don’t. We decided it’s your turn because you’re a girt big cheat.”

  “Yeah, have to agree, so I’ll pay this time. It’s your turn on Monday though. There’s a pub not far from here that does pretty good grub. We can walk there in ten minutes. Alternatively, we can drive to somewhere slightly posher as I’m paying.”

  Isabel smirked. “Too right you’re paying tonight, mate. Somewhere posher, it is.”

  He jerked his head. “Yeah, I thought you’d say that. Get in the car. I want to walk around the perimeter for a bit.”

  “Shall I come with you?”

  Zander shook his head and pressed the keys into her hands. “I won’t be long.”

  22

  Zander drove to a small lounge bar just outside town. It served restaurant food at pub prices, but without the hassle of needing to book a table in advance. Posher in this case meant looks not price. He led her inside and over to an empty table.

  Isabel glanced around at the low-level lighting and candles on every table. “I’ve never been in here before.”

  He smiled. “I like it. You order the food at the bar and they bring it to the table.” He gave her a menu. “Have whatever you fancy.”

  “Oh, I will.” She opened the menu. “Not that I can read it, it’s dark in here.”

  He smirked, and then groaned as his phone rang. “This better not be work. The Guv just told us to go away for a couple of hours.”

  “It’s not playing the right music for the Guv, so I think you’re safe.”

  He answered the call without looking. “DC Ellery.”

  “Hi, Zander, it’s me.”

  He smiled. He needed to assign her a personalised tone. “Hi, Mum. How is he?”

  “Still sedated. It’s been a long day. Sorry I missed you at lunchtime when you came in. I popped back to yours to change.”

  “Don’t need to tell me about long days,” he sighed. “I won’t get home until three AM at the earliest. Probably later.”

  “Well, I won’t wait up.” His mother yawned, already sounding tired.

  “I’m not expecting you to, Mum. What did the doctor say?”

  “They’re hopeful. They are planning on waking him tomorrow but won’t say much more than that. I just wish I could stay longer than a couple of days.”

  “He’ll understand. You can always come back. And once he comes out of hospital, he’s moving in with me. At least until the council find him somewhere on the ground floor. Preferably in a warden-controlled building.”

  Isabel closed the menu.

  “Anyway, I’ll see you in the morning, Mum. I’ll be up for church no matter what time I get in. Night.” He ended the call and looked over at Isabel. “Reading between the lines, it sounds as if Gramps is doing better.”

  She smiled. “Good. I’m glad.”

  He closed his menu. “I’ll go and order. What do you want?”

  “The macaroni cheese, salad, chips, with grapefruit juice and ice, please.”

  He nodded, taking her menu as he stood. He strode over to the bar. “Hi, Rachel.”

  The auburn-haired beauty behind the bar grinned. “Hey, Zander. No Rosa tonight?”

  “No.” Zander leaned on the counter. “We broke up. This is a working dinner with my partner.”

  “Oh,
those are always fun. What can I get you?”

  “Isabel wants the macaroni cheese, salad, and chips, with grapefruit juice on ice. I’ll have my usual tapas with a large pot of coffee, please.” He pulled out his wallet.

  “That’s twenty-three pounds forty-two, please.”

  Zander held his card over the contactless pay point. As it beeped, he put the card back in his wallet. He picked up the tray of drinks. “Thank you.”

  He carried the tray to the table. “Here you go. Food won’t be long.” He sat. “So, you’ve met all my sisters bar one now. And no doubt Mary will be up before too much longer.”

  Isabel tilted her head. Your sisters are Carrie, Grace, Laura, and Mary.”

  Zander poured the coffee. “Yes, Mum was a huge Little House fan. It could have been worse. She could have called me John-Boy.”

  She laughed. “That’s The Waltons. It must be nice seeing them again.”

  He nodded. “It is. Not losing touch again. And I want to put things right with Dad somehow as well. It might take a while and may not work, but I have to try.” He paused. “What about your family? You never did tell me about them.”

  Isabel hid behind her drink. “I don’t have one.”

  “Everybody has a family, Is,” Zander said, studying her.

  She looked uncomfortable, as if this were some dark skeleton in her closet she was afraid to let out in case it consumed her.

  “Not me.” She pushed back into the chair.

  “Even test tube babies have parents, Is. So do adopted kids. Why the big secret? Don’t you trust me? I mean, c’mon, it can’t be worse than me leaving home and not speaking to my parents for eight years over something pretty minor in most people’s books.”

  Not that his faith was a minor issue, but not wanting to work the farm probably was.

  Isabel shivered and pushed to her feet. She grabbed her bag. “I’ll be back in a few.”

  Zander sighed, watching as she headed quickly towards the ladies. She did like running rather than facing up to a situation. But that had to end now. Still he wasn’t following her into this ladies’ room too. He leaned back in his chair, praying that she’d finally open up to him so he could help her deal with whatever was bothering her. Because he had a feeling it was at the root of all her problems.