***
“For fuck’s sake!” Adam shook his head. I stared at him in disbelief, what the hell was he doing? This man wanted to kill us. “Can you not do anything right? No wonder Edwin thought you were such an idiot.” Patrick yelled, running towards Adam. What happened next was a blur, there was a struggle, the man holding me flew towards the pair. Adam pushed hard, shoving Patrick into a gurney, he slipped, releasing his grip for a moment and in this split second he bolted, grabbing me by the arm, dragging me to a run.
We crashed into the dim corridor, the sound of angry men far too close behind us, then a gunshot which scattered plaster dust over us. Adam shoved me through a door into a massive kitchen, he grabbed a huge pot, tipping boiling contents onto the tiled floor. There were yells and one of the policemen slipped, falling heavily causing the others to fall also.
There were white-coated cooks screaming, we ran but could find no exit. Adam yanked at a huge door, pulling it open. I slid inside, falling and being dragged behind a huge shelf, the door slammed shut.
The men stood up, sliding in the oil which now covered the floor, they ran through the kitchen, pushing aside people. Patrick stopped, pulling open the door. I held my breath, praying that he could not see us.
***
My phone rang. “Dan! What? No, say that again, what do you mean?” I paused. “Then who were they?” He had told me that there was no outstanding charges and no officers who would be looking for Adam or Kate. But there was news, Patrick had been given bail and had left London. My heart sunk.
***
“Give me those.” He grabbed a pair of handcuffs, slipping them through the hasp on the door he locked them. “I am sorry ladies and gentlemen. There were some people we were looking to question, however it seems they have doubled back. I must ask however that you leave this area clear. Scenes of crime will be down soon to check for evidence. Thank you.”
They left the kitchen. One of the men turned to Patrick. “Where did they go?”
“I saw them.”
“So we can go and deal with it…” He turned to go back into the kitchen.
“No, you bloody idiot. We cannot execute two people in front of a kitchen full of witnesses, they’ve seen enough already. No, I think that this time, things will resolve themselves naturally.” The two men stripped off the police jackets and hats, throwing them into a skip outside the kitchens. “Let’s get out of this damn place.”
***
I was pacing, Dan had told me he would come to the hospital but that had been almost an hour ago.
“I know… I’m late… Sorry. I needed to check as much as I could at the station. We can’t know that Adam and Kate have gone off with some of Patrick’s people. It may be something totally innocent.”
“Your face is not looking like it’s innocent. Tell me, what the hell is happening?”
“I have men out all over town looking for them, there are number plate cameras looking for known vehicles, but…”
“But, but what?”
“It’s a long shot. If it was them, he could have hired someone who had stolen a van and have them in the back. I’m sorry, but I need to be honest with you. We need to talk with hospital security and check the CCTV images.”
***
Flashing his warrant card had got us into the main security office. They cued up the CCTV tape which showed Adam and Kate getting in the lift, but there was no matching image for them getting out at the ground floor.
“They can’t just vanish?”
“Well, there are other ways out of the building, we need to check the other exits like A&E and maternity, they have separate entrances. They could have gone to another floor, crossed to a different wing and left that way.”
I wanted to scream, however, I knew that the only way we would find them would be to check all of the cameras. Perhaps if we saw them being taken out of the building we could get a number plate to check or at least a description of the men better than the rapid glance I had seen in the lift.
The security team were going through the cameras, it was taking a frustratingly long time as images of different areas of the hospital flashed up on the screens. Eventually, with a shrug, the head of security said that they could not be found. They had checked the lift landings on each floor as well as the other entrances and key cameras.
“Oh for Christ’s sake! They cannot have just got into a lift and not got out?” Dan sighed.
“What about estates?”
“What you think they got out in a car? Don’t be stupid.”
“No…” The young security officer stood up. “The estates’ department, they are in the basement. There are plant rooms, the morgue, the kitchens. I don’t think the camera feeds are working down there.”
“Shit… You’re right.” Head of security turned to Dan. “People smoke down there, they damage the camera cables so they don’t get seen.”
“How do we get there?”
***
We stepped out of the lift. The basement was like a maze. We walked with the security guards through plant rooms and storage areas. I gulped as we entered the morgue, I looked away as they pulled open the refrigerated drawers and peered into body bags. There was only the kitchen left. We stepped inside, Dan showed his warrant card to one of the cooks.
“Oh for Christ’s sake! I’m trying to prepare meals for the whole hospital, I have already had your men try to destroy the place. And when am I going to get my blast freezer back?”
“What the hell are
