I looked up as the nurse came back towards my bed, she handed me a cup of water and some pills telling me I must take them. She promised she would find out about Kate for me and tell me as soon as she had any news, but only if I took the medication. I quickly swallowed the two yellow pills.
My body ached, I was desperately hungry, so far, the best thing which had happened to me had been having a shower. Watching the filth wash from my body was cathartic. The nurses had only allowed me to eat a little food, but I was assured drip feeds were ensuring my body would recover.
My sudden yawn caught me by surprise, I honestly wasn’t tired. I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment, just a moment I told myself.
I was overtaken by a deep sleep.
* * *
The police car had driven me at speed towards the motorway.
“Where are you taking me?”
I was bristling, the last time I had been in the back of a police car. I pushed the thought from my mind, the officers had been at pains to tell me that this wasn’t an arrest. I needed to be transported to Devon. The moment they had said that my heart had sunk, Kate! Was she okay? Oh, God! He’d shrugged, they had been told nothing more. I was to be taken, at speed to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. It was clear they were to get me there as quickly as possible.
I stared out of the window. The rush, was Kate dying, miles away lonely and scared? Or, was it too late? Was I being rushed to identify her body? I tried to push the thought from my mind. The miles passed, I was getting ever closer to the inevitable, my heart racing, part of me never wanting the journey to end, to postpone any terrible news, the rest of me desperate to be there for my beautiful wife. I had been away from her for so long, yet she had stood by me and tried to prove my innocence. I would never forgive myself if anything had happened to her.
It seemed like days, the journey dragging on through miles of motorway and then finally into a town. There were the signs for the hospital. The car drew to a halt, the door was flung open and I was rapidly ushered through reception past a scrum of police and photographers.
The nurses looked shocked to see me as they rushed me through the endless corridors, nobody would speak to me or tell me what had happened, how my wife was. Finally, pushing through the door I saw her. Kate was pale, a drip attached to her arm. She looked up. It was a pained cry which cut through me. I ran to her, clutching her in my arms. She looked frail, I held her tightly as she sobbed.
“Adam!”
I promised I would never let her go again.
VI
Dreams For The Future
“Fire is one of the greatest fears of horse owners. Read our essential guide to fire safety.”
Horse & Hound
35
New Beginnings?
“Kate!” I woke with a start, flinging back the bedsheets, there were tubes attached to my arm. I reached to yank them out but my hand was grabbed firmly.
“Miss Wessington, please. Lie down.”
I looked around me. A hospital bed, in a private room, a policewoman had stepped through the door, the nurse was gently helping me. I was confused and hungry.
“Come on, Hilary. You’ve been in the wars.” The nurse stroked my arm, smiling warmly. “You need to rest and stay calm.”
War? My mind was cloudy, I couldn’t think. I allowed myself to be laid back down on the bed. “Is she okay?”
“It’s the morphine she was given. She’ll be confused. Give her time. What with everything she’s been through…”
The nurse turned her attention back to me, smiling as she checked the machines which stood beeping beside the bed.
“Where am I?”
“It’ll come back to you soon. You’ve rested for a few hours. Soon you’ll start to feel better. You’re in the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, we just want to make sure you are fit and well. We’ll get you something to eat soon.”
* * *
Attempted Murder at Actress’ Home
The intrigue deepens in the case of what has now been confirmed by the Devon and Cornwall Police as an arson attempt at the home of Oscar-nominated actress Isla-Mae Gomez. Local sources have stated that there were two women tied up in the tack room at the time of the fire which had been started by an improvised incendiary device. It seems the individual who set the device was not aware a high-powered fire suppression system had been installed in the building. The system doused the flames before it became the scene of a grizzly double murder.
At this time there is no official word from the Police, however, they have stated that they are seeking equine groom Sally Elizabeth Benson who had been sacked from her employment by Isla-Mae Gomez just the day before. Miss Benson is thought to also have been involved with the murder of Olivia Wright-Turner who had been stabbed and found buried in manure at the stables of event rider Hilary Wessington. Adam Bishop, the man who had previously been arrested for her murder was released
