Bloodline

‘I’ll go and find someone,’ Emily said, and she disappeared through the curtains.

‘God, you gave us all such a fright,’ said Angela, taking my hand. ‘I couldn’t bear to lose you as well.’ She was crying and she wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her jacket. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t be,’ I said.

Clare’s death was still very raw for all of us. Our emotions were on a knife-edge. One minute we could weep or laugh, and the next moment we could fly into a rage.

Emily returned with the doctor. I knew from personal experience that saying no to Emily was difficult, in fact, I now fervently wished I’d said yes to her. It might have saved all this bother.

‘How are you feeling?’ asked the doctor.

‘Fine,’ I croaked. ‘Apart from a sore neck and a croaky voice.’

‘Your vitals are good and stable,’ he said, looking at the chart. He came forward and examined my neck. ‘You were very lucky. Your larynx is only bruised and not fractured. I see no reason why you can’t go home, but you shouldn’t be left alone for the next twelve hours or so. Asphyxia patients can sometimes develop cerebral oedemas and they are very dangerous.’

‘What’s a cerebral oedema?’ Angela asked him.

‘A fluid build-up that causes the brain to swell in the skull. It’s very nasty and often the last person to realize they have one is the patient. But I don’t think you’ll have a problem. I would have expected to see something by now if you were.’

‘We’ll look after him,’ Emily said, holding my hand.

‘Fine,’ said the doctor. ‘I’ll get the discharge papers. But get him back here immediately if he starts to act strangely or slurs his words.’

The doctor went out of the cubicle and I swung my legs over the side of the couch. I looked at my watch. It was a quarter past three.

‘Come on,’ I said. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

‘Where to?’ Angela asked as we sat in her Volvo in the hospital car park. She was in front while Emily and I were sitting together in the back and, yes, I had checked the car was empty of potential stranglers before we’d opened the doors.

‘You can’t come back to our house. We’re full with Brendan and Gillian, and their boys. Not unless you want to sleep in the marquee with Tatiana and her friends.’

‘We’ll go to my place,’ Emily said decisively. ‘I’ll look after him.’

I could see Angela giggling via the rear-view mirror. I suspected that this had been a rehearsed exchange.

‘Where is your place?’ I asked Emily.

‘In Royston,’ she said. ‘About a mile from Nick and Angela.’

‘I need to be at Newmarket racecourse in under four hours, and Royston’s in totally the wrong direction.’

‘But surely you’re not going to do the show now,’ said Angela.

‘Why not?’ I said. ‘As long as my voice doesn’t get any worse, I’ll be fine.’

‘But someone has just tried to kill you.’

‘All the more reason for going on.’

‘You’re crazy.’

‘Maybe I am,’ I said. ‘But I’ll be damned if I am going to sit back and do nothing. Someone tried to kill me tonight and I’m bloody well going to find out who it was.’ I yawned, which I discovered was not very pleasant when one had a sore windpipe. ‘Please take me to Clare’s cottage. I’ll try and get some sleep, and I’ll order a taxi to collect me in the morning. I need to change my clothes anyway. I can hardly go on the Morning Line wearing this.’

I saw Angela look at Emily in the mirror. Their little plan was falling apart and I could tell that they didn’t particularly like it.

‘Look,’ I croaked. ‘I am not trying to be evasive. I promise. I would more than happily go to Emily’s place under different circumstances but, right now, I’d like to go to Clare’s cottage.’

‘One of us would have to stay with you,’ Angela said. ‘The doctor was pretty insistent.’

‘It had better be me who stays with Mark,’ Emily said. ‘Nick will be wondering where you are already.’ She laughed. ‘He’s probably in the marquee trying to keep those drunken randy boys away from Tatiana.’

‘Don’t even joke about it,’ Angela said. ‘All right, Mark, you win. Clare’s cottage it is.’

She started the Volvo and pointed it towards Newmarket.

In the end, all three of us stayed at Clare’s cottage, Angela having been assured by Nicholas on the telephone that all was well both at their house and in the marquee, where Tatiana was safely cocooned amongst her girlfriends.

Angela and Emily slept together in the guest room while I settled down on the sofa in the sitting room downstairs. I suppose it would have been all right to use Clare’s bed but I sensed an air of collective relief when I had volunteered to be on the sofa.

Even though it was almost four o’clock by the time I turned out the light, I found it difficult to sleep. My mind was racing with too many unanswered questions, the uppermost ones being who had tried to kill me and why.