A red weather warning from the Met Office was issued for parts of Yorkshire and Humberside. Power lines were down, and roads were closed. People were advised to stay indoors and not make any journeys unless they were absolutely necessary. Detaining a potential murderer was deemed as being a necessary journey.
DC Rory Fleming was the best advanced driver in the HMET. He’d come to the station to pick Natasha up but decided to hang around when he heard she was out on a call. Christian and Scott found him in the open-plan office bent over Sian’s snack drawer.
‘Sian’s going to kill you if she finds you rooting around in there,’ Scott said as they entered.
‘No she won’t. She’ll offer to have my children,’ he stood back to reveal a drawer full to the brim with brightly coloured chocolate bar and sweet wrappers.
Christian bent down to grab a bar, but Rory slapped his hand. ‘Not until Sian’s seen it first.’
‘In that case, you can drive Sian and DCI Darke to Stannington. They’re downstairs waiting for you.’
As they left the room, Rory grabbed Scott’s arm. ‘Scott, can you do me a favour?’ He looked worried.
‘Sure. What is it?’
‘When you get out to Heeley, tell Natasha to be careful.’
‘She will be careful.’
‘I know, but, when it’s one of our own, we sort of throw the rule book out of the window, don’t we? I don’t want her doing something that could risk her life.’
Scott smiled. ‘You really like her, don’t you?’
‘Scott, mate, I love her.’
‘Have you told her?’
‘Not yet. Will you tell her for me?’
‘You can piss off.’
***
Once they were out of the city centre, the traffic was practically non-existent as people paid heed to the warnings and stayed safely indoors. It seemed like the end of the world. It was Saturday night; the city should have been full of people heading for pubs, restaurants and night clubs, but everywhere was deserted.
Rory drove at speed. His hands gripped the wheel firmly and his arms were straight at the elbow. He frowned in concentration as he skirted around deep puddles and fords in the road.
He drove with Sian in the front passenger seat beside him. Matilda had decided to take her own Range Rover. In weather this bad, it was best to have a back-up vehicle.
‘Whoever says climate change doesn’t exist is a complete moron,’ Sian said. ‘We never used to get storms like this. Remember when Meadowhall flooded a few years back? It will do again if it doesn’t let up soon.’
‘We’ve had a hot summer,’ Rory said. ‘I suppose this is the price we pay.’
‘They keep saying on the news we need to act now before it’s too late. I think we’ve already passed the tipping point,’ Sian said, glaring out of the window as the rainstorm drenched Sheffield as if mother nature was trying to sweep it out to sea.
Rory slowed as they turned into Acorn Drive. He slammed on the brakes when he saw an ambulance parked outside the Armitage house. The back doors were open and the blue lights were flashing, dancing in the dark.
‘Oh my God,’ Rory said.
By the time Sian had taken her seatbelt off and got out of the car, Matilda was already tearing towards the house.
The front door was open, and she went inside without knocking. ‘Hello. Is everyone all right?’
She almost collided with a paramedic in the entrance to the living room. Matilda introduced herself.
Linda Armitage was being secured to a trolley. She was unconscious and covered in blood.
‘What’s going on?’
‘Mrs Armitage began coughing up blood about an hour ago. I’m afraid it took us a while to get out here in this weather. We’ve managed to sedate her and get fluids into her, but she’s lost a great deal of blood,’ the young paramedic said. ‘Would you like to go with your wife?’ he asked Craig.
Craig was standing by the window. He had a look of pure horror on his face as he tried to make sense of what was happening to his family.
‘Erm, I don’t know … I need to look after Jodie and Riley.’
‘We can sort something out, Mr Armitage, if you want to be with your wife,’ Rory said.
‘Thank you. I suppose I should go with her.’ He began to follow the paramedics out of the room as they slowly and carefully made their way to the door.
‘Daddy.’
Craig stopped and turned to look up the stairs. Jodie was sat at the top hugging her knees. There were tears running down her face. She was wearing a thick towelling dressing gown. Her hair was wet. She looked younger and more vulnerable suddenly.
‘Jodie, I need you to stay here and look after Riley. I promise, I won’t be long.’
‘Will she be all right?’
‘I hope so.’
‘What do I do?’
He ran up the stairs to her and held her by the shoulders. ‘Sweetheart, I need you to be a big girl. I need you to look after Riley. As soon as I can, I’ll come home. I promise,’ he kissed her on the forehead.
‘I love you,’ she said as her father ran back down the stairs.
He stopped and looked back at his remaining daughter. ‘Love you too, sweetheart.’
Matilda pulled Rory to one side. ‘Rory, follow him to the hospital,’ she whispered. ‘Find out what the hell happened here and try and get as much information out of him as possible. Ring me if you get anything.’
‘Will do.’ He ran out of the house, slamming the door behind him.
Matilda and Sian stood in the hallway. Their faces were blank. They had expected to come here to interview Craig and hopefully have a quiet word with Jodie.
‘Jodie, would you like to come downstairs?’ Sian asked in her calmest ‘mother’ tone. ‘I’ll make us a nice hot drink and you can tell us what happened here tonight.’
‘Is my mum going to be all right?’ she asked.
‘I’m sure she will. Some of the best doctors in the world work in Sheffield. We’re very lucky to live here. Come on, come down.’
‘I don’t want to go into the living room,’ she said.
‘Why not?’
‘That’s where all the blood is.’
Sian gave a weak smile to Jodie and left her on the stairs while she and Matilda went to the lounge. Blood was splattered on the coffee table and soaking into the carpet. She had never seen someone expel so much blood without them being shot or stabbed.
What the hell was wrong with Linda Armitage?