Caroline and Dexter arrived back at the police station following their chat with Susan Thornton, both their stomachs rumbling in anticipation of a long-overdue lunch.
‘I’ll be in in a sec,’ Dexter said, noticing the time as they reached the front entrance. ‘Just got to make a quick phone call.’
He waited until Caroline was inside, then walked a little further away from the building and paced through the car park as he scrolled through his phone. He knew a simple text message wouldn’t cut it. In any case, he wanted to speak to her. Needed to. Hearing her tone of voice would be crucial. He knew from years of experience how she managed to hide things and put on a brave face, but he was sure by now he’d be able to see through it.
Considering this for a moment, he switched to WhatsApp, scrolled down until he found the conversation with her, opened it up and then pressed the icon for a video call.
He held the phone in front of him and watched the screen as the phone rang. A few moments later, the call connected, and Dexter saw a quick flash of blue sky before the screen went dark and the sound became muffled.
‘Hello?’ came the voice from the other end.
‘Mum, it’s me. It’s a video call, so you need to take the phone away from your face.’
‘Oh, my word. You’re very loud, Dexter. Can you speak quieter?’
‘It’ll be on speakerphone. It’s a video call. You’re not meant to have the phone next to your ear.’
‘Then how else am I going to hear you?’
‘Hold the phone in front of you, Mum. Like a camera.’
‘Like this?’
‘The other way round,’ Dexter replied, seeing only grass and a pond. ‘Turn it round so you can see the screen.’
A moment later, his mum’s face flashed into view. ‘Oh, blimey. You gave me a fright, Dexter. What are you doing?’
‘It’s a video call, Mum. I wanted to see you as well as speak to you.’
‘Well you could have said. You frightened me half to death. What’s the matter?’
‘I was just phoning to see how you got on.’
‘Oh, fine, fine,’ she replied. Although Dexter couldn’t see, he knew she’d be doing her customary dismissive hand wave just out of shot. ‘I’m just having a little sit down in the park while your father gets some coffee from the kiosk. Thought we’d make the most of the sunshine while we’re out.’
‘What did they say?’
‘Who?’
‘The hospital, Mum.’
‘Oh, not a whole lot. You know what these doctors are like.’
In that moment, Dexter knew the doctor had almost certainly said quite a lot, and he could tell she hadn’t liked it. In normal times, she held doctors almost in a state of reverence, it having been her life’s ambition for Dexter to become one himself. For her to speak ill of one now could only mean one thing.
‘Did they mention anything about the blood tests? What were the results?’
‘They want to do some other tests now, apparently,’ his mother replied, deftly dodging the question.
‘Okay. Is that because of what the blood results said? Otherwise they would have done all those tests the last time, surely.’
‘You’d think so. But the more often they can drag us in, the more money they’ll get from the car parking charges.’
‘I don’t think that’s their main motivation, Mum,’ Dexter replied.
He watched as his mum’s eyes darted up and to the side, as if she’d just spotted something — or someone.
‘Okay, well I’d better get going,’ she said. ‘I’ll speak to you later.’
‘Is that Dad? Can I speak to him quickly?’
‘Sorry, my love. My battery’s really low. How do I end this call? Is it the—’
Dexter watched as his mum’s face disappeared from the screen and the display switched back to their last WhatsApp chat. Whether she knew it or not, she’d told him everything without even needing to say a word.