‘I can walk, you know.’
‘You heard the nurse,’ the hospital porter said. ‘More than my job’s worth.’
‘We’re only going to the back entrance,’ Sheena Pearson said. ‘I don’t need a wheelchair.’
‘Anyway,’ the porter went on, ‘I thought you were supposed to be a socialist. You wouldn’t want to put me out of a job.’
‘I am a socialist. That’s why I don’t want to exploit my fellow worker.’
‘Fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay, and all that. And if I’m just pushing you along a corridor, I’m not being asked to do something more difficult, am I?’
‘Okay, you win. I’ll let you push me.’
Annie Delamere watched the exchange with relieved amusement. She’d been anxious to see Sheena all day. The nagging fear that had woken Annie in the early hours was soothed now by the sight of her partner’s bright smile. Aside from the bandage, Annie thought Sheena looked pretty much herself. It would be good to get her home.
A gaggle of TV and newspaper reporters had been stationed outside the main entrance for most of the morning, and the police had decided to take Sheena to a rear entrance where Annie had left her car ready. Annie knew that Sheena’s preference would have been to chat to the reporters, but she’d been persuaded by the powers-that-be that it was better to avoid what might turn into a media circus. There’d be plenty of time to talk to the media later.
Annie still wondered whether Sheena should have been provided with more public protection. Everyone from the Prime Minister downwards had publicly expressed their shock at what had happened and there was a substantial police presence here at the hospital, but Annie still felt concerned that the risks were being underplayed. The tacit assumption seemed to be that yesterday’s incident had been a one-off, just the action of some trigger-happy halfwit. That might well be true, Annie thought, but it did little to relieve her own fears.
As it was, the plan was simply to slip quietly out of the back door. A single uniformed officer had been stationed there, but to Annie that felt like little more than a token gesture. Still, Sheena would be left exposed only for a few seconds, with Annie’s car waiting in the pick-up bay just ahead of them. As the porter pushed Sheena out, Annie opened the rear door, ready to usher her into the car. ‘Come on, missie. Let’s get you home.’
‘This must be what it’s like to be a minister. Getting transported and chauffeured everywhere.’ Sheena eased herself up from the wheelchair, giving the porter a friendly glare that clearly dared him even to think about offering to help.
‘Only a matter of time before you find out, I imagine,’ Annie said. She nodded to the porter and the waiting police officer. ‘Thanks, both. I can take care of her from here—’
Even as she spoke the words, she felt as if she was tempting fate, but she hadn’t expected her claim to be tested so immediately. The blast of the gunshot was deafening, echoing between the surrounding hospital wings. It was followed almost at once by the sound of shattering glass, and the shrill wailing of an alarm.
Almost before the echoes had died away, Annie was already beyond conscious thought, acting on instinct and training alone. As far as she could see, no one out here had been struck by the shot, but there was no way of knowing what might have happened once the bullet had passed through the shattered hospital window. Not pausing to reflect, she bundled Sheena into the rear of the car. ‘Lie down. As low as you can.’ For once her partner put up no argument.
The uniformed officer and the porter were both standing frozen, both clearly at a loss how to respond to what had happened. Annie gestured for them to get back into the hospital. ‘Get hold of whoever’s supposed to be in charge of this show,’ she shouted. ‘Tell them to organise backup. And to have the area sealed off. No one to come in or out. Go quickly!’ She crouched down behind the car, trying to calculate where the shot had come from. The smashed window was behind to her right, which suggested that the shot had been fired from somewhere in the car park ahead. She peered over the roof of the car, squinting for any sign of movement.
A fine rain was still falling and visibility was limited, but she was confident that there was nothing there, other than an occasional passing car. Somewhere behind the hospital building, she could hear the rising wail of police sirens. At least the cavalry was on its way. She remained crouching by the car for another minute, her eyes fixed on the car park ahead of her, but could still see nothing. She took several deep breaths to calm her nerves, scrambled round to the driver’s door and threw herself into the car, keeping her head low.
‘You okay?’
Sheena was half-lying on the rear seat, her face ashen. ‘I’ve been shot at twice in as many days. What do you think?’
‘I know. Look, we’re too vulnerable here if there is still anyone out there. I’m going to pull up on the pavement, get us as close to the door as I can, then we can both get inside and find out what the hell’s happening.’
‘You think anyone’s likely to know what’s happening?’ Sheena was looking more shocked than Annie had ever seen her, her usual bravado for once absent.
‘They might have more of a clue than we do. Though I wouldn’t bet on it.’ Annie peered through the rear window of the car, still alert for any sign of movement. She felt absurdly exposed, conscious that the gunman could be anywhere out there, that the gunsights could still be trained on them. She started the car and manoeuvred it into a spot immediately adjacent to the rear entrance. ‘Okay, Shee. I’ll go first. When I open your door, don’t hesitate. Just keep your head down and get your backside into the hospital.’
She scrambled out of the car and pulled open the rear door, using it to shield Sheena as, head down, she clambered on to the pavement and into the hospital entrance. Annie paused briefly for another scan of the car park – there was still no sign of movement – then she followed, leaving her car abandoned on the pavement outside.
‘Serve you right if you get a ticket. I believe they’re very strict.’ Sheena was waiting inside. The flippancy of her words was belied by the still-horrified expression on her face.
‘Come on. Let’s see what’s going on.’ Annie led them down the hospital corridor past a waiting area for one of the outpatient departments. This was where the bullet had ended up. The room was deserted, the cold wind and rain blowing in through the broken window.
It took them another few minutes to find their way through the maze of corridors to the main foyer. A cluster of uniformed officers was gathered inside the entrance, in the middle of a briefing from the officer in command. As they approached, one of the officers moved to intercept them. ‘I’m sorry, madam. Can I ask you either to return to your ward or department or, if you’re a visitor, to join the group in the cafe down there? There’s been an incident outside, and we’re keeping everyone in here as a precaution until we’ve resolved the situation.’
Annie took a breath, trying to contain her anger and frustration. ‘Yes, I’m only too aware of that, funnily enough.’ She brandished her warrant card. ‘DI Annie Delamere. This is Sheena Pearson MP.’
The officer looked as if he’d been caught out in some moderately serious misdemeanour. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t realise…’
Annie was tempted to vent her fury on the man in front of her, but managed to control her temper. ‘No reason why you should have. Can I speak to whoever’s in command here? I might be able to offer some information.’
She waited impatiently while the officer spoke to the figure who had been addressing the group. She knew him slightly. Chief Inspector Alan Cowley, she recalled. She’d had a few dealings with him, and found him efficient if a little brusque. She watched as he concluded his briefing and made his way across to her.
‘Annie Delamere, isn’t it?’
‘Well remembered, Alan,’ she said curtly. ‘This is Sheena Pearson. Can I ask you what the hell’s going on?’
Cowley blinked at the repressed anger in her tone. ‘I wish I knew. I’ve only just arrived myself—’
‘There should have been a senior presence from the start,’ Annie said. ‘After what happened yesterday.’
‘With the benefit of hindsight…’ Cowley stopped, clearly recognising that his usual PR emollience wasn’t going to work here. ‘No, you’re right. We underestimated the risk. I’m sorry.’ He nodded to Sheena. ‘Delighted to meet you, Ms Pearson. I wish it could have been in other circumstances.’
‘So do we,’ Annie said. Her anger had lessened a little, and she at least felt gracious enough to acknowledge Cowley’s honesty. From everything she’d heard, he was a sound enough copper, and no doubt struggling with scant resources as they all were. He wasn’t a smooth operator like Stuart Jennings and had probably progressed as far as he was likely to in the force, but he’d always do a decent job. Whatever mistakes had been made, he looked in his element now, confidently marshalling a team to deal with an undoubted crisis.
‘The shot was fired at the rear of the hospital, I understand?’ Cowley said. ‘We should have had more people stationed out there.’
Annie had noticed a large map of the hospital estate set on the wall of the reception for the benefit of visitors. She led Cowley and Sheena over to it. ‘We were planning to leave through this entrance.’ She pointed a finger at the map. ‘I’d left my car in the pick-up bay so we could get Sheena out quickly. The bullet hit the window here. So it looked to me as if it was fired from somewhere in the car park out here.’ She gestured towards the relevant area on the map.
‘We’ve got the site sealed off,’ Cowley said. ‘If there’s anyone still out there, we’ll get them. One way or another,’ he added, ominously.
‘My guess is that they’re long gone,’ Annie said. ‘After the first shot, there was no sign of any movement. There were only a few minutes before you began to arrive, but I’m guessing it was probably enough.’
Cowley nodded. ‘We’ll get the CCTV cameras checked urgently. There must be decent coverage of the car parks outside.’ He paused. ‘I hope this doesn’t sound too insensitive, Ms Pearson, but the main question at the moment is whether this person has a personal grudge against you, or whether they’re a more general danger.’
‘They’re a danger either way,’ Annie pointed out. ‘Even if Sheena was the target, other people could easily have been hit both today and yesterday.’
‘Definitely,’ Cowley said, morosely. ‘So I think we have to assume there’s a significant public risk. Okay, I’ll relay that up the line.’ He allowed them a faint smile. ‘Let the senior ranks earn their money for once, eh? I’d better get back to the operation here but you’ll both need to give a statement. We’re taking one from the porter who was with you too. For now we’re mostly concerned with securing the premises. There’s still a chance our shooter might be outside.’
‘Good luck,’ Annie said.
‘Thanks,’ Cowley said. ‘I have a feeling we’re going to need it with this one.’