Page 5 of Deep Down
The fourth-floor cafeteria was quiet, and he quickly chose a sandwich, fruit bowl and yogurt, along with a coffee that he wished could be fed to him through a continuous drip throughout his shifts. Moving to a window seat, he squinted out across the city, the twinkling of the streetlights, passing cars and interior house lighting creating a sea of different colours spread out before him.
He bit into his sandwich as raised voices caught his attention. Surveying the café, he saw a man and woman standing next to the food display case. The man pointed at her as he barked; the woman stood, staring at him before raising her hands in a calming gesture. The man’s voice overtook hers, and she flinched as he raised his hand in the air.
Alex paused his chewing and stared at the scene in front of him. Alarm bells rang with the woman’s reaction, and he tensed, ready to step in should the man do anything to hurt her or anyone else. But the man shook his head, slashed his hand through the air and stormed off, the woman trailing after him quickly.
His chest heaved as he eyed the empty doorway where the couple had disappeared. That.Thatwas what he’d overlooked.Thatwas the missing link. All of Mr Talbot’s—Craig’s—mannerisms and reactions had been hesitant, as if he awaited confirmation or approval. When Alex had been checking over Craig’s injuries, the other guy had been stood behind him…in Craig’s eye line, but not in Alex’s. He’d seen Craig peer over to the other guy—he’d forgotten his name—when Alex had asked a question but had not thought anything of it at the time. But now…it was as if Craig had been seeking answers from the other guy instead of providing his own. Several times the other guy had answered for Craig, too.
Craig had seemed extremely calm for someone who had been mugged the previous night. In fact, Alex hadn’t asked why they had come in now and not earlier when Craig’s shoulder must have been dislocatedall day. It was something hewouldask when he returned.
Alex stared at his sandwich, the sweet scent of fruit creating a sour note in his stomach. If his instincts were taking him in the right direction, Craig was being abused by this other guy. And if that didn’t piss Alex off, nothing did. There had been many abuse cases over the four years he’d been here, and he’d been significantly involved in several of them, being the main point of disclosure for numerous victims. Hoping he could be the same for Craig, he had to figure out how to speak with Craig alone, without the other guy being present.
At the thought, his pager went off. Checking the display, he’d been called back to A&E. Re-wrapping his sandwich and snatching the other items, he took them with him as he dashed back to his work. He burst through the doors of A&E, expecting to be assaulted with chaos, but all was quiet. He headed to the nurses’ station.
“Hey. I was paged?” He checked in with the nurse sat at the desk.
The nurse glanced up. “Oh, yes, Dr Wick. The patient in treatment room four is being taken down for the X-ray. A note on the file said you wanted to know when something happened with him?”
He nodded. “Yes, that’s right. Thank you.” He placed his food on the counter. “Do you mind stashing these here until I get back, please?”
“Sure thing, doctor.”
He nodded his thanks and stalked towards Craig’s room, breathing deeply to calm himself. When he got there, he saw Craig being wheeled out of the room, the other guy following behind.
“Hi, there. I see you’re off for your X-ray, Mr Talbot. Good, good.” Alex focused on the other guy—Darren somebody, he remembered. “If you would like to wait here, we will be about ten minutes. These seats are more comfortable than the ones we’re going to, and you’ll have a better signal for your phone, too.” Alex indicated the phone in the guy’s hand.
“It’s okay. I don’t need to do anything on it. I can come with you.”
Alex pressed. “Honestly. We will be there and back in no time at all. You could buy a brew from the restaurant while you’re waiting for Mr Talbot.”
The guy hesitated, poised to argue, staring at Alex as if he could see right through his scheme, but acquiesced and spoke to Craig, “I’ll wait here for you, sweetheart.” He smiled.
Craig nodded and returned a small smile himself. Alex let out a silent breath, glad his plan had worked. He would be able to get a few minutes to speak with Craig alone and see whether he would divulge any information.
They headed to the X-ray department, Alex and the orderly pushing the wheelchair joking around as they strolled. Craig did no more than nod his head. When they arrived, Alex told the orderly he would take Mr Talbot back to his room once the test was completed.
Alex couldn’t do anything while the test was being done, after all, the reason he’d gone along was to have time to speak with Craig. He paced the corridor, his footsteps clicking against the tile, his coat swishing as he pivoted at the end of each pass. As he’d told that Darren guy, it was over and done with quickly. Alex collected Craig and took the long route back. He didn’t initiate conversation and saw some tension seep out of Craig’s body, consequently stalling by a window for a breather.
“Let’s sit here for a few minutes.” Alex perched himself on the wide windowsill, legs spread with his elbows on his knees and fingers linked. He didn’t stare at Craig directly but observed the tension creeping back in again from the corner of his eye. “Mr Talbot.” He hesitated. “I need to ask you a couple of questions.” He didn’t explain further but fixed his gaze on Craig’s face.
Craig didn’t say anything, merely stared out of the darkened window as if it held more fascination than a lamplit view of trees and shrubs should. When the silence continued, Alex carried on.
“I understand you may not wish to answer, but it is my duty to ask the question nonetheless.” Alex paused again to see if Craig would acknowledge anything he was saying. Nothing. “Okay. Is your partner, Darren, abusing you?” He got right to the point.
A deer in headlights expression crossed Craig’s face as he directed widened eyes to Alex. It was the worst time to notice, but Alex was momentarily lost in the sea-green of eyes, which, lit as they were by the feeble lighting, appeared as deep as the ocean itself. Alex saw him swallow and shake his head.
“No. Why would you ask that?” No other answer was forthcoming, and Craig turned back to the window scene.
Alex bit his lip and flicked his gaze to the floor, then back up again. “Okay, one more question and I’ll take you back to your room. Why did you wait all day before coming to A&E?”
Craig licked his lips, eyes moving rapidly across the display through the window. He cleared his throat. “I was asleep most of the day.”
Alex waited, but Craig provided no more information. He sighed and stood, observing Craig blanch slightly with his sudden movement. Alex slowed his actions and rounded the wheelchair, pushing Craig back towards his room. He couldn’t keep him any longer than they’d already been because the other guy might suspect something. Alex wasn’t happy about the responses Craig had given, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Entering the treatment room showed Darren sitting on the same chair he’d previously occupied, fiddling with his phone again. Alex helped Craig back onto the bed.
“Right, Mr Talbot, I’m going to administer some pain relief, and once it has kicked in, we’ll get your shoulder set back in place. Once it has been done, I’ll affix a sling which you will need to keep on for at least forty-eight hours to rest it enough for it to heal inside.” While Alex was talking, he’d kept an eye on them both, wanting to see any reactions to his news. Nothing outwardly showed from either of them. “Right, I will go get the pain relief. I’ll be back.”
He headed out the room, holding back his annoyance by clenching his jaw. He noted on the computer that he was about to administer pain relief for Craig—he needed to start calling him Mr Talbot in his head as well as out loud—and picked up the pills from the medication trolley.
