Page 104 of The Moon Sister
‘I honestly can’t remember much – just a lot of noises and bright lights. At least I’m not in any pain anywhere.’
‘I’m not surprised, with the amount of drugs they pumped intae yae. Now then, I have tae tell you there’s a detective waiting to interview you when you’re feeling stronger. I’ve told him everything I know, but, if you remember, I wasn’t there tae see the shooting itself.’
‘A detective? Why on earth would they want to speak to me?’
‘Someone took a potshot at you last night, Tig. As yae just said, they could have killed you.’
‘But only by mistake, Cal. We both know he was after Pegasus.’
‘Well, for now, they’re treating it as suspicious.’
‘That’s ridiculous, although I do want them to find out who it was who killed him. Poaching’s an offence too, and especially such a rare animal.’
‘Did you see who it was, Tig?’
‘No, did you?’
‘I didn’t. By the time I arrived, the bastard had vanished.’
We were both silent for a while, thinking about the conversation we’d had yesterday about Zed, but neither of us mustering the courage to voice our thoughts.
‘Now, do you want me tae call anyone for you? One of your sisters? Or that lady you call Ma?’ Cal asked me.
‘God, no, unless the doctor has told you I’m dying.’
‘He certainly hasn’t done that. He said you were a very lucky lass. Talk o’ the devil.’
A man who looked barely older than me had entered through the curtain.
‘Hello, Tiggy, I’m Dr Kemp. How are you feeling this morning?’
‘Fine, good,’ I nodded, my heart immediately giving a bounce as it prepared itself for my health status report. I saw the doctor glance at the monitor, then turn his attention back to me.
‘The good news is that the X-rays we did last night both came back clear and confirmed what we thought. The bullet went straight through the side of your ski jacket and put a hole through the three jumpers you were wearing, but only gave you a flesh wound. We didn’t even have to stitch you up. You’ve just got a nice big plaster to cover it.’
‘Am I free to go home then?’
‘Not quite yet, I’m afraid. When the paramedics helicoptered you in, they reported that your heartbeat was all over the place, and your blood pressure was very high – we initially thought you were having a heart attack. That’s why we’ve got you wired up to a monitor. The ECG we took showed you’re experiencing something called arrhythmia – that’s when the heart can’t manage to keep a steady beat. You are also having bouts of tachycardia, where the heart beats faster than normal. Have you noticed if you’ve been getting any palpitations or a racing heart recently?’
‘I . . . yes, a bit,’ I said, knowing I needed to be honest.
‘For how long?’
‘I can’t remember, but I feel perfectly okay, really.’
‘It’s always a good idea to get things checked out for any underlying condition, Tiggy. And that’s what we want to do.’
‘I’m sure my heart is absolutely fine, doctor,’ I said firmly. ‘I had very bad asthma as a child and constantly got bronchitis. I had lots of tests in the hospital and my heart was checked every time.’
‘That’s reassuring, but the cardiology team want you to have an angiogram just to be on the safe side. A porter will be along shortly to take you. Are you up to sitting in a wheelchair?’
‘Yes,’ I replied miserably. I hated hospitals, and as the porter pushed me along the corridor ten minutes later, I decided I agreed with Chilly and would definitely opt to fade away in my own habitat.
The angiogram was painless, if unpleasant, and within half an hour I was back in bed with a watery bowl of soup that was the only vaguely vegan thing on the lunch menu.
‘What do you think about seeing that detective now, Tig?’ encouraged Cal. ‘The poor bloke’s been hangin’ around since the wee hours.’
I agreed and the man was ushered in. He introduced himself as Detective Sergeant McClain, was dressed in plain clothes and had a practical, kindly air about him. He sat down by my bed and took out a notebook.
