Page 105 of The Moon Sister
‘Hello, Miss D’Aplièse. Mr MacKenzie has already made a statement and filled me in on what he thinks happened last night. We’ve taken your jacket and jumpers for forensics. Talk about a near miss. They have the bullet from the stag, but they’re searching for the casing at the crime scene. We should be able to identify the exact type of rifle from both of them and that. Now, I’m afraid I need to take a statement from you too as the sole witness of the shooting itself. If at any time you want to stop, please say so. I understand it may well be upsetting for you.’
I took a deep breath, focusing on getting this over with so I could be released and be back in my own bed at Kinnaird by tonight. I took the detective through everything that had happened, with him prompting me for further detail as I went.
‘So, you didn’t get a look at the shooter?’ he clarified.
‘Not really. All I saw was his shadow on the snow.’
‘You think it was a man?’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘The shadow was really tall anyway, although I suppose shadows aren’t anything to do with the height of a person, are they? It sounds strange, but I think he was wearing an old-fashioned trilby hat. At least that’s what it looked like in the shadow. But then I saw Pegasus running towards me . . .’
‘Pegasus?’
‘The white stag. I called him Pegasus—’
‘Tig and the stag had a bond, detective,’ Cal put in by way of explanation as tears bubbled in my eyes.
‘And now I really wish we hadn’t, because Pegasus would still be alive now . . .’
‘All right, we can stop here, Miss D’Aplièse, you’ve been very helpful.’
‘Will you be able to charge this man for poaching?’ I asked.
‘Oh yes, don’t you worry. If we catch the barmpot who did this to you and the stag, I’ll make sure the CPS have him up on every count we can manage. Sounds to me like that stag took a bullet for you, so we might even get him on attempted murder. I’m warning you, though, the press is on to the story,’ Sergeant McClain sighed. ‘Bad news travels fast, especially given the fact that the stag was already on the media radar. There’s a couple of reporters hanging about at the hospital entrance. When you’re discharged, I suggest you look for a side door. My advice is to say “No comment” in answer to every question, okay?’
‘Okay, thanks.’
‘Now, I’ll just ask you to read through your statement, and if everything is correct, just initial each page and sign at the bottom for me.’
I did so, then handed the pages back to him, trying to stop my hands from trembling. Recounting the story had drained every last ounce of my strength.
‘Here’s my card if you remember anything else in the next few days. I have your contact details, so now I can leave you in peace to recover. We’ll let you know if we find the casing, and our victim support service will be in touch shortly. And please think, Miss D’Aplièse – anything else you remember might mean we can get the idiot charged. In the meantime I hope you recover swiftly, and thanks for your help.’
Once he’d left, I felt my eyelids become heavy. I was just closing them when I heard the curtain being opened again.
‘How are you feeling?’
I opened my eyes and saw Dr Kemp, the young registrar, looking down at me.
‘Fine.’ I did my best to look convincingly alert. ‘Can I go home now?’
‘Not quite yet, I’m afraid. Mr Kinnaird, the senior consultant in the cardiac department here, is coming down to visit you. The results of the angiogram should be back tomorrow morning. I’m afraid he’s going to be some time, as he’s in theatre at the moment. He sends his best wishes, by the way,’ he added. ‘Apparently you know each other.’
‘Yes,’ I gulped as my heart did another bounce. ‘I work for him. I mean, in his other life up on the estate.’
‘Right.’ The registrar looked confused and I realised he probably knew nothing about Charlie’s personal life.
I glanced out of the window and saw the sky was already darkening. ‘Will I be able to go home tonight?’
‘No, because he’ll want the results of the angiogram back and he may want to run some more tests. Just one last thing, Tiggy. Cal here told me that you’re not a British citizen, but Swiss.’
‘Yes, I am.’
‘That’s fine, Swiss citizens can be treated on the National Health Service, but I’m afraid you don’t seem to be on our system. Have you ever registered with an NHS doctor’s practice in the UK?’
‘No.’
‘Well then, we need your passport, National Insurance number and a couple of forms filled in to sort out your future care. If you don’t have it to hand, your National Insurance number will be on your payslips.’
