Page 158 of The Moon Sister
‘What do you mean, “the rest of the world”?’ I frowned at him.
‘Cal found your mobile in your bedroom and we called everyone in your address book to see if they’d heard from you. They hadn’t. It was only when you left the messages for him and Ma that we knew you were in Spain.’
‘Sorry, Charlie,’ I sighed. ‘Can you just slow down, please. What’s happened? Has someone been hurt?’
‘No, Tiggy, no one else has been hurt,’ he said. ‘It’s you.’
‘What do you mean, “me”?’
‘I collated and analysed all your test results on the morning you decided to run away from the hospital. Look, Tiggy, in a nutshell, I suspect that you have a serious heart condition called myocarditis. You need immediate medical attention.’
‘A serious heart condition?’ I said faintly. ‘Me?’
‘Yes. Or at least, potentially serious, if left untreated.’
‘But I feel fine,’ I insisted. ‘Since I’ve been here, the heart palpitations seem to have stopped.’ I looked him in the eye for the first time. ‘Are you saying that you’ve flown out all this way to tell me?’
‘Yes, of course I have. I couldn’t get in touch with you so I had no choice. Seriously, Tiggy, on top of you nearly dying while working on the estate, I couldn’t have this on my conscience as well.’
‘Well, it wouldn’t have been, Charlie. It was me who “ran away” from the hospital, as you put it.’
‘Yes, but alongside my professional obligations, I felt a duty as your employer. I had no idea how difficult things were for you at Kinnaird. I understand now why you had to leave.’
I kept quiet, wondering if he was referring to my conversation with his wife.
‘Beryl and Cal told me about Zed Eszu’s behaviour,’ he continued. ‘They both agreed that it was him who’d driven you away. I’m so sorry, Tiggy, you should have said something to me. That kind of behaviour is just . . . unacceptable.’
‘It’s not your fault, really, Charlie.’
‘Oh yes it is,’ he said. ‘I should have been up at Kinnaird running it and then I could have stopped it. It was sexual harassment, plain and simple. If I ever see him again, I swear, I’ll wring his neck.’
‘No one mentioned to Zed where I’d gone, did they?’ I asked him, genuinely nervous.
‘Of course not,’ Charlie replied. ‘I drove straight up to Kinnaird when I heard from Cal what had happened, and told Zed to clear out of my house. He packed his things and disappeared in his Range Rover that afternoon. He’s gone, Tiggy, I promise,’ he said, sensing my fear and putting a hand on mine, which sent a massive tingle through my body. ‘I hope you’ll feel that you can come back to Kinnaird now.’
‘Thank you.’ For now, I was quite happy to let Charlie think that Zed was the only reason I’d left.
‘And also, the police have been trying to get in touch with you about the shooting. They’ve found the bullet casing and are running forensics on it.’
‘Have they found the person who did it?’ I asked, thinking of poor Pegasus.
‘I couldn’t say, but they want to talk to you again at some point. As for your medical problem, I’ve booked you into the local hospital here in Granada tomorrow. We’ll run some more tests to make sure you’re fit to fly home.’
I looked up at him in surprise. Even though he was only trying to care for me, he suddenly sounded eerily reminiscent of Zed: i.e. another man trying to control my life.
‘Sorry, Charlie, but I feel absolutely fine and I’m definitely not leaving Granada yet.’
‘I know you may feel fine at the moment, but your test results showed that you’re not. This is serious, Tiggy. It could . . . well, kill you.’
‘Charlie, I had loads of tests on my heart as I was growing up. It was fine then, so why shouldn’t it be fine now?’
‘Okay,’ Charlie sighed and leant against the wall next to me. ‘Hear me out, will you? Without interrupting. I just want to ask you a couple of questions.’
‘Fire away,’ I said reluctantly as I heard the beat of thecajónand the shouts of ‘Olé!’ coming from inside. Tonight of all nights, I really didn’t want to be sitting here on a wall outside and discussing an imaginary heart condition.
‘When did you first notice the palpitations?’
‘Um . . . I’ve had them on and off for a while, but I suppose they do tend to get worse if I have a bad bout of bronchitis. And I had a bad cold and cough recently.’
