Amelia ‘Please, can you get them to hurry?’
He strode down the hallway, allowing the towel to unravel as he went. I hurried behind him and then I realised Norm Kennedy was beside me. I stopped suddenly to look at him inquisitively. And as if in answer to my thoughts
Norm ‘We can’t let you out of our sight, Amelia, you realise the situation is serious, don’t you?’
Amelia ‘Y … yes, may I go in here and get another tissue?’
He smiled sympathetically and nodded and watched me as I quickly crossed the floor of the bedroom. I pulled out a handful of tissues from the box on my dressing table. As I turned, I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror. I brushed my hair off my face as I walked back towards Norm Kennedy and said, ‘I don’t look too crash hot at the best of times, but I look a damn sight worse at the moment and I feel even lousier.’
He put his arm out as if to usher me through the doorway and said, ‘Take it easy, we’re here to help you as much as we can. Come and sit down in the lounge and we’ll go over everything just as it happened.’
As we entered the living room, the two ambulance bearers walked through the doorway from the kitchen. Between them, was a near skeletal figure of a man, whose face was a pasty yellowish colour. I felt my eyes enlarge almost cat like and I stared in disbelief at Frank being half dragged, half supported through to the front doorway. I hurried across the room and held open the swinging flyscreen door.
As they all passed me, I stepped outside the door onto the front patio. I held the door open with my right hand and offered my left hand to help support Frank through the doorway. Frank lifted his arm with great effort, causing his face to contort in agony. With as much strength that he could muster, he pushed my hand away. I stood aside, still holding the door ajar, as they proceeded down the long flight of thirteen steps. Each step seemed to take an eternity to manoeuvre. As they approached the sixth step, I saw my brother Edward run towards them offering his hand to Frank
Edward ‘Here mate, let me help you.’
Frank in a hoarse, throaty, gasp, ‘Piss off, ya bastard.’
Norm Kennedy put his arm on my shoulder and helped me back into the house. In the background I could hear Dad and Edward talking to Detective Fletcher. As I sat down in the lounge chair, the humming sound of the ambulance’s motor being kicked over filtered through the open living room window. With the siren blaring, the ambulance departed and its deafening whine could be heard as it drove away towards its destination.
Sergeant Gordon Cully entered the living room with his cap pushed to the back of his head. He was a man in his early sixties with a receding hairline. His ruddy complexion and sparkling eyes, matched with his large protruding stomach, gave him the appearance of being an all-round good sport. He wiped the perspiration off his forehead with a large handkerchief. As he folded the handkerchief to put it back in his pocket, he pursed his lips and blew a puff of air up over his large red nose onto his forehead.
Sergeant Cully ‘We’ve finished here now, Norm. The boys are just packing up their cameras and equipment and are ready to get back to headquarters. I’ll be on duty for another hour or so, but if you want me for anything else, you can ring through to the local station. The wife and I have our quarters just at the back of the station.’
Norm ‘Okay, Gordon, we’ll be here for a little while yet, I’ll be in touch as soon as we get through here. If you don’t hear from me today, I’ll definitely contact you before the week is out. Have a Happy Christmas, what’s left of it.’
Norm gave a wry little smile as he glanced at his watch,
Norm ‘Its three-forty-two already.’
Sergeant Cully ‘Yeah, I’ll go home and finish my pudding the missus had just dished it up when I got the call. See you, mate.’
He turned to walk away, and just as if he’d had an afterthought he turned back and faced me
Sergeant Cully ‘Try not to worry too much, Mrs Williams, you’re in good hands, everything will be okay.’
I smiled at him, totally unsure whether to believe him or not. As if he could read my thoughts, Sergeant Cully gave me a reassuring wink and nodded his head towards me. He patted my hand
Sergeant Cully ‘Keep your chin up, you’ve got three terrific kids there, they’re a credit to you.’
He turned and walked across the living room floor and out the front door.
Norm ‘Gordon’s a good bloke he’s been on the force thirty years and is due to retire in about eighteen months. He’s a well-liked and respected bloke.’
Amelia ‘He seems a really nice person, a sort of grandpa type.’
Norm Kennedy roared a loud comical laugh
Norm ‘I don’t think he’d appreciate being called Gramps.’
Amelia ‘I didn’t mean yours or my grandfather I meant a child’s gramps.’
Norm nodded
Norm ‘I know but I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d say if we called him gramps in the future. Anyhow we had better get on with this matter, or don’t you want to try and recapture a little bit of what’s left of Christmas?’
I frowned not to fully comprehending what I had heard,
Amelia ‘What do you mean, aren’t you going to charge me?’
Norm Kennedy took a long look at me
Norm ‘Do you want to be charged?’
Amelia (stammering nervously) ‘No … not particularly, but I didn’t think, I mean, I thought, it was … um … your duty, to arrest me.’
Norm ‘My duty is to ascertain the facts, not to arrest nice young women such as yourself.’
I began twisting a tissue around my fingers nervously
Amelia ‘But the facts are that I have just stabbed my husband and for all you and I know, he could be dead as of this minute.’
I tried to compose myself, but I could feel my bottom lip start to quiver and I struggled desperately within myself to stop from bursting into tears.
Norm Kennedy (looking directly into my face) ‘Amelia, if I thought for one moment that you had wilfully and premeditatedly attempted to murder Frank I would’ve arrested and charged you long before this.’
I sighed a deep heavy sigh
Amelia ‘I guess that’s something, if nothing, what if he’s dead?’
Norm ‘IF, (The thick set Detective said, choosing his words carefully) ‘IF Frank dies, I’m afraid I’ll have no alternative other than to charge you with murder. The hospital will ring me here, within the next hour to give me a report on his condition.’
He had no sooner gotten the words out of his mouth when the phone started to ring. I jumped at the sound, closed my eyes and drew a deep breath.
Amelia ‘Do you want me to answer it, Norm, or will you?’
Norm ‘You answer it, it may be a friend ringing to wish you a Merry Christmas.’
I stood up thinking God this guy has got a sick, sense of humour.
I almost fell as I ran into the kitchen to answer it. A young male voice asked to speak to Detective Kennedy and I turned to call him only to find him standing alongside of me. I stammered, ‘It’s for you, I … I