‘You think she crashed the car deliberately?’ Allegra asked.
Keith Lowe looked at her with a grim expression tightening his mouth. ‘We’ve been having some … trouble … in the relationship. I was trying to work things out with her. I suggested counselling, but she wouldn’t hear of it. This supposed disaster of a holiday in the mountains was my idea to try and patch things up. She was against it, of course … but she eventually agreed to come. I had some business in town to see to so she and Tommy drove up first. I was to join them later.’ He rubbed at his jaw and added, ‘If I’d suspected this was what was going through her head, I would never have allowed her to go …’
‘Has she ever shown suicidal tendencies before?’ Joel asked.
‘No, not really, just troughs of depression. She’d sit around the house and do nothing … for weeks at a time and then snap out of it.’ He ran a hand through his coarse, wiry hair. ‘It’s been a living hell, I can tell you. But I had to stick it out … if for nothing else than for Tommy’s sake.’
‘Yes, of course,’ Joel said. ‘Would you like to see them now?’
‘Yes …’ The man’s eyes moistened. ‘I want to see that Tommy’s alive …’ He choked back a sob and Allegra silently handed him the box of tissues from one of the side tables.
‘Try not to be put off by the tubes and machinery—it’s all support equipment to keep things stabilised while we watch for improvement. I know how terrifying it all looks. He’s young and strong—I know having his father by his side will help him.’
Keith blew his nose and wiped at his eyes before turning to Joel. ‘I’d rather not see my wife right now, if you don’t mind. Not after … this ….’
Joel got to his feet and placed a reassuring hand on the man’s shoulder. ‘We understand. She’s in the next cubicle but I’ll make sure the curtain is pulled across between them. We can move them apart if you can’t cope.’
Mr Lowe appeared to think about it for a moment. ‘No … no … you don’t have to do that. I guess Tommy would want her near … I’ll manage.’
‘There are staff in constant attendance in ICTU,’ Allegra said. ‘You can ring and talk to the one looking after Tommy at any time.’
‘How badly injured is my … wife?’ he asked after a tiny pause.
Joel answered. ‘Well, apart from a head injury, which is why she’s unconscious at present, she has broken ribs, some bruising of a lung and bruising of her liver. She has a plastic drain in the chest to keep the lungs inflated. The liver injury seems stable, it probably won’t need any surgery. And she has bruising around both upper arms, maybe where someone grabbed her to pull her out of the car, and in the middle of her back, maybe from prolonged pressure on the spine board during the transfer. She’s deeply unconscious,’ Joel said. ‘It will be a few hours before we can get all the test results back.’
Mr Lowe’s eyes shifted again. ‘Is …?’ He cleared his throat and continued, ‘Is she expected to live?’
‘She’s in a serious condition but she’s stable. We’re giving her maximal supportive therapy. I think there’s a fair chance for recovery,’ Joel said.
Allegra stood to one side a few minutes later as Keith stood by his son’s bed. She could see the up-and-down movement of his throat as he swallowed the rising emotion, and her chest felt uncomfortably tight at what he must be going through. How many times had she seen scenes just like this? Too many to recall, but this had to be one of the most tragic. Car accidents were horrific enough, without a suicide or murder motive attached.
‘You can talk to him, Mr Lowe,’ she said. ‘Touch him and speak to him as much as you like.’
Keith Lowe kept his eyes trained on his little son. ‘But he can’t hear me, can he?’
‘He is unconscious but that doesn’t necessarily mean his brain won’t register the sound of a very familiar voice. Your touch, too, is part of that memory process.’
Keith reached out a hand and placed it tentatively on his son’s leg. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it again. Removing his hand from the boy’s leg, he moved away from the bed, his expression tortured as he faced Allegra. ‘I can’t do this … I need to get some … air … I’m sorry … I can’t cope with seeing him like this …’
‘It’s all right, Mr Lowe,’ Allegra said softly.
His eyes spouted tears as he ground out bitterly. ‘How can you possibly understand? That is my son lying there because that bitch behind that curtain put him there. If anyone deserves to die, it’s her, not him. He’s only seven years old, for God’s sake!’
‘Mr Lowe, I think it would be best if—’
‘Excuse me.’ Keith brushed past Allegra roughly and left the unit, ripping off the white protective surgical gown all visitors were required to wear in ICTU and tossing it roughly in the vague direction of the laundry bin.
‘Dr Tallis?’
Allegra let out a little sigh and turned to face Joel, who had been attending to another patient nearby. ‘Yes?’
‘I’d like a word with you if you’re free,’ he said, ‘in my office. No hurry. Just come when you get a spare moment.’
‘I’m free now.’
‘Good,’ he said, moving past to shoulder open the swing doors. ‘I’ll have some coffee sent up.’
Louise sent Allegra a musing glance once the doors had closed on Joel’s exit. ‘Coffee or an olive branch, I wonder?’
Allegra rolled her lips together for a moment, her eyes on the small child lying so lifeless on the bed, only the hiss and groan of the ventilator breaking the silence.
‘Allegra?’ Louise gave her a little prod. ‘Are you OK?’
She blinked and, giving her head a little shake, gave Louise a crooked smile. ‘Sorry, I was miles away. Did you say something?’
‘Nothing important,’ Louise answered. ‘But you’d better go and have that coffee with the director. You look like you need it.’
‘Yes …’ she said, and made her way out of ICTU to Joel’s office a few doors down the corridor, a tiny frown taking up residence on her forehead.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘COME in,’ Joel called at Allegra’s knock a short time later.
She came in and found him taking two cups of coffee off a tray, the fragrant aroma instantly teasing her nostrils.
‘Quite a day,’ he said, handing her a cup. ‘Do you take milk or sugar?’
She shook her head. ‘No, straight up is fine.’
Joel waited until she sat down before he took his chair behind his desk. His dark chocolate gaze connected with hers, the edge of his mouth tilted slightly. ‘I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve asked you to see me after what occurred between us last night.’
Allegra felt her colour rise but there was nothing she could do to stop it. ‘As you said during the course of that … er … unfortunate conversation, we were two tired, overworked people, having a drink.’
There was a surprising level of warmth in his gaze as it held hers. ‘Yes, that’s true, but I still thought I should apologise, for being so …’ He seemed to be hunting for a suitable word so she supplied it for him.
‘Overbearing?’
He gave a soft chuckle of laughter, the sound of it sending a river of tiny feathery sensations down Allegra’s spine. His eyes crinkled at the corners and his whole face softened, the tension and guardedness she was so used to seeing there now completely gone.