Page 33 of Savage Reckoning

“I know who he is. Beth just filled me in. What’s he doing here?”

“He helped Jack and the others to destroy the sex-trafficking market, the gang who had Arina. Now, he’s stayed on to help track down the ones who shot down the helicopter.”

“What the fuck does it have to do with him?”

That’s a good question and one I can’t answer with any degree of confidence. All I know is that Jack seems to trust Gabe, and for some reason, so do I.

“He’s on our side.” It’s the best I can come up with. “Where is he anyway?”

“Fuck knows. He shot out of here like the place was on fire. That was ten minutes ago.”

I sink into a chair. “Okay.” Gabe can take care of himself. I turn to the matter in hand. “Tell me what happened.”

Beth takes up the tale. “It started earlier this evening, around seven. That doctor came in, said he needed to top up Aaron’s fluids.”

“His what?” I snatch the notes from the end of the bed. “What fluids?” I scan the chart for any clue but find nothing apart from the usual obs, all of which seem as expected.

“That’s what I said,” Beth continues. “He said Aaron was showing signs of dehydration and needed extra fluid. It could be provided through his drip. He set that up, then left.”

The drip stand and empty fluid bag are still there. I make a mental note to have the bag tested to find out what was actually in it.

“Soon after, Aaron fell asleep.” Beth continues. “One moment he was chatting to me, the next, he was out like a light. I decided to leave him to it and settled down in the chair to have a nap myself. Next thing I remember, the doctor was back. He seemed surprised to see me and told me I should leave. I said I wasn’t going anywhere. He said he needed to examine Aaron but couldn’t explain why it was so urgent he had to do it in the middle of the night. I was irritated but not suspicious at that stage.”

“Did he examine him?”

“No. Aaron was asleep. I said he shouldn’t be disturbed. The doctor then changed tack and said he needed to give him some pain relief. He had a syringe.”

“What was in the syringe?”

“I don’t know, but I couldn’t see why Aaron needed pain relief. He was sleeping like a baby, obviously not in pain. And yesterday, we decided…”

“Yes, I remember.”

Aaron had been adamant he didn’t want any more drugs that made him sleepy. He was anxious to get back to work. Mr Hussein had known that and agreed that further medication could probably be avoided unless anything went wrong. Aaron was on observations only for a couple of days with a view to discharge as soon as possible.

“So I told him we didn’t want the medication, but he insisted. Said I should let him do his job. He was quite… well, he wasn’t very polite. So, neither was I. I told him to get out, and he told me not to interfere.”

Aaron comes in here. “I was out of it, but the raised voices disturbed me. I was half awake and heard Beth tell the guy to wait until the regular doctor could get here.”

“Raised voices?”

“Yes.” Beth nods. “He was yelling at me, so I yelled back. I was sure he wasn’t on the level. Who talks to a patient’s relatives like that, especially in a posh place like this? I got between him and Aaron, and I phoned you.”

“It’s a good thing you were here,” I say. “But, Beth, you could have been hurt.”

“I never thought about that. Aaron was out cold, and…”

Aaron reaches for her hand. “I always knew you were a force to be reckoned with. But, fuck, what if he’d stuck you with whatever was in that syringe?”

“It wasn’t me he was after.”

“No, but you got in his way. Christ, Beth…” He wraps his arms around her and buries his face in her neck.

Feeling somewhat surplus to requirements right now, I try to concentrate on the possible assassination attempt. “I’d like to know what it was he tried to inject you with.”

“I might be able to help you there.”

I whirl round at hearing Gabe’s voice. He’s lounging in the doorway, an empty takeaway coffee cup in his hand. Except, it isn’t empty. He offers it to me, and I spot the syringe rattling around inside.

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