Page 92 of Return Ticket

Gabriella dropped the shovel and ran toward the wheelbarrow, and as she reached it, she heard the first wail of sirens in the background.

chapterthirty-six

James watchedBlythe being loaded into a police car.

The lights of the ambulance treating the woman in the wheelbarrow were muted by the fog, and he realized this was his second ambulance of the evening.

He hoped Teddy Roe was all right. The old man deserved some kind of commendation for his help.

“Do they think she’s going to survive?” Hartridge appeared beside him as the ambulance doors closed. The sirens started up as they sped away.

“Touch and go,” James said. That she was alive at all was amazing.

“And Mr Somerville?” Hartridge glanced back at the mansion.

“He wouldn’t go in an ambulance. One of the uniforms called his local GP to come round to see to him, and—” He stopped as a man in a coat and hat, carrying a doctor’s black leather bag, came down the street. “Dr. Jenkins.” He gave the doctor a wave.

“Archer, is it?” Jenkins came to a brief stop, glancing at the chaos around him, and then continued forward.

“Yes, I was just telling my constable that Mr Somerville’s GP had been called, and then saw you coming down the street. We offered him an ambulance, but he absolutely refused to go to the hospital.”

“Damn fool.” Jenkins glanced at the door and shook his head. “He was attacked, the policeman on the phone said.”

“There was an assault on him in his home, yes.” James began walking toward the door, and Jenkins and Hartridge fell into step with him. “He was shoved over, fell and hit his head.”

James didn’t say it, but Somerville was lucky Blythe had been in a hurry and hadn’t had the time to use the shovel he’d been carrying, or the hammer they’d found in his large trench coat pocket.

They entered the house, and James nodded in approval at the PC holding a warm, damp towel to Somerville’s head.

“Evening, Ned, I see you’ve got a spot of trouble.” Dr. Jenkins moved toward Somerville with confidence, and the PC stepped back. James tilted his head toward the door, giving him permission to escape.

“Now that your doctor is here, I need to go interview my suspect,” James said. “Detective Constable Hartridge will be round tomorrow for a statement, if that’s possible?” James looked at Jenkins, rather than Somerville.

“We’ll see. If you could call me first, Detective Constable?” Jenkins fished a card out of his pocket and handed it over to Hartridge. “I’ll let you know.”

Hartridge took the card with a nod.

“Where’s that girl?” Somerville suddenly asked. “The one who told me to run inside and call the police?”

“Gabriella?” Jenkins asked, his head coming up in surprise. “She was caught up in this, too?”

“Yes.” James left it at that. “She went in the ambulance with the victim.”

“What victim?” Jenkins sat back, frowning.

“The chap that came in and had a go at me, he had bludgeoned some poor woman half to death. Was planning on burying her in my old shed.” Somerville huffed out a breath. “Bloody nerve.”

Hartridge cleared his throat suspiciously.

“Well, sounds like there was a lot going on here tonight.” Jenkins wisely didn’t ask any more questions, and James and Hartridge left him to his patient.

“How did the doc know Gabriella?” Hartridge asked as they walked out.

“She knocked on his door by chance, asking for help when Teddy Roe was hit by a car. He lives around the corner.” James ran a hand through his hair. He made a mental note to call the doctor tomorrow and warn him about Robbie, but now was not the time.

It had been a very long night, but he couldn’t be happier with the outcome.

He clapped Hartridge on the shoulder. “You stay here with forensics. I’ll get a lift back to the Yard and make sure Blythe is tucked up in a cell for the rest of the night.” James wanted to make sure all the formalities were observed. “Then tomorrow, I want you to take someone with you and head out to the address we have for Blythe in Kent. He’s going by Linaker there, so find out as much as you can, and call me with any updates that might be useful before I question him.”

---