Page 121 of Fire Must Burn

‘Wait, you mean Lowle?’ said Edwards. ‘She’s already having it.’

‘What do you mean?’ exclaimed Iris. ‘She’s supposed to come after work.’

‘She got here about five minutes ago,’ said Edwards. ‘Gave me a wave. Amateur.’

‘We’ve got to stop her,’ Iris said, turning to move towards the lift.

‘Hold on,’ said Edwards, grabbing her arm. ‘You can’t go up there. You’ll muck up the whole operation.’

‘Let go of me!’ said Iris, trying to pull away. ‘I think she came here to kill him.’

‘You’re not going anywhere,’ said Edwards as he grabbed her other arm. ‘Not until I know what’s—’

He stopped abruptly, sagging against her as his arms fell to his sides. Then he crumpled to the floor.

She turned to see Gwen standing over him, her umbrella still raised with the reinforced handle up high for a second blow. Iris stared at her in shock.

‘Go!’ Gwen commanded her. ‘I’ll take care of him.’

Iris turned and ran to the lift. Gwen watched until the doors closed, then called, ‘Excuse me? I need some help here! This man needs medical assistance!’

She sat down on the floor by Edwards who was coming to, groaning and clutching his head.

‘I’m so sorry,’ she said, patting his shoulder sympathetically. ‘I’ve never used this before on a live target, and it’s so difficult to gauge how hard to swing it to disable temporarily without causing permanent damage. Can you hear me?’

He grunted something unintelligible.

‘I do hope it’s not a concussion,’ she said. ‘I had one of those last year. Long story. In any case, let me explain to you what’s going on right now.’

The constable on duty outside the room checked her ID, then consulted his list.

‘There you are,’ he said. ‘There’s a nurse in there with him. You’ll have to wait until she’s done.’

‘That’s fine,’ she said.

A minute later, the door opened and the nurse came out.

‘Oh, are you here for our Mr Danforth?’ she asked.

‘I am.’

‘I’m afraid he’s asleep right now,’ said the nurse sympathetically. ‘He’s had rather an exhausting set of procedures, and he’s heavily sedated.’

‘Oh, no!’ she exclaimed, tearing up. ‘It’s my first chance to see him since, since it happened, and I begged the afternoon off from my job to come here.’

‘Oh, gosh, are you Miss Lowle?’ exclaimed the nurse.

‘I am,’ said Lowle. ‘How ever did you know?’

‘I was the one who read your note to him,’ confided the nurse. ‘Goodness, I was crying myself by the time I was done. Oh, dear, I wish he was awake for you. I know he was looking forward to your visit.’

‘Do you think perhaps that I could just sit with him for a while?’ asked Lowle. ‘Maybe he’ll sense my presence somehow. I’m sure it will do him some good.’

‘Of course you may,’ said the nurse. ‘Come in. I’ll put the chair by the bed.’

They went in together, and the nurse moved a chair up by the head of the bed. Lowle sat down and looked at him.

‘He seems so peaceful right now,’ she whispered. ‘Could you close the door on your way out? I’d hate for anything to disturb him.’