Page 72 of Fire Must Burn

‘Who’s in Holland Park?’ asked Mrs Billington.

‘Some old ghosts,’ said Iris.

‘They must be old ghosts with old money,’ said Mrs Billington. ‘I’ll keep the rest of the day’s schedule clear, then.’

‘Thank you, Saundra,’ said Gwen.

The doors of the hospital lift opened on the floor holding the intensive care ward. The nurse at the desk consulted a list, then directed Sparks down a corridor. The room wasn’t hard to spot. It was the one with the police constable standing by the door.

He verified her ID, matching it to a list of his own.

‘I think he’s awake, Miss Sparks,’ he said softly. ‘Be prepared. It’s going to be a bit of a shock.’

‘Thank you,’ she said.

Then she took a deep breath and went in.

He was lying on his stomach, his back and legs a mass of bandages, more covering his head, leaving only the eyes and mouth free. A tube running from an intravenous bottle dripped fluid into one arm. Other tubes ran out of him for purposes she preferred not to know. Her mind immediately summoned up images of Archie lying on what turned out to be his deathbed in London Hospital, also a mass of tubes, but at least in that case it was still recognizably him. Here, it could have been almost anyone underneath all of that, were it not for the eyes, which were unmistakably Tony’s.

And they were open and looking at her. One hand lifted from the mattress in a feeble half-wave.

‘Hey,’ he croaked.

‘Hey,’ she returned, pulling a chair over to his bedside and placing her hand gently on his.

‘How do I look?’ he asked.

‘Like Claude Rains before he unwrapped himself inThe Invisible Man,’ said Sparks.

‘Drat,’ he said. ‘I was going for Karloff inThe Mummy. Thanks for coming, Sparks.’

‘Of course,’ she said. ‘I tried yesterday, but you weren’t receiving callers yet.’

‘How’d you hear about it?’

‘You made the afternoon papers. Sally Danielli rang me when he saw the article.’

‘Danielli’s still hanging about?’

‘Very much so. In fact, he’s dating Gwen now.’

‘The Titan is dating your partner,’ he said. ‘That must be painful for you to watch.’

‘Sometimes,’ she said. ‘Mostly, it’s awkward. But let’s not talk about me. How are you feeling?’

‘Like I’m floating on a cloud of candyfloss,’ he said. ‘If I had known narcotics were this much fun I would have startedusing them years ago. I’m so glad you’re here, Sparks. I wanted to apologise to you.’

‘For what?’

‘I was supposed to call you after my date with Miss Lowle. I was distracted from that task.’

‘I was sitting by the telephone all day, you know.’

‘Well, here is my report. I liked her.’

‘I’m so glad,’ said Sparks, keeping her tone light and smile bright. ‘What about her did you like?’

‘She reminded me of you in many ways, strangely enough.’