Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
In the end, Lily waited until the following day before she went in search of Glynis. She didn’t have to go far. The quaint cottage on the outskirts of Hugh Town was only a five-minute walk from the ice cream shop. With her mind on the upcoming opening of the shop, she was almost at the house when she registered the ambulance parked outside.
A jolt of concern twisted her stomach, and she quickened her pace. Her eyes snagged on the dark-haired woman standing in the open doorway.
“Hi,” Lily called out as she reached the front path. “We met the other day at the garden centre. Maria, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Maria glanced over her shoulder, into the house, then her eyes darted back to Lily. “Can I help you with something?”
“I’m looking for Glynis. She hasn’t been to visit me for a few days and I wanted to check on her.” Her eyes darted to the ambulance. “Is she okay?”
“She’s ill.” Maria shifted her weight, her hands fidgeting on the strap of the large bag slung over her shoulder. “Now’s not a good time.”
“What happened?” Lily asked, looking around Maria into the house.
Reaching into her blouse, Maria pulled out a delicate gold chain and clutched at the pendant. “She’s been ill for a few days. Some kind of stomach bug.”
“Is it serious?”
Maria gave a twitchy shake of her head. “The doctor wants her to go into the hospital so she can monitor her.”
“That doesn’t sound great.”
“She hasn’t been able to keep anything down, so the doctor was concerned about dehydration.” Her voice wobbled. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
“Are you okay?” Lily asked. “You look exhausted.”
“I haven’t slept much the last couple of nights.” Her fingers worried at the pendant – a gold crucifix. “At least if she’s in hospital, I’ll know she’s well cared for and I’ll be able to catch up on some rest.”
“Yes,” Lily said, distracted by the paramedics bringing Glynis out on a stretcher.
“Not that I want her to be in hospital,” Maria said in a rush.
“Of course not.” Lily stepped off the path to give the paramedics room. Her jaw tightened as her eyes landed on Glynis. With her pale skin and dark rings under her eyes, she looked as though she’d aged about twenty years since Lily had last seen her.
“Lily,” she murmured, her wrinkled arm creeping out from under the blanket.
Automatically, Lily took her hand and walked beside the stretcher. “I got worried when you didn’t visit. I came to check on you.”
“That’s sweet,” she said, through cracked lips. “I’m sure I’ll be up to tasting your ice cream again soon.”
Lily nodded. “They’ll take good care of you at the hospital. You’ll be up and about again in no time.”
“Save me some ice cream,” she murmured as her eyes fluttered closed.
“I will.” Lily squeezed her hand and stepped away so the paramedics could get her into the ambulance. “Is there anything I can do?” she asked Maria, who was locking the door.
She shook her head and hurried past Lily. “I don’t think so.”
Lily wanted to ask her to keep her updated, but Maria had hopped up into the ambulance with Glynis and the doors had closed before she could get a word out.
Watching the ambulance go, Lily remained rooted to the spot. When she eventually snapped out of her trance and got her legs moving, she pulled out her phone to call Flynn.
“Glynis is ill,” she said, bypassing greetings.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“Apparently a stomach bug, but it must be pretty bad since she’s just been taken to the hospital in an ambulance.”
“Poor Glynis.”
“Yeah. Where are you?”
“At home. Getting ready for work.”
Lily stepped off the pavement to avoid a woman and her dog. “It’s weird that we were both ill,” she mused quietly.
“What?” Flynn asked.
“I was ill too, remember? Not as bad as Glynis, but also a stomach thing.”
“Maybe there’s something going round.”
“We shared a drink at the garden centre.” She grimaced, hoping Flynn would tell her she was being neurotic, and that she wasn’t to blame for Glynis being in hospital. “Maybe I passed on my germs.”
“Possibly,” he said, making Lily’s stomach lurch. “It’s hardly your fault, though. You didn’t know you were going to get ill. And that could just be a coincidence.”
Taking a deep breath, Lily felt a little better. “She looked terrible.”
“I’m sure she’ll be okay.”
“I hope so. I don’t even know how to check up on her.”
“If I have time later, I can call at the hospital and see if I can get an update.”
“That’d be good. Let me know if you do.”
He promised he would and told her he’d talk to her later.
Over the course of the day, Lily frequently reminded herself that Flynn would let her know if he found anything out. She tried calling the hospital herself but couldn’t get any information from the receptionist.
The sun was on its slow descent towards the horizon and Lily was curled in her armchair watching the waves roll onto Porthcressa Beach when she spotted Flynn wandering along the promenade in his uniform. In a flash, she was out of the chair and heading downstairs.
“Did you find anything out about Glynis?” she asked as she opened the door to the shop.
His grimace caused a deep sense of dread to unfurl in Lily’s stomach. “She’s in intensive care, so I couldn’t see her, but she’s not doing great.”
“She’s going to be okay, though?” She opened the door wider, but Flynn made no move to come inside.
“The doctor’s concerned about her heart.”
“What?” Lily frowned deeply. “I thought it was a stomach bug.”
“It’s not clear what it is, but it’s causing an abnormal heart rhythm. Though, the doctor said that could also be because of dehydration. They’re monitoring her for now and treating the symptoms. They’re also running some tests to figure out exactly what it is. And they have a helicopter on standby to take her to the mainland if she doesn’t improve in the next twenty-four hours. Or if things get worse.”
“That’s terrible.” Pressing a hand to her chest, Lily inhaled deeply. “I thought it was the same as what I had, but this sounds far worse.”
“Given her age, maybe whatever it is has just affected her more severely.”
Lily’s eyes bulged. “So you think I gave her this?”
“No.” He offered a sympathetic smile. “I wasn’t blaming you, but I asked when her symptoms started and it was the same night you were ill. Which seems like a weird coincidence. There’s no way to know for definite though, and it doesn’t really matter, anyway.”
“Except now I feel horribly guilty.”
“It’s not your fault,” he said, tilting his head. “And now that she’s in the hospital Glynis will probably be back to full health in no time.”
“I hope so.” She tipped her head. “Are you coming in?”
“I need to get back to the station, but I’ll talk to you later.”
As he walked away, Lily wrapped her arms around her middle and stared across the promenade at the deserted beach.
No matter what Flynn said, she knew guilt would continue to gnaw at her.
She only hoped Glynis would make a speedy recovery.