Chapter 4
4
Nadia was nervous. In the reception area of the airbase, she watched the television camera operators outside hovering, ready for her. Various onlookers had begun to assemble and she wasn’t sure whether she could do this. Conrad, lead detective on the case to find the missing mother of baby Lena, had asked her to speak and appeal to the mother to come forward.
‘Are you sure someone on the force wouldn’t be better at this than I would?’ Nadia fussed with the frill collar of her floral blouse, an open collar that in some way felt as if it was getting tighter, as if it might hamper her efforts to speak.
Conrad faced her square on. ‘In cases like these, women… mothers… often relate to other women. Based on my experience, I made the call to hold the appeal here at the airbase where the baby was found and to have you speak as you were the one who found her. It gives the case a personal, softer edge. It might make all the difference.’
‘What if it wasn’t the mother who left the baby here? It could’ve been the father, or a relative?’
‘Highly unlikely.’ His sense of superiority shone through. It was part of his personality, whether justified or not. ‘And if it wasn’t the mother who left the baby, the appeal won’t go to waste. Someone somewhere must know something. I’ll keep digging until we find out who this baby is.’ He lifted his hand in acknowledgement to someone beyond the doors of the airbase before he looked back at Nadia. ‘Ready?’
Of course she wasn’t, but if she could help in any way, she would.
They both stepped outside and into the spring sunshine.
Conrad stood taller, his chest puffed up; he was getting camera-ready. In a suit because he was a detective rather than a police officer, he was full of self-importance just as Maya always said he was. But Nadia couldn’t care less how much he thought of himself or how much he talked the talk. All she wanted was for him to be as good at his job as he claimed to be and when Hudson nodded over to her from nearby to encourage her, she took a deep breath, ready to do this.
The first attempt to film the short segment was hampered by the shrill ringing of the telephones, which sounded all around the base for The Skylarks.
Shortly after The Skylarks took to the skies in the helicopter behind the airbase building, the crew began their filming again. It took three takes but Nadia was at least used to being a spokesperson for the charity, which made public speaking a little easier. Not that there were that many people here; most would see it on their TV later or online, wherever the segment was shared.
Notification came a little over an hour after the segment was recorded with the time and the channel where it would first be broadcast. The Skylarks were still out on the job they’d been called to and in the office between tasks, Hudson put the television on and stood beside Nadia, ready to watch.
Nadia, one arm across her body, her opposite elbow resting on it with her fingers to her lips, was paranoid she’d not done well enough to convince the mother to come forwards. ‘I hope I did okay.’
‘I think you did better than okay.’
‘Any second now…’
They waited for the segment to come on.
‘You know I can’t stand Conrad, but he made a good call having you talk. I wouldn’t mind betting you come across just as kind on camera as you are in real life.’
Nadia wasn’t a nail biter but if she was, she knew her nails would be destroyed by now. ‘Let’s hope it helps.’
Within thirty seconds, there she was, on screen with the police detective.
The segment began with them standing there, the sound of the helicopter fading away in the background – the crew must have recorded the take-off and cleverly edited the footage to make sure the air ambulance was a part of the finished television coverage. What Nadia and Conrad each said had been pre-decided and the importance of what she was doing had dampened down her nervousness.
Conrad’s voice, usually a boom, and commanding presence changed tone when he spoke. And even though nobody was keen on Maya’s ex-husband, Nadia had to hand it to him. Today he had done a good job.
‘Yesterday, just after 4p.m., a baby was left in a box at the doorway to this very building.’ Conrad briefly put a hand out to indicate the glass doors behind them and the signage above which read Whistlestop River Air Ambulance . ‘Myself and my fellow officers would like to praise the team here for their fast thinking and the transfer of baby Lena to the nearest hospital where she remains safe and well. Here with me today is operational support officer, Nadia Sutton, who found the baby yesterday.’
It felt odd watching herself on screen. She remembered Conrad handing over to her, the feel of all eyes upon her.
‘We know the baby is called Lena because her name was written on a piece of paper tucked beside her in the box. I could see that Lena had been well looked after and, following a thorough examination by doctors at the hospital, I’m delighted to say that Lena is not injured and there are no immediate health concerns. However, we desperately would like to locate Lena’s mother or whoever left Lena with us. If you are listening, please do come forward.’
Conrad took over. ‘We have trained officers and medics ready to provide support. Please get in touch by calling the emergency services or going into a station or a hospital.’
As the segment concluded, Hudson switched the television off. ‘You did great, you know. This will be shown online, hopefully often, and on the television again. We’ve done everything we can.’
‘So why don’t I feel any better?’
He came to her side, put his hands onto her shoulders. ‘Because you care; never apologise for that. But remember she is safe, she is well.’
She wanted him to wrap her in his arms, to feel the security of his hold, but she knew she couldn’t let herself want that. They were friends; that had to be as far as it went.
‘I’m going to call the hospital, see what stage they’re at finding a foster carer.’
‘Can you let me know what they say? I’ll be in my office; I’ve got some calls to make.’
‘Sure.’
She left the main office where the team gathered for meetings and followed the corridor through the reception to the other side where her little office stood. She closed the door behind her. She needed some time to get herself together: the events of yesterday, a restless sleep, a television appeal, Hudson – her emotions were bubbling towards the surface in ways she couldn’t quite get a hold of. She kept thinking of Lena, in a box of all things, the mother, whoever she was, what would happen from now.
When Nadia emerged, Hudson was on the phone in the main office. The Skylarks were heading back inside the building from the hangar. Brad, one of the critical care paramedics, took the cool box of bloods through to the room where they were stored until they were needed for the next mission. He’d be putting away the drugs too which were always kept in the building rather than the helicopter and signed out before each job. Business as usual around here when Nadia felt as if her world had been tilted, that she was having to face up to all that she’d lost, all over again, given the events of the past twenty-four hours.
When Brad came out of the room and met her in the corridor, she mustered as much enthusiasm as she could manage by announcing, ‘There’s birthday cake, remember. Nobody got to eat much last night.’
He looked weary.
‘Tough job?’
‘I’ll say. I need some cake first, a cup of coffee, then I’ll be ready to go through my notes with you; is that okay?’
‘Fine with me,’ she said, leading the way to the kitchen. She didn’t ask for more details, not right now; he looked like he needed some time to de-stress.
Hudson joined them and, without her having to ask, gave her the update from the hospital. ‘Lena is still thriving, drinking formula like there’s no tomorrow. A foster carer with the appropriate approval level has been appointed and they’ll be going to the hospital with the social worker midday tomorrow.’
‘That’s good. She’ll be somewhere safe.’
‘I’ll make a call to the police, check whether they’ve heard anything.’
‘Thanks, Hudson.’
‘My pleasure. But right now, I’d better make sure I get a slice of my cake, preferably a very big one. I can’t believe I’ve held off until now.’
Nadia distributed slices of cake, Hudson made the mugs of coffee and when Kate, the other paramedic on the blue team, appeared, she said she’d grab hers later. It was time to clean Hilda. The whole crew were responsible for cleaning the helicopter, nobody escaped the job, and Hilda was due her maintenance check tomorrow so would be taken away and another model left in her place.
Nadia took her cake to go and told Brad, ‘I’ll be in my office whenever you’re ready.’
She wondered whether she would ever get a turn to decompress from everything that had happened recently, the pain it had brought up. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine, almost feel, Lena in her arms. Holding the baby had gone some way to comforting her from her own previous losses but at the same time, it had opened up wounds that had never really healed.
Nadia finished her piece of cake and confirmed the final head count for the crews and the staff for the main fundraising event of the year scheduled for next month. It was the annual dinner dance and would be held at a magnificent venue on the coast. The fundraising team, who worked remotely and didn’t come into the airbase all that often, had done a stellar job of pulling this together. There would be a three-course meal, followed by a silent auction, and then dancing late into the night. Nadia had been shopping last week and treated herself to a brand-new dress – black, almost floor-length, sequins – and couldn’t wait to get all dolled up for a night with her colleagues. With any luck, they’d raise a great deal of money for the town’s air ambulance. Maya’s dad Nigel had a lot of business contacts and these days was one of The Skylarks’ biggest sponsors. He’d arranged the beautiful venue at a heavily discounted rate and already Nadia could feel it was going to be an event never to forget.
Brad came in soon after she’d called through the final head count.
‘I’m sorry it was such a tough shift,’ she said.
‘One of the hardest. The cake helped a little, thanks.’
Armed with a pad of paper and his notes as well as a good memory, he recounted the events of the emergency they’d attended. He was thorough; he had to be. Nadia’s job was to listen, to go through all the information and then she’d be able to pass the case to either Hudson or Paige for follow-up. It was easier to have her go through incidents first so that she could manage the workloads of their two patient and family liaison officers and allocate work accordingly.
Nadia got all the details down. Paige’s workload was ample for the hours she worked so this one would go to Hudson. Hudson would be the point of contact for the family, who would likely have questions about the care their loved one had had pre-hospital and what the next steps were. He’d handle it well because Hudson always seemed to bring light and hope with him. It was one of his many qualities she admired.
She looked out into reception to see whether she could grab Hudson to listen in but he was on the phone and so she and Brad continued. He detailed every step of the job from The Skylarks’ arrival to everything they did for pre-hospital care. The job had been a call to a road traffic collision and a young adult male had gone through the windscreen and was found lying on the bonnet. He’d had extensive injuries, a blood transfusion was done at the scene, but it hadn’t been enough. He’d died before they got him to the hospital.
‘You look like you could use a drink more than I could,’ Brad said once they’d finished and Nadia had put all the details onto the computer. ‘Harrowing, that’s one word to describe today.’
‘Oh, Brad, some shifts are like that, I know, I get it.’
‘Let’s hope tomorrow is better.’
They emerged from the office and she went over to Hudson at the reception desk. ‘It sounds like a terrible shift for the crew today.’
‘Yeah, not the best from what I hear.’
‘I have all the notes ready for you. I was going to grab you but you were on the phone.’
‘I called the police – nothing yet,’ he confirmed. ‘Come on, let’s talk through the notes now and I’ll grab Brad if I think I need more clarification.’
Back in the office, they went through the details. All the facts were there and the team were good at talking with one another if they needed anything else.
He stood up to go and Nadia picked up her bag.
‘I’m off home,’ she said. ‘Early night for me, I’m shattered.’
He stopped in the doorway and smiled. ‘You’ve forgotten.’
‘Forgotten?’
‘No chance of an early night. It’s Dorothy’s birthday; she’s having a bash at the pub.’
Nadia’s heart sank. She loved Dorothy, one of the Whistlestop River Freewheelers, dearly and he was right; there was no chance of sneaking off home because Nadia would never want to let Dorothy or anyone else down. But her energy levels were seriously lacking. She usually stayed behind and worked extra hours but even that seemed too much right now.
‘Come for a bit; it’ll do you good. I’m not staying for too long, and I won’t be drinking; I have to collect Beau from a friend’s.’
‘What time does it start?’
‘You really have forgotten.’ He smiled. ‘Half an hour, so I’m going straight there.’
‘I’d better go freshen up and do the same then.’
And although she was tired, at least she was doing something with the people she cared about – she called them her family these days and she meant it.
After all, she didn’t have anyone else. At least, not any more.