Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
His radio had gone quiet, but Flynn was aware of his colleagues at the other end, waiting for an update.
The ones whose voices had been there in the background while he’d administered CPR and while he’d sat in the back of the ambulance, watching the paramedic attempting to shock the sergeant’s heart back into rhythm.
It didn’t look good. That was what he’d told his colleagues on the mainland when the sergeant was wheeled into the hospital amid a bustle of hospital personnel.
He hung back in the waiting area, head bent, staring at his hands, which trembled slightly as the adrenaline subsided.
An occasional glance at the clock told him it was almost half an hour before the doctor finally came out to him.
“Sorry,” she murmured, eyes glassy with tears.
Flynn took a sudden interest in his boots. They could do with a polish. He’d do that later.
“You did everything you could,” Dr Redwood said, sinking onto the chair beside him.
“That’s probably not true.”
“It is true.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “He was gone when you got to him. No one could have done anything.”
“What about this morning when he complained of feeling dizzy?” His throat squeezed painfully around the words. “I probably could have done something then. Or yesterday when he was looking really pale. Or the entire week when he’s been saying he was tired and not feeling great.”
She rubbed gently on his shoulder blade. “It’s always the same with something like this. The signs are there, but they can easily be dismissed as something else, or nothing at all. Even I would have told him he just needed a holiday or a couple of days of rest.”
“I doubt it. You’d have checked him out properly and seen there was a problem with his heart.”
“Don’t beat yourself up,” she whispered. “You really couldn’t have done anything to prevent this.”
Flynn’s chest tightened, and a lone teardrop splashed onto his boot.
“The two of you were pretty close, weren’t you?” Dr Redwood said.
“Yeah,” he managed. “We got on well.”
“Someone needs to tell his wife. Where’s PC Hill?”
“He’s been on holiday for a week. He heard about the sergeant from control and messaged me to say he was on his way to the airport. I need to update him.” His fingers went to his radio. “I need to update them all.”
“I can speak to his wife, but I think it will be better coming from you, since you were with him.”
His throat clogged again at the thought of that grim task. “Maybe I should wait for PC Hill. He knows her better.”
“Don’t risk her hearing from someone else,” Dr Redwood said kindly. “Besides, you’ll be able to relate to her better.”
“How so?”
“She’ll probably blame herself too.”
He nodded once but couldn’t quite bring himself to move.
“We just let Len Marrack out on bail for burglary,” he said, then attempted to make a mental list of what needed to be done.
He heaved in a breath as he thought about Lily waiting at the station.
“I have to interview someone at the station. And I don’t know what happens now…
I guess PC Hill will be acting sergeant until they find a replacement. There’s so much to do.”
“You can manage it. Just deal with it how the sergeant would. But first, you need to speak to his wife.”
He sucked in a breath and attempted to pull himself together. “I need to nip back to the station. Then I’ll go and speak to her.”
After thanking the doctor, he walked outside in a daze.
He could do this, he told himself as he focused on putting one foot in front of the other.
He was fairly sure he wasn’t about to deal with things the way the sergeant would. But he hoped the sergeant would understand his actions regarding Lily.
He was fairly sure he wouldn’t be surprised by them.