Chapter 53
An eerie stillness took hold as the storm moved out to sea. Nel and Jack sat on either side of Poppy, watching the stairs, willing the ambos to come. But it was Jimmy who appeared first, followed by the female officer Nel had met earlier.
Nel’s eyes filled with tears of relief. She went to stand up as Jimmy reached them, but her legs buckled under her. He crouched down beside her.
‘I’ll radio for an ambulance,’ he said.
‘It’s on its way,’ Nel said. Poppy’s lips were blue. ‘She’s breathing, but she’s too cold.’
Jimmy turned to his partner. ‘Richie, can you get a blanket?’ She gave him a nod and ran up the stairs.
‘What happened?’ Jimmy asked.
‘Ryan attacked me. He was screaming about Sophie. I thought I was going to die, Jimmy, but then Poppy turned up, I don’t know why,’ she gasped, ‘and she hit him and then he punched her and she fell.’
‘Where’s Ryan now?’
‘I don’t know.’
Richie returned with a blanket and lay it over Poppy’s body. Jimmy reached for his radio to put an alert out about Ryan.
‘How did you get here so fast?’ Nel asked, as he holstered the radio.
‘We were looking for Ryan. We found the ring.’
‘You did?’
He nodded. ‘He arrived home when we were there and found a note from Sophie. She said she had to go to Adelaide. He lost it, yelling and swearing, then he punched the wall and left. I’m so sorry, Nel. I should have realised you were in danger.’
‘You couldn’t have known—’
She stopped at the sound of a siren growing steadily louder. Thank god.
Jack gave her a tentative smile as the ambulance pulled up in the distance, red and blue light illuminating the wet bitumen. Two paramedics appeared, a blur of navy blue moving towards them.
‘I’m Donna,’ the middle-aged woman said. ‘This is Carl. What happened?’
Nel moved back to give them space. ‘She was punched in the temple. She’s lost a lot of blood. I’m concerned about internal bleeding.’ Nel swallowed. ‘I’m a doctor.’
‘What’s her name?’ Donna asked, feeling Poppy’s skull for fractures.
‘Poppy Berry. She’s my niece.’
‘Shall I call for backup?’ Carl asked.
‘No time, we need to get her to hospital,’ Donna said, holding a large dressing against the wound. ‘But her breathing’s weak, we’re going to need to intubate her first.’
Nel crossed her numb fingers as Donna inserted an endotracheal tube into Poppy’s mouth. Her eyes, which had been fluttering open and closed, were staying closed now. Donna positioned a mask on her face. There were tears in Jack’s eyes.
‘She’s in safe hands,’ Nel said.
He nodded.
‘Grab the spine board, Carl!’
The dressing on Poppy’s head was drenched with blood. Donna reached for a new one, ripping it open.
Carl reappeared. Nel helped them move Poppy onto the stretcher, following as they carried her to the car park.
Jack and Jimmy stood by Nel’s side as they lifted Poppy into the back of the ambulance.
Nel closed her eyes, sick at the thought of telling her sister what had happened.
When she opened them, Lauren’s car was turning into the car park—as though Nel had manifested her somehow—and screeched to a stop.
Lauren ran towards the ambulance. ‘Is it Poppy? I’ve been looking everywhere for her!’
Nel opened her mouth, but no words would come.
There was fear in Lauren’s eyes. When she saw her daughter, her face twisted in pain. ‘Poppy!’
Nel stepped forward and touched Lauren’s arm, but she flinched.
Donna looked up at Lauren. ‘Are you her mother?’
Lauren nodded.
‘She’s had a big blow to the temple. She’s stable but we need to get her to hospital. You can come in the ambulance.’
Lauren turned to Nel. ‘Did you see what happened?’
‘I didn’t … He must have hit her across the side of her head …’ Nel was still trying to make sense of it.
‘Who did?’ Lauren’s eyes moved to Jack.
‘No,’ Nel said quickly, ‘it was Ryan.’
‘What?’ Lauren shook her head, confused, and looked back at Jack. ‘Who are you?’
‘I’m … I’m Jack. Jack Barnett.’ He hesitated, then held out his hand to her. Lauren looked at his hand, then she gave a short little laugh as though the gesture was absurd. He put his hand back into his jacket pocket.
‘What are you doing here?’ Lauren asked.
‘I was … we were … we just …’ Jack stammered.
Poppy must have arranged to meet him here, Nel realised, and lied to Lauren about where she was going.
Lauren glared at him. ‘Stay away from my daughter.’
Jack stuttered again. ‘But—’
‘I said, stay away from my daughter,’ Lauren hissed.
‘We’re ready to go now,’ Carl said.
Lauren got in the back, then turned around and glared at Nel. ‘This is all your fault.’
Carl shut the doors. Nel stood frozen, paralysed by the words, the accusation, as the tail-lights came on and the ambulance rolled out of the car park, its siren piercing the cold night.
‘I see why Poppy didn’t want to tell her mum about us,’ Jack said.
Nel blinked back tears and gave him an apologetic smile. ‘She’s just scared,’ she said as Jimmy and Constable Richie joined them.
‘Nel, we’ll need you to come to the station and give a statement.’ Jimmy gestured to her wetsuit. ‘Do you have a change of clothes? You must be freezing.’
Nel nodded. ‘In the car.’
‘Why don’t you go warm up?’ he said.
Once Nel was changed she sat in the passenger seat of her car, blowing into her numb hands, watching Jack walk towards the road, hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched. He looked shattered. She wanted to give him a hug.
She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands, suddenly overwhelmed by what had happened. After a moment, there was a tap on the window.
She looked up to see Jimmy, and lowered the window. ‘You okay?’ he asked, tenderness in his voice.
As she met his dark eyes, a sudden longing came over her. She wanted him to wrap his arms around her, the way he had outside the church after the funeral.
The sound of a car approaching drew their attention and they watched as a VW Golf turned into the car park. When it came to a stop, the driver’s door opened and Trent Donohue got out.
Nel swore under her breath and closed her eyes. She didn’t have the energy for this.
‘Stay there,’ Jimmy said. ‘I’ll take care of Trent.’