Chapter 8 #2
‘Get a grip, Lara.’
Yet she couldn’t shake the feeling of unease and for some reason she took a second look through the kitchen window.
Nope. He definitely wasn’t … Wait a minute. Was that a slipper she had seen? And was it on a foot? A foot of someone collapsed on the floor! She peered in again.
It was. She was certain of it.
She called his grandson again but again it went straight to voicemail. ‘Call me, please!’ she pleaded, and then she hung up and dialled the emergency services.
‘Ambulance, please,’ she said, before the responder hardly had time to ask her which service she required.
‘I need an ambulance at Tom’s Cottage in Old Oak Lane in Bluewater Bay.
I think it’s number one Old Oak Lane because mine is number two.
I don’t know Tom’s surname. I’m his new neighbour and I believe he’s had a fall.
I’m sure I can see him on the floor in his kitchen but I don’t have a key and I can’t get to him unless I break a window. ’
‘Don’t do that,’ the new responder replied. ‘Let me take some details. An ambulance is on the way. You’re at the property now, you said.’
‘Yes. I’m in the back garden. Oh. I think I can hear a phone ringing inside.’
‘Let’s not worry about that.’
‘But that must mean Tom is in there, mustn’t it?’
‘You said he was.’
‘I said I thought he was. Now I’m certain he is.’
‘The ambulance will be with you shortly. It’s just minutes away. Stay on the line with me until it arrives. You said you’re his neighbour.’
‘Yes.’
‘What age is Tom?’
‘I don’t know. I only met him yesterday He’s old though. At least eighty, I would guess. Erm. I’ve got another call coming through. This might be his grandson. You’ve got everything you need from me for now and I’ll be here when the ambulance arrives. But I do need to answer this.’
She switched calls.
‘Hello.’
‘Lara?’ the voice on the other end didn’t sound quite so abrasive now.
‘Yes. Are you Tom’s grandson? Did you just try to call him?’
‘Yes to both. There was no reply. What’s going on? Is Gramps okay?’
‘I honestly don’t know. I don’t want to worry you but I’ve called an ambulance and I’m just waiting for it to arrive.’
‘An ambulance!’
‘Yes. Listen. Is there a key somewhere? I don’t want to have to get them, or the police to break the door down unless I have to.’
‘Break the door down?’ He sounded befuddled but then his voice changed. ‘Yes. There’s a key safe near the front door. It’s partially hidden by the hydrangea bush. The code is–’
‘Hold on. I’m round the back but I’m dashing to the front right now. Behind the hydrangea bush you said?’
‘Yes. The one on the left.’
‘Right. I’m there. What’s the code?’
‘No! The one on the left.’
‘That’s where I am. I can see the key safe. Give me the code.’
‘One, seven, one, one.’
Lara entered the numbers and turned the knob. The safe pinged open and she grabbed the key.
‘Got it. Ah! The ambulance is coming up the lane right now. I can hear the sirens and now I can see it. Listen. I must talk to the paramedics but if you want to stay on the line, I can put you on speaker so you can hear everything. Or I can call you back as soon as we know what’s happened.’
‘I’ll stay on the line.’
‘I’ve got the key,’ Lara called out.
‘I know,’ Tom’s grandson said.
‘I was talking to the paramedics.’
‘Sorry. Is Gramps okay?’
‘We’re not inside yet. I’ve just opened the door. I think he’s in the kitchen.’
‘That’s at the back,’ Tom’s grandson informed her.
‘I know. That’s where I thought I saw him. I was telling the paramedics. Look. I know you’re worried but let’s just say you stay quiet until we find him.’
‘What! He’s my granddad.’
‘I know but … Oh!’
‘What?’
‘Nothing. He’s here. And he’s on the floor.’
‘We could do without the running commentary,’ one of the paramedics said, bending over Tom and feeling for a pulse. ‘I don’t want to be rude but if you can let us do our job, we’ll get this young chap up and out of here a lot faster.’
‘Of course,’ Lara said, turning the speaker off. ‘Is he…?’
‘He’s alive and he’s got a surprisingly strong heartbeat. But he’s had a bang on his head by the look of it. We’ll get him to the hospital and they’ll do tests. You said his name is Tom?’
‘Yes.’
‘Tom? Can you hear me?’
A soft whimper, similar to the one Nicodemus had made came from Tom’s lips, followed a second or two later by a slightly louder, ‘Yes. But … I can’t … get up.’
Lara breathed a huge sigh of relief and then, trying to keep her emotions in check and her voice low, she whispered into her phone. ‘Tom’s heartbeat is strong, he’s responsive, and he’s said a few words. They’re taking him to the hospital.’
The sigh of relief on the other end was even louder than hers. ‘Thank God for that. I’m leaving now. I’ll be there in about an hour or so.’ With that, Tom’s grandson rang off.
‘Oh,’ Lara said, staring at her screen in disbelief. ‘That was Tom’s grandson. How will he know which hospital to go to?’
The other paramedic smiled at her while he continued to assist his colleague. ‘There’s only one near here. And if he doesn’t know, he’ll call back.’
‘Is it okay if I go too? I’m Tom’s neighbour. But I only came down here yesterday. What’s the hospital called, please?’
‘Poppleton District General. It’s ten miles away.’
‘Thanks. I’ll go and get my car once you’ve gone and I’ve locked up.’
‘We won’t be long now.’
Lara didn’t want to watch, so she sat on a chair near the window and looked outside. It was raining again, but not as heavy as earlier and she watched as raindrops trickled down the pane.
Why did her cheeks feel wet?
Lara realised she was crying.
She quickly wiped her eyes. Tom would be fine.
The paramedics didn’t seem overly concerned.
Or was that just the way they always behaved in emergencies?
But they had said Tom had a strong heartbeat and he’d just had a bump to his head.
Didn’t they? She wasn’t really sure now what they had told her. But Tom would be fine. He had to be.
She owed him a pie and a pint.
Why hadn’t she called round sooner?
Why hadn’t she raised the alarm the minute she had that niggling feeling?
Why hadn’t she been there for Tom when he needed her?
She had asked herself similar questions fourteen years ago.
Why hadn’t she gone with her parents that morning to help supervise the addition of some last-minute decorations in the ballroom of the hotel where her birthday party was being held?
Better yet, why hadn’t she told them that the room didn’t need any more decorations?
Why had she wanted to meet up with her friend next door for coffee instead?
Why hadn’t she asked her parents to stay home when they heard adverse weather was coming in?
Why had she ignored that niggling feeling she experienced when she awoke that morning?
Lara had lost everything that day.
The day she received the devastating news that her parents had both died instantly in a multi-car pile-up on the motorway.
The day of her sixteenth birthday.
And she hadn’t celebrated a birthday since.
If anything happened to Tom…