‘Beth.’ Her name seemed to be enough this time. He kissed her again, taking the very breath from her lungs, taking everything that she had to give and then demanding more still. His body was hard, taut against hers and she followed the curve of his shoulders with her fingers, feeling the muscles flex at her touch. There was only Matt, only his demands on her, and the music of the party faded away, replaced by his name, echoing through the back of his head.
He broke away from her. ‘Someone’s calling me. The music’s gone off.’ He was still holding her, but it was more to support her now and he tilted his head, listening carefully. Then he bent and retrieved her shoe, putting it into her hand, and opened the kitchen door a crack.
He half lifted her through the door, closing it behind them. ‘Stay here. I’ll go and see what’s happening.’ The kitchen was still in darkness, but Beth could hear voices outside. He strode quickly across the room, just as light flooded in from the sitting room and an urgent voice sounded.
‘There you are. Come quickly.’
The voices receded and she was alone in the semi-darkness. Beth found a paper towel and scrubbed at her lips. What had she done? She’d got carried away, that’s what she’d done. If Matt hadn’t been called away…
She wasn’t going to think about what
might have happened. At least whatever it was that demanded his attention had saved her from doing something stupid, and given her a chance to resolve not to do it again. Ramming her foot back into her shoe and patting her hair quickly, she draped Matt’s jacket back over the chair and made for the sitting room to find out what was going on.
Little groups of people stood around, talking quietly. Beth hurried through to the hallway and caught a glimpse of Matt, who was following James into the passage that led to the children’s rooms.
No! Please, not the children. The tight movements of the two men told her that something was very badly wrong. Beth pushed past the knot of people congregated around the front door and followed them to the door of Josh’s room.
Josh was lying on the bed, two of the A and E nurses at his side. They made way for Matt, who sat down next to Josh, one hand on his forehead and the other feeling for his pulse. Marcie was standing out of the way, in the corner of the room, her eyes on Josh, the material of her skirt twisted tight between her fingers.
Matt turned, and seeing her in the doorway shot her a tight smile. ‘Beth. The keys to my car are in my jacket pocket. There’s a medical bag in the boot—will you fetch it for me, please?’ He didn’t wait for her assent, but turned back to continue examining Josh.
She hurried to the kitchen and frisked his jacket, not pausing to feel inside the pockets, until she found the tell-tale bulge of a bunch of keys. Dragging them out from the inside pocket, she made for Matt’s car.
It was as if everyone in Josh’s room had frozen when she’d left and was in the same pose when she got back again. Matt sitting on Josh’s bed, leaning over the boy. Kat and Nicki, the two A and E nurses, hovering close by, Kat on the phone and Nicki ready to react to Matt’s instructions. James and Marcie were standing back, craning to see their son but not daring to get in the way.
Beth put the bag on the floor next to Matt and retreated back to where Marcie and James were standing. Marcie was near tears, and she slipped her hand into Beth’s, her fingers squeezing tightly.
‘What is it, Marcie?’ Beth kept her voice low so that no one would be distracted by their conversation.
‘I went in to check on him and he seemed very restless. I woke him up and he started to vomit—he’s disorientated and complaining of a headache and abdominal pain. His pulse seemed very slow to me and we called Matt.’ Marcie was whispering urgently, tears rolling down her face.
‘Matt’s here, Marcie. Josh couldn’t be in better hands.’ Beth wanted to tell her that he was going to be okay, but decided to concentrate on things that she knew for a fact. Such as if she hadn’t been outside with Matt, he might have been here a few precious minutes earlier.
The silence in the room was crushing as Matt carefully examined the boy, turning him gently to expose his back. Finally, he pulled his stethoscope down around his neck, looking up from Josh. ‘Any news on that ambulance?’
‘Not yet. Half an hour, I think.’ Kat spoke clearly, calmly. Beth knew that was a bad sign. She’d been in the company of A and E nurses and doctors on plenty of nights out before and they knew how to enjoy themselves. The only thing that would turn them this ice cool was if the situation was serious.
Matt turned to James. ‘How long would it take us to drive from here?’
‘This time of night—fifteen minutes, probably twenty.’ Marcie broke in, her voice ragged.
‘Okay, Kat, stay on the line and see if you can get any more information. James, Marcie, go and get your coats. We’ll get ready to drive him in ourselves.’
Matt issued a few quiet instructions to Nicki, who set about wrapping the boy in a quilt. Kat held up her hand and snapped her phone shut. ‘It’ll be half an hour. Pile-up on the other side of town, they can’t get to us any sooner.’
‘Right. Let’s move.’ Matt straightened up and turned to face Beth.
Her hands were trembling. Whatever it was he wanted to say would have to wait, there was no time now. ‘Go, Matt. I’ll stay here and look after Anna.’
‘No, get someone else to do that. I think that Josh has ingested poison of some sort. Marcie says that he was playing with another boy this afternoon—Simon Tanner.’
‘I know him. I think I saw his parents leave with him about half an hour ago.’
‘We need to get hold of them. And I need you to look everywhere you can think of for anything that Josh might have taken.’
‘But wouldn’t it be better if Marcie did that?’ Beth was ready to do whatever was needed but surely Marcie would have a better chance of finding something than she would?
‘No. Josh needs her with him right now, and Marcie’s too distressed to think clearly. I need someone who knows the house and the family and who can take a step back and think objectively.’