It was Barbie, in a freshly ironed pair of blue overalls with her siren strapped around her head. 'I thought I'd check in on my patient.'
'I'm feeling good,' said Nicola. 'Thank you very much for everything that you did.'
'Let's take a quick look at that bite.' Barbie sat down on the bed. As she unwound the bandage from Nicola's arm, she frowned.
'Horatio!' cried Nicola excitedly. 'That's what I was trying to say on the river bank!'
'Pardon?' said Barbie.
'You just frowned exactly like a man we met in the Valley of High Hopes,' explained Nicola. 'His name was Horatio Banks. Could you be related to him?'
'My surname is Banks,' said Barbie slowly. 'And my grandpa's name was Horatio. He's been missing for years.'
'There was a fight,' said Nicola. 'About chocolate.'
'That's right,' said Barbie. 'My mother says it was so stupid. My grandpa slammed the front door and never came back. They looked for him for years.'
'He thinks nobody has forgiven him yet,' said Shimlara. 'He's just waiting in the valley for someone to go and find him.'
'Oh! This is incredible. My grandmother will be so excited! I'll have to go right now and tell her,' said Barbie. She refastened Nicola's bandage and stood up. 'Thank you! The Banks family is greatly in your debt!'
She ran from the room, almost colliding with Sean, Tyler and Greta who had been waiting outside the door.
'You all right, Nic?' asked Sean. 'Your arm didn't drop off in the night?'
That was probably about the most brotherly, affectionate thing Sean had ever said to her. It almost brought tears to Nicola's eyes.
'I'm fine,' said Nicola. 'What's that you've got there?'
Sean was holding a long rectangular parcel under his arm. 'We saw the parcel waiting at reception for you downstairs,' said Tyler.
'It's from Enrico,' said Greta, pointing at the back of the parcel, where Nicola could see a big red wax crest and Enrico's name.
Nicola felt her heart begin to thump.
Sean laid the parcel on the bed and they all looked at it with foreboding.
'I don't think it's going to be anything nice,' said Shimlara.
'But I guess I'd better open it anyway,' said Nicola, and she began to tear at the paper.
24
Nicola didn't mean to scream when she recognised what was in the box. It was just that it gave her such a horrible feeling.
At first she had thought it was an animal. An animal with soft, shiny brown hair. Maybe a dead animal.
'What is it?' asked Sean confusedly.
And then Nicola had recognised the distinctive golden brown colour. It was the colour of Katie's hair.
Enrico had cut off Katie's beautiful long brown hair and sent it to Nicola!
That's when she screamed.
'But what is it?' cried Shimlara. 'I don't know what it is!'
'It's Katie's hair,' said Greta quietly. She reached into the box and pulled out the long strands of hair. 'He cut off he