‘We understand that you visited your parents on the afternoon before they—’
‘You were there that day?’ Gavin asked as his head whipped round from the window.
He hadn’t told his husband where he was going. Not unusual, but why hadn’t he mentioned it since? Either to Gavin or to them?
Daryl wasn’t even watching. His eyes were fixed firmly on the door.
‘Would you mind telling us why you were visiting that day?’
His eyes darted around the room. ‘Err…maybe we should have this conversation tomorrow. I’m unable to focus right now.’
She exchanged a look with Bryant at his sudden turnaround, but she couldn’t push it, given the circumstances.
‘Okay, we’ll see you first…’ Her words trailed away as the door opened.
A surgeon, still in scrubs, with a mask pushed up onto his head, entered the room. He closed the door behind him and removed the mask completely.
His grave expression told the story before he even opened his mouth.
‘I’m sorry but there was nothing we could do. We lost Rachel fifteen minutes ago. I’m so sorry.’
Stunned silence filled the room. It was as though this possible outcome had not occurred to any one of them.
She looked to Bryant, who nodded in response. They should go.
They weren’t family. There was nothing they could offer to help these people feel better. Her immediate thoughts were for Mia. A little girl who would never know her mother.
She felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket as a sob sounded from Daryl. Gavin had already taken Zach into his arms.
‘We’ll give you some privacy,’ Bryant said, moving towards the door.
They stepped from the silence of the room into the melee of activity back in the A&E department.
She took out her phone and frowned.
‘Sir?’ she answered, covering her free ear to contain the sound.
‘Where are you, Stone?’ Woody asked.
She rolled her eyes. Had Leanne been telling tales again?
‘Russells Hall, and the reason I told—’
‘Get somewhere quieter.’
She held the phone to her ear as she negotiated the waiting area and exited the building.
‘Go ahead,’ she said as Bryant stood close by. She could see Leanne thirty feet away and, more importantly, Leanne could see her. She offered the woman a filthy look for snitching to her boss.
She heard his intake of breath before he spoke. ‘Is Bryant there?’
‘Who do you want, him or me?’
‘Both – put me on loudspeaker.’
‘Done,’ she said as Leanne joined them. Her puzzled expression told Kim this had nothing to do with her.
‘I need to make sure you’re not going to react to what I’m going to tell you.’