TOYL

starting to remember.

55

    ‘Am I glad to see you,’ Richard said, as Emma walked into the hospital room.
    ‘Nice to hear it,’ Emma smiled, sitting down in the chair next to the bed. She looked at Richard. He looked better than last night, which wasn’t difficult, but he still appeared drugged-up and groggy.
    ‘Have the police been in touch?’ Richard asked, closing his eyes briefly as if he had just suffered a blast of pain.
    ‘No,’ Emma said, ‘no news, I’m afraid.’
    ‘Right.’ Richard grimaced.
    ‘Are you okay?’ Emma rose from the chair. ‘I can get a nurse.’
    ‘It’s fine. The doc said I would get some twinges from time to time. My body’s way of telling me that it’s still functioning.’
    ‘I guess that’s good news then.’
    ‘We could do with some good news,’ Richard noted sadly. ‘Em, I don’t know how you’ve coped with these last couple of weeks.’
    ‘I had no choice.’
    Richard broke out into a series of gasping coughs.
    ‘Are you sure you’re all right?’ Emma said, the panic rising. She couldn’t face losing someone else close to her.
    Richard nodded.
    ‘I’m starting to remember,’ he announced, in between the trailing coughs. ‘About that night.’
    ‘Really?’ Emma tried desperately not to get her hopes up.
    ‘It’s all pretty vague. But there was another person in your flat.’
    ‘Stuart?’
    Richard looked vague.
    ‘Sorry,’ she said, realising her error, ‘you don’t even know who Stuart is. He’s an ex-boyfriend of mine, who the police think might have taken Dan and attacked you.’
    ‘The police told me about him.’
    ‘What else can you remember about that night?’
    ‘I keep dreaming about it. It’s like a nightmare. There are shapes and voices – I’m pretty sure there was a fight. But I don’t know what it was about.’
    ‘It’s okay,’ Emma said soothingly, noting Richard’s anguished expression. ‘You’ll probably remember more things, given time.’
    ‘But we haven’t got time.’
    Emma couldn’t argue with that.
    ‘This morning,’ Richard said, ‘when I woke up, I saw the man. He was staring at me through the window. I blinked and he was gone.’
    ‘It was part of your dream?’
    ‘I think so. I think it was just my imagination. But it seemed real.’
    ‘Maybe it was one of the hospital staff?’
    ‘No,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘It was him – I was really scared, Em.’
    ‘What did he look like?’
    ‘Quite old, middle-aged maybe. It’s hard to say. Dark hair, I think. I don’t know, Em. I’m sorry.’
    ‘It’s okay,’ she said, wondering whether Richard was actually capable of remembering anything accurately. If the person in the flat had been middle-aged, then it would rule out Stuart.
    ‘Do you think Dan is still alive?’ Tears welled up in Richard’s eyes. ‘I don’t know what I’d do if anything bad has happened to him. He’s not just my brother, he’s my best friend. I really love him, Em. I was looking forward to being his best man.’
    ‘I know,’ Emma said, bending forward and embracing him, whilst trying to hold back the tears. ‘We’ve just got to pray that he’s okay.’

    ***

    Edward waited until Miranda had left the house. He watched her from the window, before heading for the study. And even though there was no one else in the house he closed the door behind him before taking the gun out of the desk drawer. He just stared at it as it lay there in the palm of his hand.
    When the phone rang he nearly dropped it in his panic.
    He placed the gun back in the drawer and reached for the phone. His hands were shaking.
    ‘Hi, Dad,’ Will said, his voice solemn. ‘Have you heard the news?’
    ‘No,’ Edward said, closing the drawer. ‘I haven’t heard anything.’
    ‘Stuart’s dead,’ Will announced.
    Edward had to stop himself from saying “good”. He satisfied himself with a smile. ‘Maybe it’s for the best,’ he said.
    ‘They still haven’t found Dan,’ Will said, ignoring the remark. ‘They don’t even know if he is alive.’
    ‘Right. Let’s hope things turn out okay.’
    ‘Things aren’t okay.’
    The line went dead.
    Edward held on to the receiver. Maybe it was better if Dan was dead. He was a witness, after all. And who knows what Stuart might have told him. Sure, it would be hard for Emma at first, but he would help her get over it. This time he wouldn’t desert her, or Will.
    He had a second chance to be a good, loving