Heller's Regret (26 page)

I was in luck. Mrs Burwood had been in
contact with him, ostensibly to keep him informed, but probably
because she didn’t want him waltzing out of her life.

Despite searching every centimetre of
Jaegar’s flat and car and ruthlessly questioning him a number of
times, the necklace was yet to be recovered. Other incriminating
evidence, such as brochures and internet searches on the display
cabinets and security cabinets, had been found in his flat, hidden
between motorbike magazines. Mrs Burwood confided that throughout
his ongoing interrogations, Jaegar had steadfastly maintained his
innocence, refusing to confess. He denied involvement in the theft
or knowledge of where the necklace was located. He repeatedly
accused Francine of being the mastermind behind the plan, a
betrayal that the love-smitten woman apparently took very
badly.

Because she’d cooperated so willingly with
the police, Francine was expected to receive only a suspended
sentence for being an accessory when she faced court in several
months time. But she too, had been questioned at length, although
she insisted she had no knowledge of the whereabouts of the
necklace.

Farrell told me Mrs Burwood was devastated at
the loss of the necklace, the duchy adamantly ruling out ever
dealing with the store or her again – a huge blow for a woman proud
of her career.

“How did Jaegar do it?”

“His accomplice told police he paid a
sizeable sum for a master key to the display cabinet.”

“So he just strolled in, unlocked it and took
off with the necklace?”

“It seems to be that easy.”

“I don’t understand how he could disable the
cameras without being filmed doing it.”

“Again, his accomplice said he had some type
of interference device that briefly disrupted the cameras’ signals,
giving him enough time to cut the wires. When Collett checked the
footage, he found a couple of grainy minutes from each camera.”

“Francine sure knows a lot about the plan for
someone who claims they weren’t really aware of what was going on.
I wonder if she’s as innocent as she makes out.”

“The store have kept her on staff, but I
imagine Mrs Burwood is keeping a close eye on her.”

“I can’t imagine Heller ever keeping someone
like her as an employee.”

“Definitely not.”

“What do you think Jaegar did with the
necklace?”

“Dunno. Stashed it somewhere for when he gets
out of jail would be my guess.”

“Let me know if you hear any more about
it.”

When I received the all clear to return to
work, I approached Clive by phone, hoping he’d have an easy new
assignment for me. He made some general noises, which could have
meant, “not yet”, or more hopefully, “I’ll see what I can find”.
And I had to be satisfied with that.

At a loose end that evening, I sat on the
lounge eating a salad and watching
People’s
Pulse
. I
missed working for Trent, but he seemed to be getting along just
fine without me. As did the
Heller’s
team had done when I
worked for Trent, which made me wonder if I really added any value
anywhere.

Not wanting to sink into a pity party, I
decided I should do something to improve myself, like arranging for
a hair appointment, or doing a bit of light exercise. But that
sounded like a lot of effort, so instead I spent a couple of hours
surfing the internet, thinking of hitting the sack when my phone
rang.

“Hello,” I barely managed to say before my
caller, Brian, spoke urgently.

“Tilly, you have to come to the hospital
now,” he said, with more emotion in his voice than I’d heard for a
long time. “Dad’s had a heart attack.”

Shocked, I stopped only long enough to
scribble down the ward and bed number.
He wasn’t in ICU
, I
told myself, and that had to be a good sign. I pulled on my runners
and tied my hair into a ponytail. I avoided the problem of Clive
probably not letting me drive at night by myself, by detouring to
the office instead where Daniel was catching up on some work.

“Danny, I have to go to the hospital. My
father’s been admitted. Can you tell Clive for me? I don’t know
when I’ll be home.”

“Are you sure you’re all right to go by
yourself? I can come with you,” he offered.

“Thanks, but I’ll be okay. It’s just going to
be family there.”

“Take care and I hope he’s okay. And stay in
touch by phone, especially if you break down or have a flat tyre.
I’ll have my phone next to me for the rest of the night.”

“Thanks so much. See you later.”

I raced down to the basement and zoomed my
car out of the garage, narrowly avoiding hitting one of the teams
returning from a job. I drove my car too fast to the hospital,
parking in the closest car spot I could find. I ran into the
hospital, waiting impatiently for the lift to arrive, jabbing the
up button a hundred times in a futile gesture to make it move
faster.

At the floor I needed, I followed the signs
to one of the cardiovascular wards. I skidded into the room. My
father had a small room to himself, my parents finally taking
advantage of the expensive private health insurance they’d been
paying for years.

I arrived out of breath and coughing badly,
thinking that perhaps I wasn’t as recovered as I’d hoped.

“Geez, Tilly, you sound terrible. Do you want
some water?” asked Sean.

I nodded mutely, not able to speak. I drank
it all down in one go, sliding my arm around Mum’s shoulders,
hugging her and kissing her on the cheek. She sat next to the bed,
statue-still, her face drawn and grim. She held one of Dad’s hands
in one of hers, using her free arm to hug me back.

I went to the other side of the bed and
kissed Dad gently on the forehead, smoothing back his hair. His
eyes were closed, tubes coming out of every part of him. He seemed
so small, vulnerable, and I hated to even think it, old. When had
that happened?

“Have my chair, Tilly,” Brian said, bringing
it over. “You don’t look as if you’ve been too good lately.”

“I’ve been sick,” I confirmed, not offering
any further details. I didn’t want to talk about me when Dad was
lying in a bed next to us. “He’s going to be fine, right? He was
fine last time. It’s going to be the same again. Right?”

Nobody was willing to meet my eyes. Brian,
always the family member left to be sensible and take charge, said
quietly, “We don’t know, Tilly. This was a major heart event. The
doctors aren’t telling us too much at the moment because they don’t
know themselves. But from what they’ve said, it’s going to be a
difficult fight for Dad.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head, not willing to
hear that. I looked down at the man we all loved so much, who’d
been there my whole life. I couldn’t imagine him not being there.
It just couldn’t happen.

I didn’t know how mostly everyone remained so
stoic and dry-eyed, especially Mum. Elise sobbed softly into Sean’s
shoulder. Seeing her cry brought tears to my eyes too.

The only family loss I’d ever experienced had
been when both my grandfathers were lost at sea during a sudden
storm while they were off the coast fishing together. I’d only been
a young toddler when it happened, too young to remember them or the
consequent mourning.

I gave myself a mental shake. This wasn’t the
time to indulge in morbid thoughts. This was the time to remain
strong and positive for Dad’s sake. He would recover and be back
home soon and it was up to all of us to believe that with all our
hearts.

About ten minutes later, a bossy nurse
entered the room, bustling around Dad and taking his vitals. He
didn’t stir once.

“You all need to go now. Visiting hours are
over. His blood pressure and pulse seemed to have stabilised for
now. He needs the lights out so he can rest. You’re welcome to
return tomorrow, and of course if anything happens during the
night, we’ll contact you.”

“I’ll stay with Mum for a few days,” I
decided. “I’ll drive her home.”

“Good idea,” said Brian.

I lined up with everyone to kiss Dad goodbye,
hating to leave him here alone. I ushered Mum to my car.

“Are you okay?” I asked her as I drove. It
was a stupid question, but she hadn’t said a word all night. She
nodded. “I’m just going to my place for a few minutes to grab some
clothes.” She nodded again.

When I pulled up outside the Warehouse, she
stared at it apathetically. It worried me that she wasn’t herself.
She normally would have asked a million questions about the old
redbrick building. But she sat silently, content to stay in the car
while I ran inside.

I carelessly threw clothes and toiletries
into a bag, not paying much attention. I flew down to the office,
where Daniel was still working, to tell him where I’d be for the
next few days. I took off without another word, not wanting to keep
Mum waiting for too long.

I tried to engage her a couple of times on
the drive to her house, but she wasn’t interested in conversation,
lost in her thoughts. When Mum unlocked the front door, even
Puddles seemed subdued, not trying to pee on my shoes. Mum picked
him up and cuddled him to her chest.

“I’m going to bed, Tilly. I’m going to take
Puddles with me.”

“Sure. Do you want a cup of tea or anything
to eat first?”

“No, thanks.” I kissed her cheek and watched
her trudge down the hall, her shoulders drooping.

I thought I wasn’t tired, but once I’d
prepared the bed in my childhood room, it looked so inviting that I
brushed my teeth, changed into my pyjamas and sank into it. I fell
asleep quickly, though I couldn’t call my sleep restful in any way.
During the night, my arm began to throb again, so I hunted in the
second bathroom for some painkillers. They weren’t as strong as the
forte tablets Dr Kincaid had prescribed me, so didn’t do much to
block the pain, keeping me tossing and turning for the remainder of
the night.

Mum was still very quiet the next morning,
barely uttering a word or eating anything at breakfast. As soon as
visiting hours commenced, I drove her back to the hospital. We
stayed with Dad for the rest of the day, sitting on either side of
him, holding his hands. The rest of the family came and went during
the day as their jobs and duties allowed. A doctor informed us that
Dad was still stable, but unconscious.

That night, I picked up some Chinese
takeaway, too washed out and tired to cook. I didn’t feel
particularly hungry. I merely nibbled at the food, barely even
tasting it. Mum left most of her food untouched. We didn’t speak
much during the meal. I tried, but I just didn’t know what to say
to comfort her.

The next couple of days passed in the same
way – a quiet breakfast, followed by a long day at the hospital,
ending with a quiet dinner and early bedtime for both of us. Clive
interrupted the routine with a phone call early the next
morning.

“A job’s come in for you.”

“But I’m looking after my mother at the
moment.”

“It has to be you. The client has
specifically asked for a female security officer. The job’s
babysitting an eleven-year-old girl and her mother won’t
countenance a male officer.”

I sighed, caught between a hard place and a
rock (the rock being Clive). “Okay, but I’m taking my mother to the
hospital first and then I’ll be back home.”

“Don’t be late. You’re expected at noon, when
they check in to their hotel.”

“Don’t panic. I’ll be there in time.”

I dropped Mum off at the hospital,
accompanying her to Dad’s room. According to the doctor, his status
hadn’t changed, but I wondered if I only imagined his breathing as
being more shallow, his complexion more grey. I rang Brian to let
him know that I couldn’t be Mum’s companion any longer, as I had to
work. He volunteered to host Mum at their house, making it easier
for Gayle and him to look after her and drive her to the hospital
each day.

I was grateful to him for relieving me of the
task of looking after Mum, easing my guilt at having to go to
work.

Back at the Warehouse, I aired my fears to
Clive of being sent on another assignment involving a child. My
experiences with Samuel had irrevocably scarred me. I didn’t think
I’d ever quite be able to banish that assignment to the pile of
forgotten memories in my life.

“This assignment’s nothing like that one.
This kid’s a brainiac – and alive. Apparently she’s a prodigy on
the piano.”
Great. Another kid playing the piano.
Clive
wasn’t convincing me so far of the differences between the
assignments. “She’s here for some recitals for entry to a posh
musical college in Europe. Her mother wants her accompanied at all
times because she thinks her daughter’s rivals will stop at nothing
to spoil her chances of being chosen.”

I took my own car to the job, parking in an
expensive car station where I had to drive almost to the top level
to find a vacant space. The lift was out of order, so I slogged
down endless stairs that smelled strongly of pee, almost making me
puke by the time I reached the street. I legged it a couple of
blocks to the bland hotel where the clients had chosen to stay.

An impeccably dressed woman answered the
door. She was tall and graceful with swept-back hair, expensive
diamond earrings and bright red lipstick, a shock of colour out of
place in the blandness of their suite. The first thing I noticed in
the room was sheaves and sheaves of sheet music, stacked in several
high piles on the dining table.

The woman rushed forward assertively, but not
offering her hand. “You must be the security officer from
Heller’s
.” I opened my mouth to introduce myself, but she
didn’t give me a chance to speak. “I’m Mrs Namoy and this is . . .”
She looked annoyed at the absence of her child. “
Agatha!
”
she snapped out loudly with ill-hidden impatience. “Come out here
please, girl.”