The Surgeon's Blade (16 page)

“Robert! God, you gave me a fright. It won’t start. It’s been playing up lately.” Her heart was thudding in her breast.

“And when did you have it serviced last, eh? Don’t tell me. Women seem to have this uncanny knack of waiting until something goes wrong before they decide to do something about it, even if it means their vehicle might be dangerous. Come on get out while I have a go.”

Feeling foolish and unsteady on her feet, Libby half climbed, half fell out of the car. He supported her once she stood up.

“Bloody hell, how much have you had to drink?” he grumbled. “There’s no way you should be even attempting to drive home. Come on, I’ll take you back.”

Libby tried to stand up straight and didn’t succeed. Instead she slumped against the car and slowly began to slide down.

Robert wasted no time. He hoisted her upright and put a supporting arm around her. “My car’s just down here.”

“No, no,” she said weakly. “I don’t want—”

“What you want and what you’re going to get are two different things entirely. You are in no fit state to either drive or argue.”

Putting an arm around her waist, he marched her down to his car, pushed her into the passenger side, and fitted the seat belt around her before climbing in himself. Once he was seated, Libby began to moan.

“Don’t argue, Libby. Just shut up will you? I’m driving you home, and that’s final.”

“I said, I think I’m going to be sick!”

Muttering an oath, he reached over and opened her door – not a moment too late.

Chapter 18

Libby opened her eyes and groaned. Who on earth had a road drill going today? Being a weekend, surely it wasn’t allowed. She gave a start. Where the devil was she? Struggling to sit up she stared at the room she was in. She was lying in a double bed in a room with walls painted a soft green. There were long curtains covering the windows, and a wide wardrobe and tall chest of drawers stood against another wall. For one terrifying moment, Libby thought she had lost her memory again, but when she felt how raw her throat was after being sick earlier, it all came flooding back. She remembered leaving Stephanie and Graham’s house and getting into her car – which wouldn’t start! Robert! Robert had been there. She gave another groan. It didn’t take a huge amount of imagination to realise she was in Robert’s house. She had another thought – she sincerely hoped it wasn’t his bed!

She threw the bedcovers off and discovered she was only dressed in her underwear. She couldn’t recollect taking her dress off, but where was it? Libby stood up, crossed over to the curtains and drew one aside. She found she was looking down onto a surprisingly pretty and cared-for garden. Neat hedges and well-cut grass competed with a couple of colourful and well-stocked flower beds. Her head swam, and she realised she was suffering from one hell of a hangover. Her throat was parched, and she would have given anything for a glass of water.

A slight tap on the door had her whirling round in the direction of the sound. Embarrassed over her state of undress, she hurried back to the bed and pulled the covers over her. Seconds later the door opened a crack, and Robert poked his head in.

“Good morning. How’s the hangover then?” he said cheerily.

“Terrible.”

“Fancy some tea?”

“Lovely.”

“Milk, sugar?”

“Just a spot of milk please.”

“Hokey doke. I’ll be right back then.”

Libby could hear him whistling somewhere in the house. Nursing her sore head, she lay back upon the pillows wondering just how on earth she had managed to land herself in so much trouble. Sometimes life wasn’t fair.

“One cup of tea.” Robert tapped on her door again before stepping inside.

Libby sat up making sure the sheet was up to her shoulders and then felt foolish as she was sure it was Robert who had removed her dress and shoes before leaving her to sleep off the alcohol. Drat the man!

“I expect you’re wondering where your dress is?” He indicated the wardrobe door, and Libby nodded as she took a sip of tea.

“Sorry, but I couldn’t let you drive home in the state you were in last night. And if I’d taken you home in your car – if I’d managed to get it started – then I’d have had no way of getting back here. I doubt if you’d have liked finding me asleep on your sofa in the morning either.” He grinned ruefully at her.

“But it’s okay for me to wake up here, is it?” Libby asked softly.

“Don’t be scratchy! Look, it was the best and probably the only thing to do. Oh, I suppose I could have taken you back into Stephanie’s, but you were so out of it, it was unbelievable. At least this way nobody need know you spent the night here. If I’d spent the night at your place, I expect your fiancé would have found out somehow and beaten my head in. We both know how paranoid he is.”

Libby caught her breath and exhaled with a deep sigh. “I suppose so. How did you—?” She indicated her state of undress.

Robert nodded. “Yes, but I averted my eyes – honest.” He gave Libby a cheeky grin. “I thought it best because you might have been sick on it again or ruined it in bed. It’s okay, anyway.”

“Thank you for going to so much trouble. I seem to be repeatedly in your debt somehow.”

“Libby I—” He stopped. “Oh nothing. Look, get up when you want to. I’m not doing anything important today, and you can lie in for as long as you want. When you feel like it, I’ve got some nice fresh rolls and coffee for breakfast. Take your time. The bathroom is just along the corridor on the right, help yourself to a shower. There’s everything you’ll need in the top drawer of the chest here, including towels.”

With that, he turned on his heel and left Libby nursing her cup of tea. He hadn’t misused his power over her, and she felt completely at ease in his house, in this bed, even if it wasn’t directly his. Robert never ceased to surprise her.

~~~~

After showering, Libby tidied the covers on the bed and, carrying her ludicrously high heels in one hand, made her way downstairs. A gorgeous aroma of warming bread and freshly-brewed coffee met her once she reached the ground floor. Following her nose, she found Robert sitting and reading in the kitchen.

“There you are. Sit down…please. Coffee or more tea?” Robert got up and laid his newspaper down on his seat.

“Coffee, please.” Libby moved over to the table and sat down opposite where he had been sitting. As he busied himself with the coffeemaker, Libby leant over and picked up the paper. Within seconds her attention was caught by the headline in the local rag.  ‘
Nurse violently attacked at Southampton General!’
Libby gasped as she read the text, a feeling of horror creeping over her.

So what Lisa had warned her about was all true. There definitely was a serial stalker at the hospital, only this time he hadn't just given someone a fright, he had viciously attacked one of the nurses. Libby read on,
‘During the early hours of Saturday morning, Staff Nurse Eloise Black was savagely attacked as she stepped outside the hospital building during her break. Ms Black was admitted to the hospital and is said to be suffering from multiple stab wounds and severe shock. A police spokesman said, ‘we are treating this case with the utmost severity and welcome any person or persons who may have witnessed or have some information about this shocking attack. All information will be treated with the maximum confidentiality.’
There was a contact name and police telephone number at the end of the article.

Libby didn’t know the staff nurse, but that hardly made any difference. This poor woman had been subjected to a brutal attack while on duty at the hospital. Libby looked at the report again, but there was nothing else written on the subject.
Multiple stab wounds
! She looked over at Robert with a stunned look upon her face.

“Yes, I’ve seen it. Terrible isn’t it?” he said. “Do you know her?”

Libby shook her head. “No, I don’t. But then I’ve only been there a year, and it’s a big place.”

Robert nodded and placed a mug of coffee in front of Libby. He indicated a jug of frothy milk and the sugar bowl already on the table. “I wonder why hospitals seem to attract so many weirdoes.”

Libby shrugged. “Maybe they don’t. Maybe it’s just that there are so many people in one place all at once. I knew we had a stalker, but this is one step further. This is dreadful. And it happened last night according to this,” she said, waving the newspaper in his direction. “I do hope she’ll be okay.”

“Do you ever work nights?”

“Not if I can help it. Sometimes, when we’re really short. I haven’t done any for months now.”

“Well, for God’s sake, please don’t if you can avoid it.”

Libby was surprised at the urgent tone of his voice and met his eye. “I’ll do my best, I hate working nights anyway. They always mess up my body rhythm.”

Robert turned away and walked over to the oven. Wearing oven mitts, he removed half a dozen golden crusty rolls and placed them in a basket. “Do you think you could manage to eat something?” he asked, putting the hot rolls in front of her. “I always find lining your stomach with something makes a hangover pass more quickly.”

Libby eyed the hot bread. It did smell good, and wanting to please him, she put a roll onto the plate in front of her. “I’ll try. I still feel a bit queasy, and my head aches.”

“You’d better have some water then, too.” Robert filled a glass. “Drink that before the coffee and then eat,” he ordered.

Libby gave a small smile at his bossiness and drained the glass. “Aye, aye Captain sir.”

“So where is the illustrious surgeon boyfriend this weekend then?”

At first, Libby ignored Robert as she fiddled with her breakfast. Knowing that he wouldn’t let Nigel’s absence remain unexplained, she laid her knife down with a sigh.

“Nigel had to go up to London. It was something to do with his last meeting there. He didn’t really have time to explain to me in detail.”

“Uh-huh. Goes there a lot does he?”

Libby frowned as she thought about Robert’s question. “Quite a bit.”

Robert bit into his roll and chewed as he watched her playing with a jar of honey.

“Wasn’t he married before?”

“Yes. How did you know that?” She spooned some of the honey from the jar and watched as it dripped onto the bread.

“I can’t remember where I heard it. Maybe it was when Stephanie was in hospital or…no, I remember now. It was Jem.”

“
Jem
? When did you see him?” Libby’s knife clattered on her plate when she dropped it in surprise.