No Hiding Place: An edge of your seat mystery/thriller. (DI Sally Parker thrillers Book 2) by M A Comley

found a doctor and
nurse going through a patient’s care at the desk outside the ICU
ward.
    “Hello, I’m DI Sally Parker,
and this is DS Jack Blackman. We’re here concerning the attack on
Julie Smith. Can you tell us how she is?”
    “I’m Dr. Carter. She’s in a
very sorry state, I’m afraid. Fractured skull and cheek. Broken
arm, and we believe there is some internal bleeding.”
    “Ouch! I don’t suppose she’s
conscious, is she?”
    “No, and she’s not likely to be
for a few days at least, taking into consideration the injuries
she’s suffered.”
    “How awful. What are the
chances of her pulling through, Doc?”
    “Speaking realistically, I’d
say about sixty percent, Inspector. It’s the fractured skull I’m
more concerned about right now. If a bleed appears, then that could
be very dangerous indeed. She’s under regular surveillance, and her
vital signs are being monitored every thirty minutes without
fail.”
    “So there’s no point in us
hanging around, hoping she’ll regain consciousness?”
    “I wouldn’t waste your time,
Inspector. I’d be out there, looking for the culprit instead.”
    “Okay. Can I leave you my card?
Any news whatsoever, good or bad, would you contact me
immediately?”
    The doctor took the card from
Sally and gave it to the nurse. “Of course. I hope you find the
vile person who did this, Inspector, and quickly.”
    “So do I, Doctor.”
    Outside, in the car park, Jack
complained, “Well, that was a waste of a morning.”
    “All right, Jack, no need to
state the obvious. Let’s get back to the station, see if Stuart has
got any news for us. I’m also going to chase up the pathologist. He
should have carried out the post on Gemma by now. I’ll need to
inform him of the connection to this case, too.”
     
    Sally blew out a long breath
when they arrived in the incident room, and the rest of the team
looked at her expectantly. “She’s unconscious and in a very bad
way. Which only makes me more determined to catch the bastard
responsible. No word from Stuart yet?”
    Joanna shook her head. “No,
boss. I took a call from the pathologist about twenty minutes ago.
Can you call him back?”
    “It was on my to-do list
anyway. Thanks, Joanna. Jack, can you chase up a next-of-kin for
Julie Smith for me? That should be our next job. I’ll be back
soon.”
    Sally removed her jacket,
placed it on the back of her chair, took a few deep breaths, then
dialled the pathology department. “Hello, Simon. It’s DI Parker.
You rang me?”
    “I did. Sorry about the delay.
I would’ve had the results back from the post-mortem sooner, but a
major incident took place last night, and it slipped my mind.”
    “Never mind. What do you
have?”
    “One very interesting fact for
you: Gemma Whiting was around four weeks pregnant.”
    Sally fell back in her chair.
“Shit! Four weeks, you say? Would she have known about the
pregnancy, do you think?”
    “She might have suspected, but
I doubt she knew for sure. Maybe you should be asking her husband
that question, Inspector.”
    “Oh, I intend to, don’t worry.
Do me a favour and make sure you get DNA evidence from the
foetus.”
    “It’s done already.”
    “I don’t think this case will
be tied up with a pretty bow come the end of the investigation,”
Sally said.
    “That sounds ominous.”
    “Anything else, Simon?”
    “No, nothing of significance
other than what we covered at the scene. If you’re contacting the
family, would you mind passing on that I’ve been in touch with the
funeral home?”
    “Of course. I’ll let them know.
I’m sure it’ll be a relief for them to hear. Thanks for letting me
know. Oh, by the way, I’ve just come back from the hospital.
There’s a young lady there in ICU who was attacked in similar
circumstances. I just wanted you to be aware. There’s every chance
she might not make it, so she could possibly end up as one of your
‘patients’ anyway.”
    “That’s a shame. If we have