Tagan's Child by ammyford1

till Miss McAllister?”
    “About £50, we
don’t keep a lot of cash, most people pay by card these days,” I
explained.
    Wagner seemed
satisfied with our answers. “Our forensics will need to go in and
do a sweep of your shop; they should be there this afternoon. Will
you be able to let them in?”
    “Yes of
course.” That was an inconvenience I could do without.
    “Can they call
you on your mobile?” Wagner asked, reading out my number from his
notebook. They must have got it from the hospital.
    I nodded.
    “Okay, that
will be all for the moment Miss McAllister, Mr Elessar, thank you
for your help.”
    Harmsworth
finished off whatever he was writing in his notepad, looked up and
smiled. They both stood up. “I hope your friend makes a speedy
recovery,” Wagner said as I walked them to the front door.
    “Yes, thank
you, so do I.”
    I shut the door
behind them and breathed a sigh of relief. I re-joined Ahran in the
kitchen. “You told me nothing had been stolen,” I said, rounding on
him.
    “And as I said
last night, nothing had been taken. I took the money out of the
till to make it look like a robbery. We want the police to think
this was a straightforward burglary and that Audrey got in the way.
My people can take care of Bazeera,” he said, sounding just like
the mafia hood I had accused him of being when we first met.
    “Where’s the
money?” I hadn’t meant it to sound like an accusation.
    “In a bag under
the stairs.” Anger flashed briefly across his face, he was clearly
offended.
    “I’m sorry. I
didn’t think you had kept it,” I said, backpedalling.
    He didn’t
respond but his expression remained cool and it made me feel
uncomfortable. I changed the subject. “Don’t you think it is going
to look kind of suspicious if Toby and I just take off now?” I
hoped he would agree with me that this was a good reason for me and
Toby to stay.
    I was
disappointed.
    “Not at all,
you can tell people that you are going on vacation for a while to
get over an upsetting turn of events. There is nothing odd about
that.”
    I didn’t like
to admit it, but he had a point, a robbery in Hatherley would shock
its inhabitants and keep them gossiping for weeks, they would
expect the shop to close for a while, especially whilst Audrey was
in hospital.
    The phone rang
interrupting our discussion.
    I glanced at
the clock. It was nearly ten.
    I picked it up.
“Miss McAllister?”
    “Speaking.”
    “It’s Dr.
Bhandari here.” It was the registrar from the hospital last night.
My heart sank, it was virtually unheard of for a doctor to call,
unless it was bad news. Please no, Please no!
    “Is Audrey
alright?” I braced myself for his response, my heart now in my
throat.
    “There’s been
no great change in her condition I’m afraid. Ms Goodfellow still
hasn’t regained consciousness, but she remains stable.”
    I felt a lump
forming in my throat.
    “She’s in a
coma?”
    “Yes she
is.”
    I clamped my
hand over my mouth.
    The doctor
filled the silence. “This is not necessarily a bad thing Miss
McAllister, a patient who has had a head injury will often fall
into a light coma. It’s the body’s way of protecting higher brain
function. We suspect that she has sustained damage to the part of
the brain called the reticular formation but we are optimistic that
she will gain full consciousness within the next few days.”
    His optimism
gave me a sliver of hope. They didn’t usually say that kind of
thing if they weren’t sure, although I hated the idea of my dear
friend lying in a vegetative state in intensive care even for a
day.
    “Do you know
yet whether there will be any lasting damage?”
    “I’m afraid it
is too early for us to tell, as you know she suffered a stroke and
until she’s awake it is almost impossible for us to properly assess
any damage that has been caused.”
    “Can I come in
and see her?” I asked.
    “Yes that’s
fine; it’s beneficial for a coma patient to have contact