Too Soon a Death: A Scottish mystery where cosy crime meets tartan noir: Borders Mysteries Book 2 (21 page)

Briefly distracted from watching the firefighters at work, they all jumped at a loud explosion followed by the sound of breaking glass. Once again Douglas tried to run towards his sister’s house, and this time a policeman restrained him. Zoe looked up at the men standing over her. Their faces confirmed they were asking themselves the same questions she was: what had exploded and was it anywhere near Kate and her would-be rescuers?

She went to stand up, but Dod put a hand on her shoulder to restrain her. ‘There’s nothing any of us can do,’ he said, looking grim. His phone rang. He answered and Zoe realised he was speaking to Kate’s father, trying to stop him from coming over and reassuring him that the fire service had the situation under control. After agreeing to ring as soon as he knew anything, he ended the call.

‘They must be frantic with worry,’ Zoe said. ‘They’ll be able to hear all the commotion and see the smoke from across the field.’

‘Douglas not answering his phone doesn’t help. Scared them into thinking something had happened to him too. And the children are upset about the cat and Frankie’s chickens.’

Patrick shouted, ‘They’re bringing her out.’

With Dod’s help, Zoe struggled to her feet in time to see two firefighters materialise out of the smoke. They carried Kate between them over to the casualty area, where they gently laid her onto a tarpaulin and one of their colleagues clamped a mask attached to an oxygen tank over her face. Throughout all this, Kate remained motionless.

Please let her be alright
.

A car drew up and seconds later a tall figure ran from it towards the group of firefighters taking care of Kate. Erskine Mather. Zoe felt overwhelmed by the urge to join him, but fought it down. Another person crowding round Kate would do no good at all.

‘Where’s that bloody ambulance?’ Dod said.

‘Those fire officers are as well trained as any paramedic,’ Patrick said. Dod looked unconvinced, but at that moment they all heard another siren. As the ambulance appeared, lights flashing front and back, Zoe felt a hand on her arm. She looked round and saw Sergeant Trent.

‘Hello, Doctor. I’m sorry to see you caught up in all this.’

‘It’s out of choice, Sergeant, although I feel useless just standing here. Can you find out how Kate is and let us know so we can tell her family? They’re distraught, as you can imagine.’

‘I’ll see what I can do.’

The fire started to diminish under the onslaught of water coming from those enormous hoses. The air was hot, heavy with smoke and steam. Small pieces of charred paper and flecks of soot floated around Zoe’s head as she watched Kate being loaded into the ambulance. Mather exchanged words with a green-clad paramedic and Trent, then climbed inside with her. Shortly afterwards, siren blaring, the ambulance set off for Borders General Hospital.

Trent spoke to one of the uniformed officers then came over to Zoe and the three men with her in the field.

‘Is she going to be alright?’ Douglas demanded.

Trent frowned, obviously unsure how much to share. ‘This is Douglas Mackenzie, Kate’s brother,’ Zoe said.

‘Sorry, I didn’t realise. The fire hadn’t reached her but she’s inhaled a lot of smoke. They’re giving her oxygen therapy and as soon as she reaches the BGH the doctors will assess her and decide what else she needs.’

‘Is she conscious?’

Trent swallowed hard. ‘No.’

‘Hell.’ Douglas put a hand to his head. ‘I need to go and tell everyone, then arrange for Mum to get to the BGH. She’ll want to be there when Sis wakes up.’

‘What can I do to help?’ Zoe asked.

‘I . . . I don’t know. I can’t think straight.’

‘Your Mum’s got my number, so just call if you need anything, alright?’

Douglas nodded absentmindedly and started to walk away. After a few steps he stopped and looked back at Zoe. ‘Would you come to the hospital? The worst part of when Dad had his stroke was we didn’t understand what the doctors were telling us.’

‘Of course I will.’

‘Okay. See you there.’

‘Do you think you should?’ Patrick asked once Douglas was out of earshot.

‘The Mackenzies have been good to me. I’ll do whatever it takes to help them get through this.’

‘Let me come with you.’

‘No need for that, but it would be great if you could take Mac home with you. I don’t know how long I’ll be and he’ll hate being left alone all night.’

‘Okay, if you’re sure that’s what you want.’

Trent had been talking to Dod, taking notes as he listened to how the herdsman had spotted the fire and called it in. Now he said to Patrick, ‘Before you go, can I take your details, sir?’

‘Why?’

‘It’s routine to note down who’s at the scene, that’s all.’

Patrick looked set to argue, then must have thought better of it and reeled off his name and address. Zoe could tell from Trent’s overly blank expression that he hadn’t liked having to justify himself.

Before leaving, she looked back at Kate’s house. The fire hoses were still trained on it but seemed to have brought the blaze under control. She could no longer see any flames, although plumes of thick smoke and clouds of steam still filled the night sky.

‘I can’t believe anyone would do that on purpose,’ Patrick said.

Zoe turned to stare at him. ‘What on earth makes you think it was arson?’

‘I heard one of the fire officers say he could smell petrol at the front door.’

‘You must be mistaken. Kate hasn’t got any enemies.’

‘Everyone’s got enemies, Zoe. They just don’t realise it.’

‘That’s a very jaundiced view of the world.’

Patrick shrugged and got into the Jeep.

TWENTY-FOUR

When Zoe dropped Patrick off at Keeper’s Cottage, he again tried to make a case for accompanying her to the hospital but she wasn’t going to be swayed.

‘I have no idea how long I’ll be, so looking after Mac is the best help you can give me at the moment. I’ll phone you when there’s anything to report.’

She put the Jeep into gear and drove away before he could argue further.

Despite it being a Friday night, the time when city-dwellers were out in force to celebrate the end of their working week, the Borders roads were nearly empty as Zoe travelled west towards Melrose. The baby, seemingly aware this evening was anything but ordinary, continued to somersault inside her far later than usual. Once on the Melrose bypass, the hospital within a couple of miles, Zoe attempted to distract herself from worrying about Kate by imagining her journey along this road in about six weeks’ time, on the way to give birth. That was the thing about hospitals. They saw lives begin as well as end.

Oh, Kate, please be alright.

She parked the Jeep and hurried past the curved wall of the chapel, unable to stop herself from glancing into the two ambulances parked up outside the main entrance. They were both empty.

The Accident and Emergency Unit’s front door swooshed open when she approached it, only requiring the briefest of pauses before she could continue along the short passage past the waiting room to reception.

The woman behind the glass looked up and asked, ‘Can I help you?’ She stared at Zoe’s stomach, obviously wondering if the reason for this new arrival was pregnancy-related.

‘I’ve come about a patient who will have recently been brought in by ambulance.’

‘What’s the name?’

‘Kate Mackenzie.’

‘You’re a relative?’

‘No.’ The receptionist raised an eyebrow and Zoe hastily added, ‘I’m her GP. My name is Doctor Moreland.’

‘As I explained to the patient’s family, the consultant is still with her.’

Zoe looked over at the only people in the waiting room, a young man holding a towel to his blood-streaked forehead and his female companion whose eyes were fixed on her mobile. ‘Her family’s here? I can’t see them.’

‘They may have to wait a while for news so we’ve put them in a separate room. I’ll get someone to take you there.’

Zoe didn’t have to wait long before being led to a small, windowless room where Etta and Douglas Mackenzie sat in silence. Etta’s normally compliant grey hair flopped over her face, and her glowing skin which usually spoke of many hours spent gardening was drained of colour.

Kate’s mother rushed to Zoe and hugged her. ‘What has she done to deserve this? Everyone knows she’s deaf.’

‘She’s in good hands here,’ Zoe said.

‘No one’s told us anything, except that they’re doing tests. We don’t even know if she’s woken up yet.’ Etta choked back a sob.

‘Can’t you find out what’s happening?’ Douglas asked Zoe. ‘They’ll talk to you.’

‘I’ve already tried. The receptionist genuinely doesn’t know anything. I’m afraid we’re going to have to wait for the consultant to come out. Can I get you both a drink while we wait?’

Etta shook her head. Douglas said, ‘White coffee with sugar, please.’

A short corridor led from A&E to the hospital’s main reception area, but as Zoe expected, the volunteer-run shop was closed for the night. The only people present shared a sofa, both apparently asleep. She passed the empty enquiries desk and another person, sitting at a table, came into view. He wore a heavily creased shirt and chinos with dark stains, and it took a while for her to realise she was looking at Erskine Mather. How could she have forgotten he’d been in the ambulance with Kate?

Their eyes met as she approached the table.

‘Hello, Zoe.’ Mather pulled out a chair for her.

‘Hello. Kate’s mum and brother are in the family room. Have you seen them?’

‘I’ve been elsewhere.’

‘You were allowed to stay with Kate?’

‘No.’ Mather’s jaw clenched briefly. ‘They wheeled her into the resuscitation room and I went to the chapel.’

‘Oh.’ Zoe failed to hide the surprise in her voice.

‘Just for the peace and quiet.’

‘Etta’s desperate to hear how she is. Can you tell her anything that may help?’

He momentarily shut his eyes, as if replaying what must have been a terrible journey in the ambulance. ‘Kate didn’t regain consciousness. As far as the paramedics could see, she’s suffered no burns but who knows how long she’d been breathing in smoke and fumes? Her breathing sounded terrible, like a low-pitched croak coming from the back of her throat. Then she went quiet and I thought this was a good sign until I saw how the paramedics reacted. Luckily we weren’t far away by then, so I stayed clear while they wheeled her in as soon as the ambulance stopped.’

Zoe knew what Kate’s silence in the ambulance indicated: her airway had become completely blocked. ‘Oh no.’

‘She’s going to die, isn’t she?’

‘There’s a team of experts doing their utmost to make sure she doesn’t.’ Zoe almost put a hand on his shoulder, probably would have if it had been anyone else. She sat in silence until he spoke again.

‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘I’m always telling people to trust the professionals to do their job.’

‘Will you come and see Etta?’

‘I’m not sure how warm a welcome I’d get from Kate’s father.’

‘He’s not here. It’s just Etta and Douglas at present. Knowing you were in the ambulance with Kate will help her. Trust me.’

They both stood up; a mobile rang. Mather reached inside his back pocket. ‘It’s Trent. I must speak to him.’

‘I’ll wait here.’

He nodded and moved away.

Zoe rummaged inside her bag and checked her own mobile. She looked again at Kate’s text from the day before:
Meeting Mrs M tomorrow morn in Edinburgh.

Did Mather still not know about this? In the circumstances, he needed to be told but she dreaded being the one to do this. There was no way Kate’s rendezvous earlier today with his wife—however badly it had gone—could be connected with Tolbyres Cottage being set on fire, but it would come out. Better he learned it from her than from one of his officers.

She waited for Mather to finish his conversation with Sergeant Trent. He seemed angry at one point, his face reddening and his voice raised, although Zoe still couldn’t make out what he was saying. Just as she’d decided to return to A&E on her own, he jabbed at the screen then slid the mobile back into his pocket.

He was still flushed when she met him halfway across the room. ‘It was definitely arson,’ he said. ‘And the decree has come down from above that I’m not on the case, due my involvement with the family.’

‘I can understand their reasoning.’

‘Me too. I’d be the first to say it if anyone else was in a similar position.’

‘But there’s something I need to show you.’ Zoe pulled out her mobile. ‘Kate swore me to secrecy, but you have to know now.’

Mather quickly read the text. He didn’t say anything but his expression changed to one of confusion.

‘I know your wife can’t possibly be connected to what’s happened tonight, but I thought it better you found out they were meeting before one of your colleagues does.’

He continued to stare at Zoe’s mobile. ‘Why on earth did Kate do this? I told her I was sorting things out.’

‘You’ve got it all wrong. This wasn’t Kate’s idea, it was your wife’s. She emailed her and suggested they meet up.’

‘You’re certain of that?’

‘Of course I’m sure. Kate had no reason to lie to me.’

‘Sorry. I need to call Laura. Then I’ll come and find you and Etta.’

Zoe nodded and made her way to the drinks machine on the first floor. As she walked back towards the family room with coffee for herself and Douglas, he met her at the double doors. ‘We were wondering what had happened to you,’ he said.

‘I bumped into Erskine Mather.’

‘Why’s he still hanging around?’

Thinking it prudent not to respond, Zoe continued to the family room and sat down next to Etta. ‘Erskine Mather’s here. Did you know he travelled over in the ambulance with Kate?’

Etta shook her head. ‘No one told me that. Do you think she knew he was there?’

‘I don’t know. He’s taking a phone call at the moment and then he’s going to join us here, if it’s alright with you.’

Douglas harrumphed his opposition but Etta managed a weak smile. ‘I’m glad.’ Her face fell. ‘I nearly said no when Kate texted to ask if the bairns could stay with us for the night. They’d been so boisterous they’d given me a headache. I can’t help thinking about what might have happened if I’d made them go home.’