Chapter Twelve
"I didn't know Thomas would talk to Doctor Redford!" Jack said in protest as soon as Nikki entered the day room
"It's okay Jack," she said but Jack still looked worried "I don't blame you. To be honest I don't blame Thomas in principle. He just cares. Although the way he goes about things in practise is somewhat unhelpful,"
"You're being very magnanimous," Jack said
"And that's a big word for you," Nikki retorted as Jack feigned hurt
"You said you had a plan?" Jack asked
"You're going to visit Emily," Nikki said
…
"Emily?" Nikki said as she entered the dormitory
"Yeah?"
"You've got a visitor,"
"If you're taking the piss..."
"I'm not. I wouldn't do that," Nikki said "Jack's here to see you,"
"Me?"
"Yes," Nikki said
"Emily?" a new voice called
"Yeah?"
"I assume Nikki's told you about your visitor. I have more good news for you. We've had a team meeting today and Doctor Redford has been so impressed with your progress that you're allowed off the ward for one hour with a visitor supervising," Anna said
"No nurses?" Emily asked
"No nurses," Anna nodded We've not had any problems with Jack taking Nikki off the ward so we're happy to let you have leave for one hour as a trial today,"
"Can Nikki come?" Emily asked looking at Nikki who nodded
…
"I've not been out of the ward for three months," Emily said and Nikki could hear a quake in her voice as they walked towards the ward entrance
"It's okay Emily. Just take your time,"
"It starts with a single step," Jack encouraged
Emily screwed up her eyes, took a deep breath and stepped out of the ward as the door locked shut behind her
"I'm out..." she breathed
"You did it," Nikki said as she squeezed Emily's hand
"Do you want to go outside the hospital?" Jack said
"Yes...Yes please," Emily said as her face lit up at Jack's suggestion
"We've only got an hour,"
"I don't care if we only have thirty seconds. I want to be able to feel the breeze on my face, rather than getting it through a window that only opens a crack," Emily said and Nikki nodded sympathetically
"Come on," Nikki smiled as the three of them walked out of the hospital building and into the grounds.
The day was wet and breezy but Emily seemed not to mind the chill in the air. Nikki watched her, half pleased for her, half sympathetic towards the young woman who had spent the last three months stuck staring at the same four walls.
"So Jack and I wanted to talk to you," Nikki said as they walked along the path to a nearby bench.
The bench was damp from the rain but Emily seemed not to mind, even enjoy, the cool sensation seeping through her clothes
"Okay..." Emily said
"We wanted to talk to you about your Dad," Nikki said "Jack wants to help but he needs to know a bit more,"
"Okay..." Emily said again but with a bit more confidence in her voice
"So your Dad was CEO of the newspaper?"
"Yeah, he worked is way up from being a journalist's dogsbody, making coffees for the more important journalist's, writing low key humdrum articles, until he got his big break"
"Which was?"
"He was investigating with another junior reporter, the sudden death of a well-liked vicar. Except this well-liked vicar didn't die suddenly in a car accident but had been murdered by a disgruntled parishioner. Story hit the headlines. Dad got the scoop and it was his name on the front page," Emily said
"But you said that he was investigating with another reporter?" Jack asked
"Yeah," Emily nodded "William Brown,"
"But he didn't get the credit?" Nikki frowned
"Dad used to say that journalism was a dog eat dog world. That you have to do whatever it takes to get your name in print. Survival of the fittest if you will," Emily shrugged
"And so he worked his way up to CEO," Jack said "The top dog," he said and Emily nodded
"He wasn't at home very much. Mum pretty much raised me herself. It's no wonder they divorced. He was never around, but William was," Emily said "He used to take me to the playground, to give Mum a break,"
"You said that your Mum was dating William before she died," Nikki and Emily nodded "What did your Dad think of that?"
"Dad thought it was revenge for not giving William the credit for the story,"
"The article published before his death seem to be trying to discredit William," Jack murmured to Nikki who nodded
"William came to see you the other day, didn't he?" Nikki asked
"He wanted to know what I said to the police,"
"Why do you think he wanted to know that" Jack asked
"You think William had something to do with Dad's death," Emily stated bluntly
"Do you?"
Emily sighed "I can't trust what I think sometimes. I hear voices...they tell me different things and the medication makes my thoughts fuzzy," she said sounding frustrated "My brain is useless,"
"You're not useless Emily. You've helped Jack and I out a lot,"
"We should go back now," Jack said looking at his watch as Emily's face fell
"You'll be allowed out again Emily," Nikki said "Doctor Redford was impressed with you and that's not something Doctor Redford is often,"
"Plus it's nearly lunchtime," Jack said
"And I bet it's not macaroni cheese!" Nikki said trying to lift her spirits
As the trio walked back to the ward, Nikki and Jack fell behind, talking in hushed tones
"That was great Nikki. I'm going to do some more research on this William Brown fellow. The post-mortem said Edward wasn't killed in the car but placed there. Ill see what Clarissa has got forensic-wise,"
"What about Thomas?"
"We'll keep it on the down-low," Jack said
"I have a session with Doctor Redford tomorrow,"
"Keep your cool, work with her and maybe you'll impress her like Emily," Jack said "Doctor Alexander you are quite remarkable when you want to be."