Not much later, the doctor emerges and waves them over. Concern shines in his eyes.
"How are you two heroes doing? Having any chills or trouble organizing your thoughts?"
Hobson recognizes that the birdlike twitches of his head are caused by his discreet examination of the two women. He's checking lip color, nail bed color, focus, ability of the eyes to track, and any other sign that either woman might herself be at risk from having donated so much body heat to the victim she aided.
"We're fine now, Doctor, thanks. Hot tea and a warm blanket go a long way."
He's satisfied with the truthfulness of her answer. "Good. Now, about your detectives. Mister Lewis simply needs to warm up. We've taken him off the cardiopulmonary bypass machine; his body definitely has a will to survive. No other collateral damage as far as I can tell. In a couple hours, he should be lucid enough to have visitors, though he may suffer from amnesia to some extent."
Laura is so relieved she nearly laughs out loud. But she still has one concern. "What about his heart?"
"He'll be fine. The cardiac arrest he suffered was not uncommon for hypothermia victims. It doesn't reflect on the quality of his heart."
No, it certainly does not, she thinks to herself.
"Mister Hathaway is still a concern, however." The doctor's manner turns somber. "The bypass machine is forcing him to warm up and I expect in a few hours we'll have a better picture of his recovery." He checks their reaction and, finding them serious but calm, continues. "He was colder, so he has farther to go. I'd say he was much closer to succumbing. It appears his survival instinct is currently suppressed."
"He wants to die." Innocent's tone is artificially flat.
The doctor tips his head toward her, kindly, and puts a hand on her arm. "I'd say right now he can't find the will to live. As he warms, I think he'll gain the strength he needs."
Again Hobson detects his subtle assessment, and can actually see when he reaches the conclusion that Innocent can handle more bad news.
"In addition to hypothermia, he has frostbite along one side of his ribcage and his fingertips on both hands are severely lacerated. He won't be typing reports for a while." He can see that Innocent's breathing has stabilized and her pupils are dilated normally. "Finally, it appears he may have sprained his right ankle. We'll check that more thoroughly when he's conscious and we can explore his range of motion. He'll most likely need a cane or crutch for a couple of weeks."
Laura can tell that Jean's mind is struggling with all the information she has been given. So she asks the one question her medical experience cannot answer.
"Doctor, why is Lewis doing so much better right now? They must have been in the freezer the same length of time and Hathaway is pretty clearly in better physical shape than Lewis."
He considers a while before answering. "Well, not everyone has the same susceptibility to hypothermia. Its mechanisms are not fully understood. But physiologically, Lewis has more body fat. We don't know how important that is, but we know it plays a role. And, while I hate to sound unscientific, I'd have to say that Lewis seems to want to live, that he has something he really wants to stay alive for. Hathaway doesn't seem to have that same need to survive. In my experience, it can make a huge difference."
He runs a final assessment of each woman's state of mind. "It will be at least an hour, probably two, before Lewis is conscious enough to recognize a friend. I suggest you go try to get something done and we will call you as soon as he's ready for visitors."
Laura hates to leave but she knows she needs a distraction. Better to be back at the lab where at least she has reports to work on. She checks to see how Jean is doing.
"So . . . I was thinking of going back to the lab." What surprises Laura is this concern she now feels for the chief super.
"Fine. I have a crime scene to attend."
Oh, there it is, that brusque, superior-to-you Jean Innocent. She's fine. Laura smiles at the return to normalcy, gives her mobile number to the nurse on duty, and waves her fingers in farewell to Jean.
Back at the scene of the crime, Innocent regains her composure by taking over control of the officers. A DC has found Alice hiding in the wardrobe in her room. She refuses to talk and she is placed in a police car and taken to the station. The footman and butler are also brought in. These were the only servants present in the house when Lewis and Hathaway were discovered. Other units are tracking down the rest of the servants for questioning. Jean learns that Lord and Lady Hungerford will be taken into custody during the interval of Don Giovanni. She smiles at this. Of course, no one would interrupt a Glyndebourne performance while the show is in progress.
When the scene has been secured, Innocent returns to the station. She wants to handle most of the investigation herself. She reviews the statements made by the servants in their initial questioning by PCs, which have started to come in. Her experience tells her that most of these people indeed had nothing to do with, and were unaware of, either the murder of Lady Monteith or the imprisonment of Lewis and Hathaway. But the statements of two people, Alice the cook and Harry the footman, contain several inconsistencies and their stories ring false. With these two she will spend some time.
.
.
.
Lewis rises gradually, swimming toward the surface of a dark, cold lake. He is very tired, but is certain he hears someone calling his name. He can't answer. He is so weary, so profoundly cold. He sinks back into dark oblivion without breaking the water's surface.