Unable to concentrate on her reports, Laura does a little research on recovering from hypothermia. What she finds relieves her a bit; the fact that the men were found while they were still alive and are now in the hands of capable medical personnel means they should be basically all right. Another thought occurred to her while she and Jean were checking out the body in the freezer, and she has to find the answer to her question before she can return to her work. The freezer was not a large room. What appeared to be a vent in one wall was not connected to anything and would not have been a source of fresh air. In fact, the freezer appeared to be airtight and for hours it contained two full-grown men, inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide. She does a quick calculation: if their metabolisms hadn't been slowed by the cold, they would have been dead of suffocation in less than twelve hours. And even with their slowed breathing, they never would have lasted twenty-four hours. They would have been dead before the police would have begun an official search. There can be no doubt that she and Jean saved the lives of the two men.
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Slowly, consciousness creeps up on Lewis. His eyes blink open and begin to focus. The room he is in is suffused with a soft, ruddy light. He tries to turn his head to look out the window but finds his joints have rusted and his head rotates only a few degrees. He can't turn far enough to see that the bright red-and-orange-print curtains, drawn against the glare of the summer sun, are causing the rosiness in the room. The resulting light is a subtle mix of orange and red: it must be a lovely sunset, he thinks. But inexplicably, the warm glow makes Lewis shudder with an unexpected chill. It reminds him that something terrible has happened, though he does not remember what.
He manages to turn slowly in the other direction. He realizes with a jolt that he is in a hospital room. And he has a roommate. The other bed is occupied by a sleeping blonde man. He realizes that he knows this man, and the name comes unbidden. Hathaway. His sergeant. His friend. What the bloody hell are we doing here?
Lewis tries to call out Hathaway's name but emits nothing more than a huff of breath. The other man does not move.
Lewis seeks out the call button then, finding it on the rail of the bed and pressing it repeatedly with all the slow-motion frenzy he can muster.
"Mister Lewis?" The nurse's response comes immediately.
But he cannot answer more than a huff or two at the speaker on the wall. Within seconds, the door bursts open and the nurse rushes in. She stops short when she sees he is conscious and appears lucid.
"Mister Lewis! You're awake!" She hustles forward, her eyes flicking over the gauges and monitors with professional efficiency. She seems satisfied with what she sees.
"How are you feeling, Love?"
He's amused by her familiarity. "Caa . . . taa . . ." He gestures stiffly toward his uncooperative throat.
"Ah, no, of course you can't talk, Love. You're in hospital. You and your mate here nearly froze, y'know. D'you remember a-tall?"
Lewis shakes his head as quickly as he can: left . . . right . . . left . . . right.
"Ah, well. Can I get you some water? I need to let the doctor know you're awake. And your friend wants to know when you're awake, is it alright if I call her? Doctor Hobson, that is."
He smiles very faintly and nods: up . . . down.
She beams back at him. "Welcome back, Mister Lewis. It's good to see your smile." She whirls out of the room and the door closes on her enthusiasm and vitality. He is alone with his thoughts and the immense chill that still penetrates the core of his being.
'You and your mate here nearly froze.' He scours his memory but finds no context for this statement. All he can remember is being intensely cold for a very long time.
Not much later, Hobson bursts through the doorway, her cheeks flushed from racing to the room when she got the nurse's call.
"Robbie!"
She is at his side in a flash, arms out, eyes dancing, ready to . . . She stops short, awkwardly unsure of her next move. Lewis's response is barely visible, and she is uncertain how to proceed. Tentatively, she leans down, puts her arms around him as best she can, and gives him a hug.
Beneath his inert exterior, Lewis's heart swells. She is so full of life, so full of heat and energy. He manages to ease his arms up and around her. He wants to absorb her completely and he seems to vaguely remember her sharing her warmth with him at the moment he most needed it. He slides back into sleep, but this time it is a warm, happy place.
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Innocent has met with unexpected resistance from Alice, who is utterly loyal to her Lady and refuses to say anything about what Lady Hungerford said or did. Harry exhibits the same stubbornness. She has gotten nothing of use from them except for the certainty that they know much more than they are willing to reveal. It will be several hours before the Hungerfords are brought in. Jean pounds her desk in frustration. She is out of practice at conducting interviews and she knows she has made mistakes that have only tightened her suspects' lips. She must find out who is responsible for the death of her friend, Lady Monteith, as well as the ambush of her best detectives. Why doesn't the hospital call with news? Oh, Hathaway, why did I push you into becoming a sergeant at your age? Please come out of this okay.
A knock on her office door so startles her that she nearly bursts into tears. "What?"
Her sergeant enters with a bit of trepidation. "Ma'am?"
Innocent exhales. "Yes, Mary, what is it?" Her softened tone informs Mary that she's done nothing wrong and it's safe to proceed.
"Doctor Chen from the Radcliffe just rang. Inspector Lewis is awake."
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The Chief Super strides into the room. "Well, Lewis—" She stops short when she realizes Lewis and Doctor Hobson are fully entwined on his bed, snogging. No, that's not quite right; they're only hugging. And now that she looks more carefully, she sees Laura is not actually on the bed but leaning over it. Still, there can be no doubt that she and Lewis have their arms around each other.
Hobson looks up, a pained expression on her face. "Oh, Jean. Can you . . . ? He won't let go."
Innocent pries Lewis's arms away from Laura and she straightens with a groan, her hands rubbing her lower spine. Her sudden absence wakes Lewis and his eyes open and travel around the room. He cracks a faint smile when he sees his boss.