The faces of the officers before him were attentive. They were waiting for him to begin.
‘Remember that there are sick people in these buildings and they still need looking after. Do not alarm any of the staff unnecessarily. Do each search thoroughly so that it doesn’t have to be repeated, and then move on to the next place. All the exits are blocked so if she is here there can be no escape. In a moment, the chief fire officer is going to explain the layout of the hospital and the grounds. Listen carefully so that nowhere gets missed.’
He drew breath and avoided clashing eyes with Laura Best. ‘Lastly, be cautious if you do find her. She may be armed and dangerous. Do not – I repeat – do not put yourself in danger. As soon as you have a sighting, call for back-up.’
‘Are you bringing in armed officers?’ Laura Best asked.
He shook his head. ‘No.’
‘You just said she could be armed and dangerous,’ she argued with an edge of steel in her voice. ‘I think you should reconsider, sir.’
Greg had had enough of her insolence and her ‘I can say and do what I like attitude’. He wanted to shrug the nasty little cow off his back once and for all, even if it cost him.
‘DC Best, when I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it. Please do not think, because we had an indiscreet five minute romp, that it gives you the right to lord it over me and the rest of the officers.’ Greg pointedly looked at Dennis Morgan, who had gone bright red with shock. ‘You will take orders like the rest of them and carry them out as instructed. Do I make myself clear?’
The silence in the room was deafening, and Greg knew he had just damaged his career, but it was worth it. He could see many of the officers looking at him in shock, and then looking at her with dismissive shakes of their heads. It was definitely worth it, if only to put a stop to the power she’d had over him.
Chapter forty-six
Alex shivered with the cold; the sheet she had wet earlier was damp beneath her lower back and bottom. She was shivering and she was thirsty. The infusion bag of fluid hanging above her head was still full and she could only conclude that Maggie had either deliberately not started it, or else the intravenous tubing connected to it was not connected to her; that beneath the theatre drape her arms were free of needles. And if that were so, maybe the rest of it was a scam too. She would wake up later and find it had all been a mind fuck again. No needle marks, no evidence to prove what had happened to her.
How clever Maggie had been. The first abduction had been the perfect set-up to make sure she was never believed. Alex would look deranged as she tried to get the police, her colleagues and Patrick to believe her. But how could they, when apart from being put to sleep nothing else had happened to her?
She had been alone for a long while now, maybe an hour or so, and had no idea of the time. The room she lay in was silent; the monitor had been switched off and the lights turned out. There had been no warning. Maggie had simply turned everything off and left her in the dark.
The thought that kept trying to creep into her mind and settle firmly was that Maggie had left her here for good. She was going to leave her to die slowly from thirst or the cold. Her organs would slowly pack up, her heart would become weak, her skin pale and cold. She would become lethargic, irritable and then confused, and her kidneys would cease to function until finally her body gave up completely.
Alex thought of all the people she loved and would leave behind. She wondered how soon they would raise the alarm.
Her mother – by tomorrow, for sure. It was Christmas Eve and she would wonder why Alex hadn’t rung about Christmas Day arrangements. Caroline would also be alerted. Alex was meant to be on an early in the morning. Fiona was also on the early; Alex had checked because she intended to give her the present she’d bought. Fiona liked pretty things, and when Alex saw the pearl-grey satin pyjamas she got them without hesitation, knowing they were just right for her friend.
Nathan might miss her sooner, though. He might even call wanting to wish her goodnight. He might think she was with Patrick if she didn’t return his call. She hoped not, because if she didn’t survive this, she didn’t want him left with any lasting guilt.
He had made love to her in a way she had never experienced before, not even with Patrick at the beginning of their relationship. Patrick had never touched her just out of the need to touch her. Nathan had kissed her and touched her because he had seemed desperate to. Even as he slept he had held her close against his side.
The sudden loud clapping jolted her entire being. Maggie was back, standing somewhere in the dark. Alex trembled with fear. Had she been standing there the whole time, just waiting to begin?
The clapping stopped and Alex blinked as the lights came back on. The glare was as punishing as ever.
Maggie’s face momentarily blocked the light as she leaned over the operating table. ‘Wakey-wakey,’ she said pleasantly.
Alex heard her moving behind the head of the bed. An alarm beeped as a machine was turned on and a chugging sound began, and Alex instantly recognised what it was: a ventilator starting up.
It was finally happening. The waiting was over. This time Maggie Fielding would put her to sleep and do things to her which she would not survive. Alex felt real physical pain in anticipation of what her body was about to go through. It could be cut wide open or even cut up, depending on how creative Maggie intended to be.
She whimpered with fear as the end drew near.
And then, cutting through some of the fear, she saw her mother’s face. She was smiling – a gentle, peaceful smile – and Alex took comfort. It would be over soon and she would know nothing more about it. Clinging on to her mother’s image, her crying ceased.
The ventilator chugged on, imitating the rhythm of normal respiration. Alex could hear gas cylinders releasing pressure as they were turned on. There were high-pitched whistles and beeps as the safety checks were carried out.
Maggie’s face came back into view. Over the blue scrubs she wore a surgical gown, on her head a blue disposable cap and on her hands purple rubber gloves. She was ready to operate.
Strangely, instead of terrifying her, the familiar garb offered some comfort, and Alex realised she could turn her fear around. Maggie Fielding was a doctor and she was in safe hands. She repeated the sentence like a mantra, focusing on the words and washing them through her mind.
Maggie Fielding is a doctor and I’m in safe hands.
‘I never did get round to telling you my plans,’ Maggie interrupted.
Maggie Fielding is a doctor and I’m in safe hands.
‘You remember the rudiments of anaesthesia, don’t you, Alex? Of course you do. I’m being patronising, but in case you’ve forgotten: anaesthesia is sleep without sensation and pain.’
Maggie Fielding is a doctor and I’m in safe hands.