Isle of the Dead: A Chilling Scottish Detective Thriller (DCI Bone Scottish Crime Thrillers Book 5) by TG Reid

Author:TG Reid [Reid, TG]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Glass Work Press
Published: 2023-04-02T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

When Bone and Walker arrived at the hospital, the injured bride had been moved out of the Intensive Care Unit into a high-dependency ward. Bone told the pair of family liaison officers to hang back in the corridor outside reception, and then they went in.

“At the moment, Mrs McDermid is stable, and the consultant surgeon is pleased with her progress, but she is still very poorly,” the nurse on the desk said.

“Hold on, you know her name? Did one of my colleagues ring you?” Bone glanced at Walker.

“No, her parents came in about twenty minutes ago.”

“What?”

“Clare asked for her mum, and we got their landline from the address she gave us. We were about to call you.”

The nurse led the detectives through the reception and onto the small ward with four partitioned units. At the far end, she stopped at a door with the blind pulled on the window.

“Excuse me a sec.” She went in and shut the door behind her. Moments later, the door opened, and she emerged with a second nurse, who was clutching a bowl half filled with yellowish-red liquid and saturated dressings.

“Only a few minutes, okay? She is still very weak and traumatised.” She ushered them in.

Clare was propped up in bed with tubes and wires attached to her arms and face. Her parents were by her bedside. The distressed mother was leaning over her daughter, stroking her face gently. The father, a tall middle-aged man in a smart suit, was hovering nearer the bottom.

“I’m Detective Chief Inspector Bone from the RCU, Kilwinnoch,” Bone said quietly.

The father spun around. “About bloody time. Have you caught the animal who did this?”

“I’m so sorry.” Bone approached the bed. “How are you doing?” he asked the ashen-faced patient.

She closed her eyes and turned away.

“How do you think she’s bloody doing?” the exasperated father exclaimed.

The mother turned on him. “James, calm down. This is the policeman who saved Clare, is that right?”

“No, I just found her. It was the courageous work of inshore rescue paramedics who saved her.”

“Thank you,” the mother whimpered, her face crumpled as she fought back more tears, and she resumed stroking her daughter’s cheek. “My poor wee girl. What monster did this to you?”

The father took a deep breath and was about to speak, but stopped short.

Bone intervened. “Can I ask your names, please?”

“James Willerby, and my wife is Lynda.”

Bone turned back to the girl. “Clare, we need to ask you a few questions.”

“What, right now?” Mr Willerby snapped.

“It’s often better to do this as soon as possible.”

“But she’s still very sick. Can’t you at least wait a few more hours?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“We hadn’t been able to get a hold of her for days, I mean, before the blizzard, and we were worried she was back with him.”

“Who?”

“That lowlife creep she was going out with,” Mr Willerby replied.

Clare mumbled something.

Mrs Willerby leaned in. “What was that?”

“I want Laurence,” she repeated, this time loud enough for the others to hear.

“Let’s step outside for a moment, sir,” Bone said to Mr Willerby.

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