The Dark Room by Sam Blake

Author:Sam Blake [Blake, Sam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Corvus
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 33

BRONAGH RAN ACROSS the hall and opened a door cunningly concealed in the oak panelling that led into the office beside the reception desk. They weren’t far behind her, arriving in the doorway to see Mrs Travers lying on the utilitarian grey carpet tiles, her face a shade of the same colour. Bronagh was kneeling beside her, holding her wrist, her face knotted in concentration. She moved her fingers to the older woman’s neck.

Bronagh glanced up at them. ‘I think she’s had a stroke or something. I can’t feel a pulse. Mrs Travers? Mrs Travers, can you hear me, are you okay?’

‘I’ll call an ambulance.’

Caroline stepped back out of the room and headed for the phone in reception as Rachel bobbed down beside Bronagh. Conor appeared in the doorway.

‘Start CPR – you know how?’

Bronagh looked up at him and gave him a sharp nod, her hands already in place. Rachel felt helpless beside her.

‘What can I do?’

‘Hold her hand?’ Bronagh began pumping Mrs Travers’s chest. ‘Is this right, Conor? It’s years since I did it.’

Bronagh had placed one of her hands over the other in the middle of Mrs Travers’s breastbone, leaning over her, her fingers linked together.

‘That’s great, do it really hard, use the heel of your hand. I’ll take over when you need me to.’

Caroline reappeared at the office door, the telephone receiver stretched on its curly wire in one hand.

‘Ambulance is on the way. They said they’d get someone here as soon as they can.’

Conor looked back at her. ‘Stay on the line in case anything changes.’

Rachel rubbed the back of Mrs Travers’s hand; she could feel her temperature dropping.

‘She’s getting colder.’

Bronagh’s concentration was fully on the housekeeper. ‘Can you get a blanket?’

Rachel stood up. ‘Two minutes, there are spare blankets in my wardrobe.’

Running upstairs, Jasper beside her, Rachel unlocked her door and flung open the central section of the huge wardrobe. Under the TV there was a row of drawers where she’d thrown in her clothes. The bottom drawer was packed with spare blankets. She pulled one out and ran back downstairs with it.

Bronagh was in the hallway, leaning on the reception desk when Rachel got to the bottom of the stairs. Their eyes meeting briefly, she rounded the corner into the office. Conor had taken over the compressions, making them look easy, as if he could do them all day. He looked up at her and grinned reassuringly.

‘Fold it over her and tuck it in.’

Kneeling down, Rachel let out a low whistle and Jasper came through the doorway.

‘Lie down here, boy.’

Rachel patted the floor on the far side of Mrs Travers’s prone figure and Jasper squeezed in between her and the desk, lying down beside her. He looked back at Rachel enquiringly.

‘Good boy, stay now.’ Rachel tucked the blanket in over Jasper and Mrs Travers. ‘He’ll keep her warm.’

‘Good stuff. Can you take over for a few minutes? We need to keep up the rhythm. Come in here beside me, so we can time the switch over between compressions.

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