Shot of Silence (Justice Again Book 3) by M Comley (the unexpected everything .txt) 📕

“Okay, you’ve twisted my arm. Two coffees, milk with one sugar. Thank you so much.”

“No problem. I’ll be right back.”

Katy and AJ took their seats.

Katy stared at her daughter, willing her to get better, and quickly. “She seems so fragile.”

“She does. She’ll pull through this. We have to believe that.”

“I’m doing my best to think positively, but it’s not easy when you consider what she’s been through in the past.”

“Even more so, she came through that last time. Surprising both of us. She’s a resilient little bugger.”

Katy smiled. “She is.”

The nurse reappeared. “Here you go. I’m Maddie, by the way.”

“Thanks, Maddie. AJ and Katy.”

“Pleased to meet you. If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to ask any one of us. There’s always someone around.”

“You’re too kind. Is it all right if we hang around?”

“For a few hours. You should go home and get some rest when you can. She’s monitored all the time, so there’s really no need for you to be concerned at this stage.”

“Do many children die from this?”

The nurse smiled. “Not really. Not nowadays. The statistics are in Georgina’s favour.”

“It’s Georgie,” Katy whispered. “My little Georgie, and she’s a fighter.”

“I have no doubt about that. I’ll be over there if you need me.”

“You’re very kind, thank you.”

The next couple of hours consisted of deep sighs and a lot of hand holding. Eventually, at around midnight, AJ suggested they should go home. Katy detested the thought of leaving her daughter there alone, but the nurse assured them it was their best option and to get some rest. In the end, Katy gave in. AJ drove home, and everything was carried out on autopilot, Katy’s mind elsewhere, with her daughter.

“What are you going to do about work?” AJ asked once they were in bed.

“I’m going to play it by ear. See what tomorrow brings.”

“I’ll ring the hospital first thing, eh?”

“I was thinking the same. What a day.”

Katy drifted off to sleep, exhausted.

8

Neither she nor AJ slept well that night. He got up and made a drink while she called the hospital to see how Georgie had fared overnight. She spoke to a different nurse who had an equally pleasing manner about her. The nurse told her that Georgie had slept well during the night and seemed to be a little better that morning. Her temperature was coming down by the hour, which was a huge relief. The nurse added a note of caution that it wasn’t uncommon for temperatures to spike now and again during the infection.

With that news on board, she rang DCI Roberts. He appeared to have just got up and sounded annoyed to receive a call from her so early.

“What is it, Katy? Couldn’t this wait until nine?”

“No, sir. You know I wouldn’t be ringing you at this hour if it wasn’t important.”

“Go on then.”

“Would it be possible for me to have some time off?”

“What? You’ve only just come back to work after your damn honeymoon. Off on your jollies again so soon?”

“Hardly, sir. It’s Georgie.”

“What about her? Is she all right?” Concern was obvious in his voice.

“She’s in hospital. She’s got meningitis.”

“Jesus Christ, why didn’t you tell me that sooner rather than sitting there, letting me tear you off a strip?”

“I’m still trying to get my head around it myself, sir. It’s hard to say the word, as you can imagine.”

“Of course. Oh, Katy, I’m so sorry. What’s the prognosis?”

“Not sure as yet. They’re monitoring her. We were initially worried about the effect it would have on her heart.”

“Of course, she’s not a well child anyway, this on top will only add to your stress. Yes, take all the time off you need.”

“Thank you. I’ll see how things go for now.”

“Keep me informed. Sending my best wishes to the little one and to you and AJ.”

“What about the case?”

“I’ll step in. Don’t worry. Charlie and I will deal with it.”

“Christ, poor Charlie… Umm…that came out wrong, what I meant was that she has her sergeant’s exam in a few days.”

“She’ll be fine. That’s the least of your concerns. Just concentrate on getting Georgie better and out of hospital. All right if I inform the team? Or would you rather keep it quiet?”

“No, you can tell them. Good luck with the investigation, sir. At least we know who the killer is, it’s just a matter of tracking him down.”

“You’ve done all the hard work, leave it to us to find him.”

“Thanks for being so understanding, Sean. I truly appreciate it.”

“Ring me later, if you get the chance.”

“I will.”

Katy ended the call and released the breath she’d been holding in. “That’s a relief. He’s going to take over the case for a few days.”

AJ placed the tray on the bed and slipped in beside her. “Thank God for that. One less thing for you to worry about.”

“This means we can visit Georgie together, the onus isn’t solely on your shoulders.”

“I know how you feel about work and how involved you get with your investigations. If you need to be there, you have my blessing, you know that.”

She leaned over and kissed him. “I know. Let’s see what today brings first.”

Charlie arrived at work at around ten-to-nine and entered the incident room to find DCI Roberts pacing the floor in front of the whiteboard. Patrick and Stephen were already at their desks.

“Come in, Charlie. Any sign of the rest of the team?”

“Karen’s nipped to the loo. She shouldn’t be long. Is everything okay, sir?”

“Not really. I’ll share the news once everyone is here.”

Five minutes later and he did just that. “The more observant amongst you will have noticed that Inspector Foster isn’t with us today. She rang me first thing with some devastating news.” He raised a hand for the others to let him finish as several mouths opened to ask the obvious question. “It’s her daughter, Georgie. She’s been admitted to hospital with meningitis. Katy has asked for a few days off, therefore, I’ll be stepping