Letting out the Worms: Guilty or not? If not then the alternative is terrifying (Kitty Thomas Book 1 by Sue Nicholls (primary phonics .txt) 📕

The man, a pleasant faced Asian with a port wine stain across his right cheek, met Sam’s eyes over Maureen’s shoulder. ‘Mr Roman?’

Sam nodded.

‘Waheed Ullah. Thank you for your message, Sir.’ He shifted his attention to Maureen. ‘We’re here to make an arrest, Maureen. Where can we find Kitty Thomas?’

The nurse grew an inch. ‘No way. Kitty mustn’t be upset. Are you seriously planning to arrest her?’

The question elicited a mild smile from PC Ullah. ‘No dear. Just show us her room, please.’

Maureen shook her head. ‘She’s extremely poorly. Could you not wait until this person, whoever it is, comes out?’

Sam interjected, ‘I’ll get them out if you like.’

The officer nodded. ‘Thank you, Sir.’

When Sam poked his head into Kitty’s room, Anwen grinned up at him. ‘Hi Anwen,’ he whispered, and hearing his voice, Kitty turned her head to look at him. Delighted, he said, ‘Hello you.’

‘Hi.’ Her hoarse but coherent reply made him want to dance, but for now, all he managed was, ‘I can’t come in - too many people...’ Then he looked round the door at Paul. ‘But Paul, the doctor says he wants a word with you. Maybe I could take your place for five minutes?’

‘Sure,’ Paul rose with indecent enthusiasm, and dropped the magazine in his haste to escape. Sam did not move until he was sure that the two officers had clocked Paul, and that Paul had seen them. It would have been good to watch the scene play out, but he pushed the door closed with his elbow and slipped into Paul’s vacated chair.

On the opposite side of the tent-like structure that still protected Kitty’s lower body, Cerys sat, flopped in her low chair, her belly rising before her like an over inflated beach ball and her face gleaming with sweat. Sam kept the sympathy from his voice as he said, ‘I think maybe you’re needed too, Cerys.’

While Paul’s wife struggled to rise, Sam transferred his attention to Kitty. ‘You’re awake then.’

Next to Cerys, Anwen made to rise too, but Cerys pressed her down. ‘You stay here, Lovely. I won’t be long.’ She squeezed past the bed and when she opened the door, she halted and gave Sam a startled look. He frowned up at her with a minute shake of his head and Cerys with her eyes wide open, left the room.

Sam dug a tenner from his wallet and handed it to Anwen. ‘Would you find us all a hot drink while we wait, and some kind of cake or a biscuit?’

Anwen pocketed her phone and followed Cerys. When her head also flew back to stare at Sam, he gave her a meaningful smile. ‘Off you go, Anwen, and shut the door. It’s noisy out there today.’

Kitty squeezed her face into what might have been a smile, and her eyes squinted from beneath the rim of her mummified skull. ‘Thank goodness. I thought they’d never stop fussing over me,’ she whispered.

‘How are you feeling?’

‘Like bloody hell, but at least my mind’s clearer.’

‘That’s a relief. Can I hug you?’

‘Nah, I hurt too much. You can blow a kiss if you must.’

He obliged with a gale of them, and she curved her lips into a brief smile. ‘Sam?’

‘Mm?’

‘Will you be honest with me?’

He wondered what was coming and braced himself to parry questions about the investigation. ‘If I can,’ he said.

‘Nobody will answer my questions. They keep telling me to concentrate on getting better. It’s so frustrating.’

‘The doctors seem pleased with your physical progress.’

‘OK.’ Kitty stared at him from deep in her pillows. ‘You would tell me if there was anything bad, wouldn’t you?’

‘I would. I’m telling the truth, I swear.’ He put his hand up as if taking an oath. ‘Nobody knew how your brain would be until you regained consciousness. You seem OK though, I’d say.’

‘Bit muddled still.’ She licked her lips.

‘Want some juice?’ At her nod, he took up a small carton of apple juice and poked the plastic straw between her lips. It was an unfamiliar and intimate act.

Kitty took a few swallows. ‘Thanks.’

‘Can you remember what happened to you?’

‘Not a thing... It was after Dad’s wedding, wasn’t it? I remember leaving the car park, it was dark and wet I think, but after that everything is blank until this morning.’

‘What do you remember about the time before the wedding?

‘I’ve been wracking my brain about that. Were we investigating Max’s case?’

‘We were.’ Sam beamed, preparing for more awkward questions. ‘Just checking to see how your brain’s doing. No point in me telling you stuff if you forget it five minutes later.’

‘I’ll be OK I think but you can tell me again if I forget, can’t you?’

‘I can. What would you like to know?’

‘About me first. Will I walk again?’

‘Yes. You haven’t broken your back, just your pelvis. And you had a nasty crack on the head and some internal bleeding in your brain, but that’s all sorted now.’

Kitty looked dubious. ’It doesn’t feel sorted. How long do I have to stay here?’

‘It could be weeks… Until your pelvis is fixed, and they can take this contraption off you.’

Kitty groaned. ‘Weeks! I won’t be able to bear it.’

‘You must, Kitty. Once your head is in better shape, I’ll bring you up to date on the case but until I get the OK from the doctor, you can listen to podcasts and watch that.’ He jerked his thumb at the tiny television, perched behind him on a stalk on the wall.

Kitty tried to nod, and winced.

‘Do you need pain relief?’ Sam was half out of his seat.

‘They’ll be bringing it soon. I must remember to keep my neck still.’ She fixed her eyes on a spider,