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Danielle Capper appeared. ‘Dr Addison? Dr Tallis? Mrs Lowe’s husband is here. Perhaps you should speak to him before he comes in. He’s very agitated. I’ve made him a cup of tea and he’s in conference room two.’
Joel helped Allegra set Tommy up on the ventilator then while Allegra set up the IV lines with the nursing staff, Joel removed the intraperitoneal catheter, which had been used to rewarm the patient, stripped off his gloves and exchanged a quick glance with Allegra. ‘We’d better talk to the father together.’
‘Right,’ she agreed, mentally bracing herself. How would the father of the little boy cope with hearing his wife had been driving under the influence, let alone if what Joel suspected was true—that she’d done so deliberately in an attempt to kill herself and her child?
Joel opened the conference-room door to find a man in his mid to late thirties pacing the floor, his face haggard, his clothes looking as if he’d just thrown them on haphazardly. His tie was hanging loosely and his shirt buttons were done up crookedly.
‘I want to see my son! Where is he?’
‘Mr Lowe, I’m Dr Joel Addison and this Dr Allegra Tallis. Your son is in ICTU—we’ve just stabilised him.’
‘And my wife?’ Mr Lowe asked, his hands tightening by his sides.
‘She’s also in the unit,’ Joel said. ‘Both she and your son are being ventilated with a machine to help with breathing. They both have head injuries. We’re not sure yet about how severe those injuries are. The neurosurgical team is coming down now, and will almost certainly want to do a minor procedure on each to insert a pressure monitor. We’ll have a lot better idea when that’s in, and also with a period of observation.’
‘She was drinking, wasn’t she?’ Mr Lowe said through clenched teeth. He swung away and turned with his back to them and looked out of the window, which overlooked the hospital garden.
‘I know this has been a terrible shock for you, Mr Lowe,’ Allegra said gently, ‘but if you’re up to it now, can we ask you a few questions to help us with planning management before we take you in to see them?’
He turned around and with a heavy sigh took the nearest chair and collapsed into it, his head going to his hands.
Joel waited until Allegra was seated before he took the other chair. ‘Mr Lowe, your wife had a blood alcohol level of point one—that’s double the legal limit for driving. Was she taking any medication that you were aware of?’
Mr Lowe lifted his head out of his hands and looked at Joel through red-rimmed eyes. ‘She’s been on antidepressants for six months.’ His eyes shifted away to look down at his hands. ‘And drinking on and off for a few weeks. But I never thought she’d do something like this …’
‘You think she crashed the car deliberately?’ Allegra asked.
Keith Lowe looked at her with a grim expression tightening his mouth. ‘We’ve been having some … trouble … in the relationship. I was trying to work things out with her. I suggested counselling, but she wouldn’t hear of it. This supposed disaster of a holiday in the mountains was my idea to try and patch things up. She was against it, of course … but she eventually agreed to come. I had some business in town to see to so she and Tommy drove up first. I was to join them later.’ He rubbed at his jaw and added, ‘If I’d suspected this was what was going through her head, I would never have allowed her to go …’
‘Has she ever shown suicidal tendencies before?’ Joel asked.
‘No, not really, just troughs of depression. She’d sit around the house and do nothing … for weeks at a time and then snap out of it.’ He ran a hand through his coarse, wiry hair. ‘It’s been a living hell, I can tell you. But I had to stick it out … if for nothing else than for Tommy’s sake.’
‘Yes, of course,’ Joel said. ‘Would you like to see them now?’
‘Yes …’ The man’s eyes moistened. ‘I want to see that Tommy’s alive …’ He choked back a sob and Allegra silently handed him the box of tissues from one of the side tables.
‘Try not to be put off by the tubes and machinery—it’s all support equipment to keep things stabilised while we watch for improvement. I know how terrifying it all looks. He’s young and strong—I know having his father by his side will help him.’
Keith blew his nose and wiped at his eyes before turning to Joel. ‘I’d rather not see my wife right now, if you don’t mind. Not after … this ….’
Joel got to his feet and placed a reassuring hand on the man’s shoulder. ‘We understand. She’s in the next cubicle but I’ll make sure the curtain is pulled across between them. We can move them apart if you can’t cope.’
Mr Lowe appeared to think about it for a moment. ‘No … no … you don’t have to do that. I guess Tommy would want her near … I’ll manage.’
‘There are staff in constant attendance in ICTU,’ Allegra said. ‘You can ring and talk to the one looking after Tommy at any time.’
‘How badly injured is my … wife?’ he asked after a tiny pause.
Joel answered. ‘Well, apart from a head injury, which is why she’s unconscious at present, she has broken ribs, some bruising of a lung and bruising of her liver. She has a plastic drain in the chest to keep the lungs inflated. The liver injury seems stable, it probably won’t need any surgery. And she has bruising around both upper arms, maybe where someone grabbed her to pull her out of the car, and in the middle of her back, maybe from prolonged pressure on the spine board during the transfer. She’s deeply unconscious,’ Joel said. ‘It will be a few hours before we can get all the test results back.’
Mr Lowe’s eyes shifted again. ‘Is …?’ He cleared his throat and continued, ‘Is she expected to live?’
‘She’s in a serious condition but she’s stable. We’re giving her maximal supportive therapy. I think there’s a fair chance for recovery,’ Joel said.
Allegra stood to one side a few minutes later as Keith stood by his son’s bed. She could see the up-and-down movement of his throat as he swallowed the rising emotion, and her chest felt uncomfortably tight at what he must be going through. How many times had she seen scenes just like this? Too many to recall, but this had to be one of the most tragic. Car accidents were horrific enough, without a suicide or murder motive attached.
‘You can talk to him, Mr Lowe,’ she said. ‘Touch him and speak to him as much as you like.’
Keith Lowe kept his eyes trained on his little son. ‘But he can’t hear me, can he?’
‘He is unconscious but that doesn’t necessarily mean his brain won’t register the sound of a very familiar voice. Your touch, too, is part of that memory process.’
Keith reached out a hand and placed it tentatively on his son’s leg. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it again. Removing his hand from the boy’s leg, he moved away from the bed, his expression tortured as he faced Allegra. ‘I can’t do this … I need to get some … air … I’m sorry … I can’t cope with seeing him like this …’
‘It’s all right, Mr Lowe,’ Allegra said softly.
His eyes spouted tears as he ground out bitterly. ‘How can you possibly understand? That is my son lying there because that bitch behind that curtain put him there. If anyone deserves to die, it’s her, not him. He’s only seven years old, for God’s sake!’
‘Mr Lowe, I think it would be best if—’
‘Excuse me.’ Keith brushed past Allegra roughly and left the unit, ripping off the white protective surgical gown all visitors were required to wear in ICTU and tossing it roughly in the vague direction of the laundry bin.
‘Dr Tallis?’
Allegra let out a little sigh and turned to face Joel, who had been attending to another patient nearby. ‘Yes?’
‘I’d like a word with you if you’re free,’ he said, ‘in my office. No hurry. Just come when you get a spare moment.’
‘I’m free now.’
‘Good,’ he said, moving past to shoulder open the swing doors. ‘I’ll have some coffee sent up.’
Louise sent Allegra a musing glance once the doors had closed on Joel’s exit. ‘Coffee or an olive branch, I wonder?’
Allegra rolled her lips together for a moment, her eyes on the small child lying so lifeless on the bed, only the hiss and groan of the ventilator breaking the silence.
‘Allegra?’ Louise gave her a little prod. ‘Are you OK?’
She blinked and, giving her head a little shake, gave Louise a crooked smile. ‘Sorry, I was miles away. Did you say something?’
‘Nothing important,’ Louise answered. ‘But you’d better go and have that coffee with the director. You look like you need it.’
‘Yes …’ she said, and made her way out of ICTU to Joel’s office a few doors down the corridor, a tiny frown taking up residence on her forehead.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘COME in,’ Joel called at Allegra’s knock a short time later.
She came in and found him taking two cups of coffee off a tray, the fragrant aroma instantly teasing her nostrils.
‘Quite a day,’ he said, handing her a cup. ‘Do you take milk or sugar?’
She shook her head. ‘No, straight up is fine.’
Joel waited until she sat down before he took his chair behind his desk. His dark chocolate gaze connected with hers, the edge of his mouth tilted slightly. ‘I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve asked you to see me after what occurred between us last night.’
Allegra felt her colour rise but there was nothing she could do to stop it. ‘As you said during the course of that … er … unfortunate conversation, we were two tired, overworked people, having a drink.’
There was a surprising level of warmth in his gaze as it held hers. ‘Yes, that’s true, but I still thought I should apologise, for being so …’ He seemed to be hunting for a suitable word so she supplied it for him.
‘Overbearing?’
He gave a soft chuckle of laughter, the sound of it sending a river of tiny feathery sensations down Allegra’s spine. His eyes crinkled at the corners and his whole face softened, the tension and guardedness she was so used to seeing there now completely gone.
‘I’ve been described as a lot of things in the past but “overbearing” is a first,’ he said.
She arched one of her brows sceptically. ‘Really? I’m surprised.’
His smile faded a little and he put down his cup. ‘Look, Allegra, I know we haven’t had a great start to our working relationship but I wanted to apologise for my part in last night’s … er … unfortunate conversation, as you called it. I have no intention of speaking to Patrick Naylor about you. From what I’ve seen, you are a very competent anaesthetist with a high level of compassion for patients.’
‘Thank you …’
‘However, I did want to advise you about your handling of Keith Lowe.’
Allegra felt herself stiffen. ‘Oh?’
‘He’s still in shock over what’s happened. Also, I don’t think he’s the touchy-feely sort. A lot of men aren’t. I was watching from bed four. He seemed very stiff and uncomfortable at touching the child.’
She frowned at him. ‘So what are you saying?’
‘I think it would be wise to go slowly with him in regard to your coma recovery plan. Somehow Keith Lowe doesn’t strike me as a man who would be comfortable singing lullabies to his kid, no matter what the circumstances.’
‘I wasn’t thinking along the lines of lullabies, but I do think it’s important Mr Lowe speaks to his son at the very least.’
‘True. I agree. But the man’s trying to come to terms with the as yet unanswered question of whether or not his wife tried to do herself in and take the child with her. To make matters worse, Kate is one bed away. He’s edgy and very uncomfortable.’
‘You think we should move her—maybe to one of the isolation rooms?’
Joel drummed his fingers on the desk for a moment. ‘It’s a thought … but, no, I think the transfer might be interpreted the wrong way. The father’s already agreed Tommy might benefit from having his mother nearby.’
‘Even though she tried to kill him?’
His eyes came back to hers. ‘We don’t know that. It could have been an accident.’
‘You mean, straight driving under the influence?’ she said. ‘Driving with point one alcohol in the blood is hardly responsible behaviour for anyone, let alone a mother with a small child in the car.’
‘Look, I know I brought up the suspicions in the first place, but it’s probably wise not to make any judgements until we have more facts.’
‘But Mr Lowe said she had a history of depression and he immediately assumed she’d been drinking, as if it was a regular occurrence.’
‘Lots of people suffer periods of depression without trying to take their own or other’s lives,’ he pointed out.
‘So why did you order a drug test? You must be more than a little suspicious.’
He let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair. ‘I just thought it best to make sure either way.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘The results should be in now.’
‘What do you think they’ll show?’
‘One would assume she’s been taking her antidepressant, so that will show up—but at what level? And any other drugs—sedatives, tranquillisers. Maybe she took a cocktail of things.’ He reached for the telephone and dialled the pathology department.
Allegra sipped her coffee and listened as he discussed the results with the lab.
‘That high, huh? Both of them?’ He raised his brows at Allegra. ‘Yeah, I guess so. Right, thanks for speeding it through. The police will want a copy. I’ll get them to contact you themselves—they may have their own questions.’
He put the phone down and sent Allegra a grave look. ‘Mrs Lowe was on a cocktail of three drugs. Paroxetine at five times the maximum therapeutic level, diazepam at a high level and traces of codeine.’
‘So she was really serious about doing it properly,’ she said, starting to chew at her bottom lip.
‘Looks more like it now.’
Allegra’s frown increased. ‘That’s three drugs. You said “both of them”. What exactly did you mean by that?’
‘I wasn’t referring to the number of drugs. I had the lab examine the boy’s blood as well. It now seems that he had detectable diazepam as well, but not as high as hers.’
‘What! She sedated the boy first?’ she gasped in shock.
‘That’s what it looks like. Hard to believe someone would do such a thing, but it’s not the first time a parent has taken things to such extremes.’
‘It’s just so awful to think that if that car hadn’t been behind them they would have died for sure …’ she said, staring down at her hands.
‘Maybe it was meant to happen this way.’
She looked up at that. ‘What? Don’t tell me the incredibly scientific Dr Joel Addison actually believes in something as metaphysical as destiny?’
He leaned back in his chair and studied her for a lengthy moment before asking, ‘What have you got planned for the rest of the evening?’
She gave him a startled look. ‘Planned?’
‘After you finish work,’ he said. ‘What have you got planned?’
‘Um … well, nothing really. I should do some washing, I guess. My machine broke down and my shifts have made it impossible for me to be there for the technician, but I can tell you the thought of sitting in a hot laundromat isn’t too appealing.’
His smile relaxed his features again. ‘So if I offered to take you out to dinner I might be in for a chance at you accepting, given the competition being so poor?’
Allegra felt her stomach do a funny little flip-flop. ‘You’re asking me to dinner?’
‘You sound surprised.’
