Chapter 13
“No!
No!” Helen realised the sound was coming from her own lips. “Don’t tell me
this. Please, don’t tell me this.” She murmured, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Nikki couldn’t be dead!
She
heard Karen’s anxious voice from the other end of the phone. “Miss
Stewart…Helen, are you alright?”
“When
did it happen?”
“About
thirty minutes ago. They’ve taken her to the Royal. I thought you might want to
go and see her.”
See
Nikki’s body? “No, I can’t.”
“Wouldn’t
you like to be there when she comes round?”
“Comes
round?” Helen echoed. “You said she had passed away.”
“Passed
out. You didn’t let me finish.” God
save me from hysterical women, she thought. “I’m going to the hospital myself
now. Shall I meet you there?”
“Yes,
and thank you.”
Helen
hurried down the hospital corridor her heart thumping. A blond woman approached
her. “Helen?” Helen nodded. “I’m Karen Betts.”
“Thank
you for calling me, Karen,” Helen forced a weak smile. “How is Nikki?”
“They’re
still operating on her.” She took Helen’s arm gently. “Why don’t we sit down
over there?” She indicated a couple of chairs. “You look as if you’re going to
pass out yourself.”
“How
did it happen?” Helen asked when they were seated. “I thought Nikki had finally
learnt how to stay out of trouble.”
“One
of the inmates was holding an officer at knife-point,” Karen explained. “Nikki
managed to disarm her. Unfortunately, she got herself stabbed in the process.”
“Nikki
always did act first and think later,” Helen told her softly with a hint of
pride in her voice.
Karen
observed Helen closely. So this was her predecessor and, by the look of it, the
rumours about her and Nikki Wade were true after all.
They
sat for what seemed like hours until Di Barker appeared along the corridor. She
looked at Helen in surprise. “Why, hello, Miss Stewart, nice to see you.
They’re bringing Nikki back now,” she informed them.
Helen
smiled at her then started to rise.
Karen
held onto her arm. “Let them get her settled in her room, Helen, then you can
see her. Di, why don’t you go and get yourself a drink or something? Take your
time.” Karen watched her go then turned to Helen. “We don’t want to fill
everyone’s head with gossip.”
Helen
looked at her in surprise, a flush creeping up her face.
“It’s
nothing to do with me, Helen,” she said simply.
“Miss
Betts,” a nurse came up to them. “You can see Miss Wade now but only for a few
minutes.”
They
stopped outside the door to Nikki’s room. “Can I see her alone, please?” Helen
looked at Karen pleadingly.
Karen
nodded. “I don’t think she’s going anywhere.”
As
Helen started to go into Nikki’s room she suddenly remembered something. “Did
you let Nikki’s mother know?”
“Shit!
I never thought. I don’t suppose you have her number,” Karen asked hopefully as
she took a pen and a piece of paper from her handbag.
Helen
told her the number she had committed to memory and Karen scribbled it down.
“Right,
I’ll go and ring her now. I’ll see you in a bit.” She walked off down the
corridor leaving Helen suddenly scared at what she might find.
Helen
moved slowly to the bed. There was a drip in Nikki’s arm and her right hand was
encased in a plaster cast. Helen had never seen her sleeping and until that
moment she hadn’t realised how beautiful she was even though her warm brown
eyes, her best feature, were closed. Her dark hair looked even darker against
her pallid complexion. She took hold of Nikki’s good hand and held it
sandwiched between her own then she bent and pressed her lips gently against
the unconscious woman’s. She felt tears sliding down her cheeks and wiped them
away with the back of her hand. “I love you so much,” she whispered softly.
When
Karen returned a short while later, Helen was sitting by the bed still holding
Nikki’s hand.
“Mrs
Wade is on her way,” she announced. “Sorry, Helen, we’ve got to go but Di will
be on duty. We’ll let you know as soon as she comes round.”
Helen
brushed away a stray curl that had fallen onto Nikki’s forehead, squeezed her
hand gently then followed Karen from the room.
“Fancy
a coffee?” Karen suggested. “I know I could use one.” Helen nodded and allowed
Karen to lead her away from the hospital.
“I
had a word with the doctor. She’s going to be alright, Helen,” Karen told her
when they were seated in a small coffee bar opposite the hospital. “She was
lucky. She has a broken bone in her hand and the knife missed her vital
organs.”
“Lucky!
Why the hell was Nikki doing your job?” Helen demanded angrily. “She shouldn’t
have been the one who was stabbed.”
“Helen,
I know how you feel…”
“No,
you bloody well don’t!” The tears ran unchecked down Helen’s cheeks. She was
crying for Nikki and she was crying for herself. She wanted to be with Nikki
and she couldn’t bear the thought Nikki wanted to be with someone else instead
of her. If only she had given into her that day in the garden they would still
be together and Nikki might not have acted so recklessly. “I’m sorry,” she
sniffed. “I had no right to say the things I did.”
“It
doesn’t matter. I’ve been beating myself over the head as well. It was my
responsibility. I should have been the one who waded in, not Nikki.”
“She’s
not the type to stand back and do nothing. That’s what got her into Larkhall in
the first place,” Helen said bitterly. “Will you do me a favour, Karen? Please
don’t tell her I came to the hospital.”
“Don’t
tell her? But I thought…”
“We
split up before I left Larkhall because I…because I wouldn’t compromise my
position as Governor. It won’t serve any useful purpose letting her know I was
here.”
“Are
you sure you don’t want her to know?”
Helen
nodded. “I’m sure.”
Nikki
felt as if she was coming out of a long dark tunnel and into the light. She
heard someone calling her name. No! She didn’t want to wake up. She was having
a lovely dream. Helen was there holding her and telling her how much she loved
her. It was so vivid she could almost smell her perfume.
“Nikki,”
the voice persisted.
She
opened her eyes slowly. For a minute she couldn’t figure out where she was then
she remembered. Hazel had stabbed her.
“Nikki,”
someone said softly.
There
was someone sitting by her bed. “Helen.” She could hardly speak her mouth and
lips were so dry.
“It’s
Karen Betts,” she said gently. “You’re in hospital. How do you feel?”
“I
can’t feel anything below my neck. Have I been paralysed?”
Karen
smiled patiently. “No, love. The anaesthetic hasn’t worn off yet.”
“Was
anyone hurt?”
“Only
you. It was a brave thing you did, Nikki.”
“Yeah,
well. I was trying to read and all the noise was distracting me.”
Karen
smiled again. She could see why Helen was attracted to Nikki. With her guard
down and a not so bolshie head on she was quite a woman!
“Miss
Betts, has anyone been to see me?” Nikki was asking.
Karen
remembered her promise to Helen. “Only Officer Barker, your mother and myself.
Your mother has just gone to the loo by the way. There will be a shift change
soon, another officer will be coming in.”
“As
long as it’s not that bastard Fenner. Sorry, Miss,” Nikki apologised but a
mischievous smile played around her lips.
“It’s
alright, Nikki. I’ll forgive you just this once.”
The
door opened and Joan Wade entered. Her face lit up when she saw Nikki’s eyes
were open.
“Your
mother’s here now. I’ll give you a few minutes alone.” She stood up and as she
passed Joan gave her arm a comforting squeeze.
“What
are we going to do with you?” Joan admonished Nikki gently.
“You
know me, Ma. I never could keep my big nose out.”
Joan
warmed when she heard the pet name Nikki had called her as a child though she
probably didn’t even realise she had said it.
“Have
you heard anything from Helen?” Nikki asked her anxiously.
Joan
shook her head. “I tried to ring her before I set off for the hospital tonight
but there was no reply. I suppose I could ring her place of work.”
“What’s
the point?” Nikke replied desolately. “She knows where I am. If she cared about
me she’d get in touch.”
Outside
in the corridor, Karen heard snatches of the conversation. She smiled to
herself. Maybe it was time someone gave two unhappy people a shove in the right
direction.