Black Diaries

80. Emergency

When everything was over and the terrified screams of the servants who had been woken up by the racket had subsided into whimpers, I left the dining room and locked the door behind me. Outside, the staff was waiting, gathered in an anxious cluster, all in dressing gowns and nightshirts.

"My Lady!" The housekeeper exclaimed and surged towards me, her arms held protectively around herself. Not even several months of encouragement had been enough to make her call me Cassy. "My Lady, we woke up from the most dreadful noise! What has happened? Are you all right?"

I held up my hands. "Everything is perfectly all right."

The housekeeper breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God! I thought for a moment we had intruders in the house."

"Um... Well, we do, actually."

"What?"

"No need to worry. They won't harm anybody anymore."

No sooner were the words out of my mouth than I heard the splintering of glass from the room next door. Quickly unlocking the door again I ripped it open, just in time to see the figure of one of the enterprising burglars limping away over the lawn. The other two were still lying on the floor. One of them was still unconscious, and the other didn't quite seem to feel up to walking with a serving fork sticking in his behind. He was groaning quite impressively. I closed the door again and when I turned to face the servants, they were all watching me with eyes as big as dinner plates.

"Err... well..." I cleared my throat. "I believe someone should maybe call a doctor."

Nobody moved. They didn't seem to see this as an order. They just continued standing there, staring at me.

"Um... all right. I'll do it then, shall I?"

Feeling the staff's wide-eyed stares on my back, I hurried off and got my phone. Stopping in a niche, I switched it on and was about to call to press the first 9 of the emergency number when I hesitated. It suddenly occurred to me that calling the emergency service might not be the best idea. After all, I actually knew a doctor in the vicinity—a very good one. By calling him I might be able to avoid involving the police, and having them ask suspicious questions like "Who rammed that man's head through that painting?" and "How did that serving fork get there?"

Luckily, he had given me his number before we'd said goodbye up in the hills. Quickly, I scrolled through my contacts until I found Doctor Dark and Dangerous, and clicked on "call."

Ring...

Ring, ring...

"Cassy?" came a drowsy, but oh-so-sexy voice out the speaker. "What's wrong?"

Feelings overwhelmed me. Not "Are you crazy?" or "Why the heck did you call at this hour?"

No. Simply "What's wrong?" He knew that if I called at this hour, I had to have a good reason. And he was ready to rush into the breech. Moisture pricked the corners of my eyes.

"Oh, Roy... Oh God, I..."

"Cassy? What's the matter? You're scaring me!"

"I'm sorry to call you so late, Roy. It's just... I didn't want to call the emergency service, and I thought of you, and—"

"Emergency service? Good God, Cassy—are you all right?"

"N-no. Not really. Can you please just come? I need you. And please, bring an ambulance?"

From one moment to the next, all anxiety, all uncertainty, vanished from his voice. Suddenly, it was strong and authoritative. "I'm on my way. Stay right where you are. Don't move."