CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Keya’s mind raced with possibilities after Inspector Evans and Warren left on Sunday afternoon.

Tea was an improvement on the day before with a Greek salad supplemented by some of Aunt Beanie’s fruit and nuts. She also had one of Maitri’s brownies as her pudding.

Deciding there was nothing more she could do on a Sunday evening, she watched several shows Matri had downloaded on the tablet, including a comedy set in a restaurant, which she found particularly relatable. The lights were turned off early in the ward and she decided she might as well sleep.

Monday was far more frustrating, as nobody visited, and she had no idea what was happening with Daisy’s case. Or her own for that matter.

Sujin did respond to some of her messages, but she could tell he was distracted, so she thought she better leave him alone.

After another uninspiring tea of sandwiches, she was considering taking herself down to the Blue Spa Restaurant or the hospital’s cafe when Sujin appeared carrying a colourful bouquet of summer flowers. The aroma immediately filled the ward.

“Thank you, they’re lovely.”

“Dotty suggested something seasonal and local, and we both decided lilies weren’t appropriate,” Sujin replied. “They also come in a vase, so we don’t have to worry about finding one.”

He unwrapped the flowers and placed the glass vase on top of the portable cupboard beside Keya’s bed.

Keya stared at him expectantly.

“You want to know what progress we’ve made with the cases?”

“Of course. I’ve been sitting here by myself all day wondering what you’re all doing and what you’ve found out.”

“My day wasn’t particularly interesting. After visiting Mill House again and collecting food samples, I spent all day running tests for Clostridium botulinum bacteria.”

“And did you find any?” asked Keya eagerly.

Sujin shook his head. “The only source I’ve been able to discover is the hot sauce. The inspector and Inspector Sue were leaving to break the news to Doreen as I left to visit you.”

“Poor woman,” Keya sympathised. Then she asked more brightly, “Are you hungry? One of the nurses was telling me about a sweet French bistro with vegetarian options not far from here, in the Montpellier area of Cheltenham.

“Are you allowed out?” asked Sujin.

“Not on my own,” Keya giggled. “But with a responsible adult.”

Sujin found Keya’s overnight bag and, one-handed, she searched through it for something more appropriate to wear for a night out than a pair of tracksuit bottoms.

She found a dress she’d forgotten all about. It was a green soft cotton shift dress with a V-neck and embroidered flowers down the side and around the bottom.

Sujin pulled the blue curtain around the bed and asked, “Shall I call a nurse?”

“No, I’m sure I can manage. I need to get used to coping one-handed for a while.” Keya smiled resolutely at Sujin, who pulled the curtain around her bed and stood sentry on the other side.

Keya pulled her trousers down and stepped out of them. She tugged up her T-shirt and wriggled. She tugged a bit more and, “Oops. Sujin, I’m stuck. Can you help me?”

She felt a firm tug and the T-shirt rose above her head.

“Thank you,” she said, grinning sheepishly. “Perhaps I’m not as able as I’d hoped. Can you help me with my dress?”

It was only then that Keya realised Sujin was standing awkwardly and trying but failing to avert his gaze from her … and she was standing in front of him, wearing only her bra and knickers.

She had the urge to laugh.

“Quickly, I’ll get cold,” although in truth the ward’s large glass window had needed to have the blinds half-closed in the afternoon to prevent the sun shining through and heating the ward up too much.

“Um.”

“Surely you’ve seen a half-naked woman before,” Keya teased. Rather than embarrassed, she felt free and confident standing before Sujin, even with only one arm working.

“Not you,” he muttered as he grabbed her dress from the bed.

“You’ll need to roll it up from the bottom and then place it over my right arm and my head. I’m afraid you’ll have to manoeuvre my left arm into the sleeve.”

Sujin coloured as he robotically followed her instructions. The loose-fitting dress draped over her and Sujin stood back.

“Just the arm,” Keya reminded him.

Sujin reluctantly stepped forward and lifted her arm. As he wrestled it into the dress’s short sleeve, his body touched Keya’s and he jumped. But then he leaned into her and she into him as her left arm finally obeyed and Sujin slipped it into the dress’s sleeve.

Breathlessly, Sujin stepped back and looked at her. There was a different look in his eye now. One she hadn’t seen for a long time from anyone looking at her and she felt a stirring within her, and her body was flushed with warmth.

Fanning her face with her hand and, for the first time, feeling self-conscious, she suggested, “Let’s go. It’s hot in here.”

Neither she nor Sujin spoke until they stepped outside the hospital into the warm evening air.

“We need to turn right and follow the main road across the junction. The restaurant is down one of the side streets,” Keya remembered. She smiled invitingly at Sujin, and he smiled shyly back.

They started walking. As they approached the traffic lights, Sujin reached out and tentatively took her right hand. She slipped her hand into his and gave it a quick squeeze of consent.

Despite the events of the past few days, she felt a lightness as they walked, hand in hand, in the warm summer evening with white-painted two-storey classical buildings on either side.

“I think this is it,” she said as they passed an upmarket hairdressing salon and stopped in front of a green shopfront with an array of plants in the window screening the customers inside from passers-by.

“Bistro Evelyn,” said Sujin, looking up and reading the writing across the top of the shop front.

Inside, they were shown to a table for two in the corner, beside the leafy plants. It felt both exotic and private.

Keya chose a twice-baked cheese and spinach soufflé with a house salad.

“Do you mind if I have a steak?” Sujin asked.