Page 6 of Cruel Shame

“Which is consistent with Miss Highmore’s statement,” said the officer.

My eyes narrowed. Did he think criminals told the truth? Not even the police in Richley were this stupid.

Mr. Burgh stepped back into the room. “My granddaughter is the victim of a gun attack. She’s in need of urgent medical attention, not an interrogation.”

The officer glanced at one of the marksmen standing at the window. I huffed an annoyed breath. Could these dicks not make a decision?

Moments later, a man wearing an Aran jumper stepped into the room. I tried not to roll my eyes, recognizing him as Detective Chief Inspector Cromar, who had interviewed me in Glasgow police station when Elizabeth had framed me for the possession of cocaine.

“Lilah Hancock, we meet again,” he said in a voice that probably sounded like Sean Connery’s James Bond in his head. DCI Cromar swaggered toward me with a hand in his pocket, looking like he had come to wank and not do any police work.

A pair of paramedics appeared over his shoulder, surveying the broken glass and blood over the floor. The female of the pair locked eyes with me.

Ignoring DCI Cromar, I stood on my tiptoes and beckoned them over. “Over here!”

The detective’s face fell. “Lilah—”

“I’m not talking to anyone until I get my wounds fixed,” I snapped.

He stepped back to the wall and rested against it with his arms folded across his chest.

My nostrils flared. “Are you going to stand there and watch a seventeen-year-old girl take off her top and tights?”

DCI Cromar’s face turned pink. “Of course, not.”

Orlando stepped forward, blocking his view of me. “I saw what happened, and no one has taken my statement yet.”

DCI Cromar gestured for Orlando to accompany him outside the room. Orlando offered me a tight smile before leaving, and my insides deflated at the loss of his presence.

The female paramedic pulled up a seat, while her male partner walked to the window and pulled the curtains shut, blocking the police marksmen from getting a show.

“My name’s Tania,” said the paramedic. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Before I could reply, a female officer slipped inside with a forensic bag. She snapped on a pair of gloves, placed the gun in her transparent bag, and scribbled something on its cover with a sharpie. Instead of leaving to join her colleagues, she hovered close to us and pulled out a notebook.

While I told Tania the entire sorry story, she and her colleague cut me out of my clothes, then cleaned and patched up my wounds with saline, gauze, and bandages. I still couldn’t hear anything in my left ear, and according to them, this was because of a concussion.

Throughout this, the female officer watched from her corner of the room, taking notes. Maybe they would form part of my statement. I had no idea, but at least she wasn’t Lady Liddell in disguise.

The male paramedic shone a light in my eyes for the second time. “We’d like to take you to the nearest Accident and Emergency department for stitches and observation. Do you need us to pack anything for you?”

Blowing out a weary breath, I gestured at the bag that I’d already prepared for my weekend of debauchery. A nightgown and a few changes of clothes lay among the skimpy lingerie, but I hoped I wouldn’t need to stay in the hospital for long.

By the time the paramedics placed me in a pair of school pajamas and guided me out of the door, the tower hallway was deserted, save for DCI Cromar. Bile rose to the back of my throat. Did he still see me as some kind of gateway to Billy Hancock?

“Waiting for me?” I asked with a sneer.

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I rode in with Constable Leon.”

I glanced at the female officer, whose lips tightened. The pain in her expression told me she didn’t fancy being stuck in a car with Detective Dickhead.

Tania and her colleague walked at my side, and I gave them a grateful smile. At least I’d be traveling with them instead of the police.

The two officers strode ahead of us and opened the heavy oak doors into the main hallway, letting in the sound of chatter. A wall of ringing blocked my left ear, making me hold onto Tania for balance.

She met my eyes with a concerned frown. “Are you alright?”

With a nod, I stepped through the threshold and held my breath.