The Silent Suspect Nell Pattison (best classic books of all time TXT) 📖

in the doors, too. Instantly, I knew what was missing. Strangely, the mugger had also dropped my keys on the front seat. Had they been hoping it would be stolen before I came back to it, to cover up their crime? I sighed and pulled my phone out, knowing who I needed to call.

Singh arrived in just under fifteen minutes, parking behind my car and jumping out.

‘How are you doing?’ he asked straight away, taking me by the elbow and leading me to his car. He opened the passenger door and made me sit down so he could look at the bump on my head. I’d sat on the pavement while I was waiting for him, knowing I shouldn’t touch my car but not wanting to leave it, and I was glad of somewhere comfy to sit down now.

‘I feel a bit sick,’ I confessed. His face was very close to mine as he examined my head, then looked back at me. I felt a swooping sensation in my stomach, then everything went a bit blurry and I leant back in the seat, waiting for the head rush to pass.

‘I’m taking you to the hospital,’ Singh said, standing up and folding his arms. ‘No arguments.’

‘Wait. Look at my car, first.’ On the phone I had just told him I’d been mugged and needed his help. To his credit, he didn’t ask what I’d been doing there, although I knew he was just filing the question away to ask later.

‘Right, I’ll get someone to come down here and secure your car. We can fingerprint it, see if we can get anything that way. Is anything missing?’

I nodded sheepishly. ‘I’d been writing down things about the case in a notebook. It was in the pocket in the driver’s side door, but I think it’s gone.’

Singh rolled his eyes at me, but didn’t say anything, just pulled out his phone and requested for someone to meet us there. Once he’d done that, he pulled out a small torch and shone it in my eyes.

‘Hey, what are you doing that for?’ I pulled away, blinking, then clutched my head after the sharp movement made it throb again.

‘Checking to see if you’ve got concussion,’ he said.

‘I’m fine, honestly. Just take me home, please.’

‘No,’ he said firmly. ‘You might not have any regard for your own welfare, but I do.’ Something in his tone flooded me with a warm sensation and set my head spinning again.

As he looked me over, he gently took one of my hands in his to reassure me. Before I knew what I was doing, I leant in and kissed him.

For a split second it was perfect; the touch of his lips on mine was warm and gentle, sending a little spark of electricity through me. But then he pulled away and shook his head, giving a little nervous laugh.

‘Oh God, I’m sorry,’ I said, sitting back and drawing my hands into my lap away from him. ‘I don’t know what I … I just …’ I didn’t know how to finish the sentence.

‘It’s okay,’ he said quietly. ‘You’ve had a bump on the head.’ He said this with a little self-deprecating smile, and I wanted to tell him that didn’t mean anything, but I was too embarrassed. He’d pulled away, so it obviously wasn’t something he wanted.

‘Come on, we need to get you checked over.’

I could tell there was no arguing with him, so I sat quietly while we waited for someone to arrive. When a police car pulled up a few minutes later, Singh had a quick chat with the PC who was there to have a look at my car. Once that was out of the way, Singh got in the driving seat.

‘Right, hospital next,’ he said, and I didn’t protest. I was grateful to him for picking me up and still helping me even after I’d kissed him, and started to say so, but a wave of tiredness washed over me. Leaning my head back, I was tempted to let it take me, but Singh shouted my name a couple of times.

‘What?’

‘Paige, I need you to try and stay awake until we get to the hospital, okay?’

‘Okay,’ I mumbled, though I couldn’t see why it mattered.

We were only a couple of minutes away from Scunthorpe General, and once we were there he parked as close as he could get to A&E without blocking an ambulance bay.

‘Come on, let’s get you inside,’ he said, reaching into the car to help me out.

‘I’m fine,’ I told him, just before my legs gave way.

‘Yeah, I can see that,’ he said sarcastically. ‘Come on.’ He pulled my arm across his shoulders and helped me inside, propping me up on a chair as he got me booked in. I don’t know if it was because I had a head injury, or because he was a police officer, but within a few minutes I was taken through and helped up onto a bed in a small bay. I was reminded of when I’d been here only a week ago, with Lukas, and I felt like bursting into tears.

‘I’m sorry,’ I said to Singh, my voice shaking. ‘Thank you for helping me.’

‘Hey, it’s okay,’ he said, giving me a hug as I started to cry. ‘You know I’ll always help you, Paige.’

The doctor appeared then, so Singh sat down and let her get on with examining me. After a while, she decided it was safest to keep me in for the night under observation, then I could have tests in the morning if they thought it was necessary, much to my distress.

‘I don’t want to stay here,’ I told Singh when the doctor had gone to arrange for me to be transferred to a ward. ‘Can you get them to send me home?’

‘No way. If the doctor thinks you need to stay in, then you need to stay in.’

‘I have to call Anna,’ I said, looking around for my phone.

‘I’ve already texted her,’ he told