Chapter 3

I can't say I was looking forward to the day. I was looking forward to resolving some at least of the issues affecting Eirene's crew, yes. I was, I admit, looking forward to seeing Jessica again. I was not looking forward to any contact with the Police, or spending much, if not all, of the day sitting or standing around in an institutional setting. It seemed like a good idea to get some exercise, so I dressed in jogging gear and set off round the dock. It was a pretty good run and I was nearly home, probably about 7 a.m., when I saw Jenni swabbing off the foredeck, and two men picking their way across the inner yacht of the raft. Alarm bells rang in my head, and I picked up speed, arriving at the raft just as Jenni looked round and saw the two approaching. She reversed the broom, drove the handle into the midriff of the first character, ran aft, and disappeared into the saloon. I caught up with the second, and flung an arm round his neck in one of the few holds I remembered from a youthful foray into Judo (hadaka jime, if I recall correctly!). Unfortunately, I didn't notice a third thug following up, or the blunt instrument he used to reduce me to unconsciousness, so the rest of my account (up to waking up in hospital) has to be at second hand.

Jenni took the opportunity offered by winding the first thug, to retreat to the saloon and bolt the door and hatches from the inside and set the horn sounding — pre-set programme ... several short hoots, meaning "I am manoeuvring with difficulty", repeating.

She then used my mobile to call the police, and ambulance, and to ring Jessica. Fortunately, the sound of the horn panicked our assailants who beat a retreat in (what else?) a battered white Ford Transit van. A witness got the number, but it wasn't much help as the van was found later that morning, abandoned in a supermarket car-park. We never did get to the bottom of that event; it could have been that the pimp had tracked her down somehow. I think that, somehow, her step-father had been tipped off, and had either known about the pimp and got him to act, or had himself employed the thugs to snatch (or kill) Jenni. Whatever it was, when the authorities acted on Jenni's information much later that day, he'd done a bunk (as they say).

I was out of it for two full days. Jessica told me later that Jenni, once her interview was over, made an enormous fuss and (with Jessica's backing) more or less compelled the hospital staff to let her sit by my bed regardless of visiting hours. Jessica managed to get her to go to Jessica's flat (much nearer Heath Road Hospital than Eirene) for a few hours sleep, and to snatch a sandwich in the WRVS cafeteria at irregular intervals. She was by my bed, apart from those times, and apart from when the nurses had to do something, continually, for more or less 48 hours. The first thing I saw on waking was her rather blurry image. I had a splitting headache, and ached all over, but suddenly all was right with my world.

"Hey, Jenni," I whispered.

She burst into tears. "Dave. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Why? What have you done?"

"It's my fault, and I ran away and left you, and you're hurt, and I'm so sorry!"

"Jenni, you're here, we're both alive." I grabbed her hand (weakly, I suppose) "And it's not your fault those thugs attacked us. I'm just glad you're here, ok?" my vision was clearing rapidly and I saw a nurse entering the room. I found out later I had a single room, despite the need for observation, because of Jenni; so as not to disturb other critical patients in one of the bays. She'd had strict instructions about what to look for, and through the night someone looked in every few minutes. I couldn't imagine that happening when I'd been nursing. The nurse looked younger than Jenni, but she was a Staff Nurse, so must have been over 21. She did the neurological observations before asking..."Headache?"

"You bet; a real thumper."

"Which would you rather have, two Paracetamol or Jenni holding your hand?"

"No question; Jenni holding my hand."

She laughed. "That's just as well, because we're not supposed to give you anything until the doctor's seen you." And she left the room.

"Did you mean that, really?"

"Really, really. Yes, of course I meant it." I closed my eyes, and faded out again. The next time I woke, she was still there, and still holding my hand, but there was a doctor in the room.

"Ah, with us again, I see. Well, you've been lucky, in several ways. I gather this young lady saved your life by raising the alarm and calling for help. You've had a scan, and there appears to be no gross damage, no intra-cranial bleeds or anything like that. You're certainly concussed, and you should take it easy for a few days, but I think you'll be well enough to leave us tomorrow morning, but I gather you live on a boat? Well, that might not be the safest place in the world in view of how you came to be here. But the police, and your solicitor, will have something to say to you about that. We'll give you some pretty bland, light and uninteresting food. Don't overdo it, ok?" He left.

I looked at Jenni, still holding my hand, who blushed slightly. "You're sorry that you saved my life?"

"No! I just felt really bad about running away and leaving you there!"

"Don't worry," I smiled. By the sound of it, you did exactly the right thing. Don't sweat it any more, you hear me?"

"I hear you. By the way, Jessica's going to call in this evening, she said. She wanted to talk to you about something."

The police came late afternoon; I couldn't tell them much, of course. One of them asked a few questions about how Jenni happened to end up with me. They warned me, us, really, that the boat was not really a safe place to stay at the moment. They didn't know who the thugs were, or what they were after. They didn't know where Jenni's step-father was, or if he represented any threat. I couldn't really blame them, but it was hard not to.

Jessica showed up just before 8. The something she wanted to talk about, was that she thought Jenni and I should stay at her flat until I was fit to take Eirene out again. When I protested, she just smiled; "If you're bothered, I've got a list of jobs that won't tax your strength and really need doing in my flat."