Kiss & Die - Lee Weeks [67]
‘You must be very tired,’ she said to the daughter. ‘Go home now and rest. I will look after your mother. Don’t worry.’ Ruby smiled.
The daughter hesitated but accepted gratefully. ‘Thank you, nurse.’
Ruby smiled reassuringly at her. ‘That’s what I’m here for.’
Ruby watched the daughter leave. She tied a tourniquet around the old woman’s arm and tapped the inside of her elbow to raise a vein. She slipped the needle beneath the woman’s papery skin and into the vein and then she depressed the plunger and emptied the syringe. She repeated the procedure again. Then she moved to the other arm and delivered two more ten ml doses of air.
She leaned in and whispered, ‘Thanks for letting me practise on you.’ Then she stood and went on down the corridor to the maternity unit.
As she was walking out she heard the old woman scream in agony.
Chapter 46
It was 2 p.m. when Nina knocked on Lilly’s door. Rizal answered. He looked at her, intrigue in his eyes.
‘Yes?’
‘Is Lilly in?’
He shook his head, pulled up his vest and scratched his stomach.
‘Do you know when Michelle will be back?’
He shook his head, his eyes glued to the flesh showing around her slim midriff.
‘Who’s going to make the curry for the stall? I have brought the meat, the spices.’ She lifted up her arm with the carrier bag in her hand.
Rizal shrugged and walked back into the flat. He sat down on the sofa and opened a beer, put his feet on the table and kicked off the newspapers. Rizal looked at her. She was still waiting in the doorway.
Nina looked at her watch. ‘Do you want me to do it? You will lose customers otherwise and Michelle will lose money. Plus I can’t get rid of this pork anywhere round here.’
Rizal waved the beer bottle at her. ‘Sure. That would be very nice. You’re a good girl, Nina. Come in, close the door.’
Nina glanced nervously backwards. She didn’t like being alone with any man, let alone Rizal, but Michelle was a good friend to her. If Ali caught her coming out, she would be punished. She was going to be married next month to a man old enough to be her father, but it wasn’t for her to choose. The one thing she had to be was pure. Any scandal and the man might call it off. She was already at the age when she should be married with three children. She had delayed whilst she was needed to run the restaurant but now she must bend to her father’s will. She must marry a man she didn’t love. She looked back at the landing. It wouldn’t take her long. She could have it done in half an hour and then it would slow cook for the next eight and that would be all she had to do. It was worth it to help Michelle. They relied on one another in the Mansions.
Nina placed the groceries on the kitchen surface. The kitchen and the lounge were all one room. Rizal rested his arm on the back of the sofa, turned to watch her over his shoulder. She worked with one eye on him and one eye on what she was doing. She chopped the meat and fried the spices and onions. The room filled with the familiar smell that the whole landing had come to know. She worked quickly, her hands flew around as she tried to finish the job and get out. She was so busy stirring she didn’t notice Rizal standing behind her until she turned. He was watching her bottom moving beneath the silk sari as she stirred vigorously. She turned and nearly fell into him as she went to put a pan in the sink. She jumped back.
He laughed. She stepped to the side and placed the pan in the sink.
‘It’s a joy to watch you work. You have really quick hands. You love to keep busy, don’t you? I see your whole body moving when you’re working like that. You have a nice figure. I hope you have someone to show it to, do you, Nina?’
Nina ignored him and began to tidy away the things she had used. She had