“Hey… Elsie sent me, I’m Joe,” he said, crouching down in front of them. “Are you Jenna and Hendrik?”
“Yes… I didn’t know where to take him. I’m pressing on the wound to his abdomen, but he’s soaking through the bandages I brought with me,” she said desperately. “I can’t see to give him more treatment, and I didn’t want to draw attention to him. He’s too big for me to lift and carry somewhere safer.”
“It’s okay. We’ll take care of that now.” Somehow, without looking, he knew that Alex had followed him. “I’ll carry him to the car.”
He picked up the young man, who cried out at the movement. “Hold on, Hendrik. It’s okay,” he said soothingly, rising to his feet. Hendrik wasn’t a very big or heavy man, and it was easy enough to lift him. Alex held out a hand and helped Jenna up, too.
Josiah straightened, holding Hendrik securely in his arms, and in that moment, they were all illuminated by the car’s headlights. They stood, stock still, frozen in shock as they suddenly saw each other clearly for the first time.
“Investigator Raine?” “Jenna” whispered.
“Dr Baumann?”
They stared at each other, stunned.
“Please… he’s my brother,” she cried. “Oh God… this is a trap!” She whirled around in a panic, as if expecting police ducks to suddenly appear.
“It’s not a trap, Sofie,” he told her urgently. “I run an underground railroad helping escaped indies out of the country. Elsie works for me. Now, get in the car – quickly – before we’re seen.”
She hesitated, a look of agonised indecision on her face.
“He’s bleeding out, Sofie. We don’t have much time. You might as well trust me – you have no other options.” He turned his back on her and carried the young man to the car. Alex opened the back door, and Josiah gently placed him inside. “Get in,” Josiah ordered, returning to where Sofie still stood, ashen-faced, by the bus shelter. “You’re a doctor, and I have medical supplies at home. Between us, we’re the best chance he has.”
Clearly understanding he was her only choice, she gave in and scrambled into the car beside her brother. Now they were lit by the interior lights, Josiah could see that Hendrik was in a bad way. His breathing was shallow, there was blood all over his clothes, and he was deathly pale.
“Alex – you drive,” he instructed, tossing Alex the key. “I’ll sit with Sofie and Hendrik.”
He slid in beside Hendrik and retrieved the medical kit he’d brought with him. “You’ll need to operate on him when we get home. For now, let’s do what we can.” Josiah ripped open Hendrik’s coat so she could examine the wound.
Her medical training kicked in, and, with a curt nod, she bent to her task. Josiah found a torch in the emergency rescue kit and held it up so she could see more clearly. The wound was bad – that much was obvious – and all Sofie could really do was stem the bleeding until they reached the safety of home. Every so often, she shot shocked little glances at Josiah that showed how much trouble she was having processing the fact that he, of all people, was their unlikely saviour tonight.
Alex drove superbly, with the same skill that Peter had possessed, and they were soon home. Josiah carried Hendrik inside and took him to the dining room. Alex quickly cleared the table and laid down blankets, and Josiah gently placed Hendrik on it.
“It’s not a hospital, but it’s all we’ve got,” Josiah told Sofie. “I have all the supplies you’ll need, butyouhave to operate; you’re the doctor.” She stared at him, looking dazed. “Sofie,” he began softly, but then, seeing the events of the evening had taken their toll, he spoke in a sterner tone. “Dr Baumann! You have a job to do – now, damn well get on and do it.”
It worked, snapping her out of her confusion. She looked at the medical supplies Alex had retrieved and nodded, her jaw set in a determined line.
Josiah stripped off his coat and rolled up his sleeves. He helped Sofie scrub up and prepared a surgical area with all the instruments she’d need, sterilised and set out on a tray.
“You have all the right stuff,” she said, checking everything over.
“It’s not my first time helping out with this kind of operation.” He shot her a little smile. “We have sympathetic doctors we can call – I asked one of them to provide a complete pack of supplies to cover most of the eventualities we might encounter.”
Sofie set to work, with Josiah as her assistant, while Alex hovered nearby, in case they needed anything. Sofie cleaned and stitched Hendrik’s stomach wound, as well as a couple of other, less serious injuries. Her work was neat and precise – despite the fact she mostly worked on the dead, she clearly knew how to tend to the living, too. Hendrik was heavily sedated throughout, and when she’d finished, Josiah carried him upstairs to the spare room and put him to bed, under Sofie’s watchful eye.
“What happens next?” she asked, sitting beside him and smoothing her blood-stained hair away from her face.
“Next, we all have a stiff drink.” He held out his hand, and she took it with a wan smile. Then he led her back down the stairs, still holding her hand, and into the living room, where Alex had prepared drinks and some food. Josiah suddenly realised he was starving – it had been hours since they’d eaten those chips, and a lot had happened since then. He felt a moment’s wooziness and sat down fast – but not before Alex noticed.
“Dr Baumann, I know you must be exhausted, but please, will you look at Joe’s head,” he said. “I did my best to patch it up, but he’s bleeding again.”
“What happened to you?” she asked, frowning as she peeled off the dressing to look at the wound.
“I had an uninvited visitor.” Josiah grimaced. “It’s been a very long night.”
“This needs fixing, too,” she said. She turned to fetch her equipment, only to find Alex already holding it. She made short work of the few stitches his head required, covered the wound with a clean dressing, and then sat down and took a long sip of the tea Alex had made for her. Her hands shook as she held the cup to her mouth, and she spilled some on the carpet.
“I’m sorry. I’m not used to this kind of drama,” she muttered, shaking uncontrollably now. Josiah removed the cup from her hand, while Alex placed a blanket around her shoulders.
