then to Lynley, "That's twice now. You're warned."
"Understood," he said.
"And it makes no bloody difference, does it?" Then she swung on Philip Hale once again.
"Are you an idiot, Philip? Did you not hear me? Get back to the Yard!"
Philip Hale looked from Ardery to Lynley and back to Ardery. He said, "Guv," with a nod and he left them. Lynley saw him shake his head as he went.
Ardery said to Lynley, "Get on to the brother, then," and she began to pace. As Lynley made the necessary calls, he watched her and he wondered at what point she'd make another trip to the ladies', because there was little doubt in his mind that she desperately needed a drink.
However, during the forty minutes they waited for Hiro Matsumoto's solicitor to find the cellist and to bring him to St. Thomas' Hospital, the acting superintendent remained in the waiting area and Lynley developed a reluctant respect for the manner in which she mastered herself. She made the appropriate phone calls to the Yard, putting the press office into the picture and passing along information to AC Hillier's office as well. Hillier, Lynley reckoned, would ultimately give Isabelle Ardery an earful. There was nothing the assistant commissioner hated more than bad press. Half of London could shoot the other half in the street and Hillier would not be as bothered as he would be by a tabloid screaming MORE BRUTALITY FROM THE MET.
When they finally arrived, Hiro Matsumoto was far calmer than his solicitor, who breathed fire and threatened lawsuits, neither of which was unexpected. She was interrupted only when they were joined by the physician who'd initially seen to the violinist's injuries. He was a gnomelike man with overlarge and oddly translucent ears and a nametag reading HOGG. He spoke directly to Hiro Matsumoto, obviously recognising him as the party probably most intimately connected to the injured man. He ignored the others.
A broken shoulder and a broken hip constituted the initial information, which sounded hopeful considering how bad things could have been. But then Mr. Hogg added fractured skull and acute subdural haematoma to the mix, as well as the fact that the size of the injury was going to cause a dangerous increase in intracranial pressure, which in turn would result in damage to delicate brain tissue if something was not done immediately. That something was decompression, effected only by surgery, and Yukio Matsumoto was being prepared for the operating theatre as they spoke.
"This is a murder suspect," Isabelle Ardery informed the doctor. "We're going to want to speak with him before anything is done to make him incommunicado."
"He's not in any condition - ," the doctor began, to be interrupted by both the brother and the brother's solicitor.
One said, "My brother did not kill that woman," as the other said, "You're not speaking to anyone but me, madam, and let's make certain that's very clear. And if you so much as approach Yukio Matsumoto without my knowledge - "
"Don't you threaten me," Isabelle Ardery cut in.
"What I'll do - what I intend to do - is to find out exactly what led to this unbelievable development and when I find out, you'll be under a legal scrutiny the likes of which you have never seen. I hope I'm being completely clear."
The doctor snapped, "My interest is in the injured and not on whatever quarrel you two are having. He's going into surgery and there's an end to the matter."
"Please," Hiro Matsumoto said quietly. His eyes were liquid. "My brother. He'll live?"
The doctor's expression softened. "It's a traumatic injury, Mr. Masumoto. We'll do our very best."
When he departed, Isabelle Ardery spoke, saying to Lynley, "We need to collect his clothing for forensics."
"I'll have something to say about that," Zaynab Bourne snapped.
"He's a principal suspect in a murder investigation," Ardery snapped back. "We'll have the appropriate paperwork and we'll take the clothing and if you have a problem with that, you can take it up via the proper channels." To Lynley, "I'll want someone posted here as well, someone capable of staying on top of every development. The moment he's able to speak, we want an officer in the room with him." She turned to Hiro Matsumoto and asked if he could tell them where his brother had his digs.
His solicitor was winding up to protest, but Matsumoto said, "No, please, Mrs. Bourne. I believe it is in Yukio's best interests to clear this matter up."