CHERUB: Divine Madness - Robert Muchamore Page 0,49

inspected the blistered skin on his face, while James dialled for an ambulance. As the call rang in his ear, he noticed Emily collapse to the floor beside her bed.

23. MEDICAL

James feared a heart attack, but Emily had only collapsed from shock. He rode in the back of her squalling ambulance, holding her hand while another vehicle dealt with Elliot and Ronnie. Ronnie remained unconscious. Elliot’s blood loss looked dramatic, but the ambulance crew said the wound was unlikely to be fatal.

When they arrived at a modern casualty unit, all three patients got wheeled away. James found himself abandoned in a busy waiting room, with a bare chest and Elliot’s dried-out blood staining his fingers. He felt OK, but he was shaken up and the skin on his arms stung in a couple of spots where the boiling water had splashed him.

He called Judith, who arrived within ten minutes, accompanied by Ween. While Judith dashed off to find Elliot, Ween stayed with James and started an interrogation. He’d not previously realised that the grey-haired woman was one of the Survivors’ lawyers. After telling Ween the whole truth, she immediately began reinventing it.

‘Did anyone call the police?’ Ween asked.

James shook his head. ‘Elliot said not to. I told the emergency operator there’d been an accident.’

‘Excellent stuff,’ Ween nodded. ‘If the cops do get involved, you say you were in the bathroom and that you saw nothing. We run that nursing home. I’ll make sure none of the staff speak out of turn. Elliot will say it was a bizarre accident. He was carrying out the kettle and slipped into Ronnie, who was holding the knife. Ronnie’s unlikely to complain about us covering things up when the truth would put him on trial for attempted murder – and the old girl won’t want to see her son locked away.’

James was confused. ‘Why are we doing this?’

‘Why?’ Ween smiled. ‘Can you imagine what the press would do if they got hold of a story like this? Survivors make an eighty-seven-year-old woman change her will. Jealous son turns up and stabs commune director. It could turn into a national scandal and cost us millions in lost revenue.’

‘But …’ James gasped, totally aghast.

Ween cut him dead and spoke strictly. ‘Understand this, James: if the devils get their hooks into our organisation they’ll rip us to shreds. This is an attack on the Survivors, straight from the lowest depths of hell.’

James remembered he was on a mission and tried to think what an angel should say under the circumstances. ‘Maybe I should pray.’

Ween nodded. ‘That’s a good idea. What’s Emily’s room number?’

‘Eighty-six.’

Ween ripped out her mobile, phoned the commune and began barking orders. ‘I want two people over to the North Park Elder Care Community, room eighty-six. I want the whole room scrubbed with bleach and hot water, including the garden furniture and the patio. Make sure you find the kettle and collect all the pieces of plastic – No Lyle, not in half an hour, do it now. I’m heading back with James. If you hear a sniff of anything from the police or the media you know nothing, understood?’

*

The commune always crawled with gossip. Lauren heard that something had happened to Elliot during dinner, then she bumped into Dana who’d heard that James was involved. By the time she’d got upstairs to her first-floor dorm for homework hour, everyone was talking about it, but apparently the only solid fact was that Elliot had been taken to hospital.

Lauren was taking an outdoor shortcut to the gym when she spotted Paul and cornered him in a sunlit alleyway.

‘Where’s my brother?’ Lauren asked. ‘Why didn’t he come back from the care home with you?’

Paul shook his head and made a gesture, like he was zipping up his mouth. ‘Sorry, Lauren. I’ve been sworn to secrecy.’

Paul moved to walk off, but Lauren blocked his path. ‘Is my brother OK, Paul? I have to know.’

‘He’s not hurt, I can tell you that much.’

Lauren still wanted the whole story. ‘But what actually happened over there?’

‘I can’t tell you, Ween swore me to silence. They’ll probably make an official announcement later.’

Paul stepped forwards, but Lauren blocked his path again.

‘Quit doing that,’ Paul said sharply.

Lauren was desperate to know what was going on. She took a quick glance around to make sure nobody was about, then grabbed Paul’s wrist. She twisted his arm up behind his back and shoved him against the wall. Paul had a couple of years on Lauren, but