Francesca, page 45
Tony raised his head to look. On the other side of the motorway, coming down towards them, was a large HGV lorry carrying caravans. He was speeding around the other cars. Suddenly, John and Tony noticed the driver had lost control and had crashed through the motorway barrier and was coming towards them.
‘Oh my God,’ shouted John. ‘Tony, get down. He is heading straight for us.’
John tried swerving into the left lane, to no avail.
Suddenly, everything went blank for a moment. Tony and John were being thrown about in the car while it was rolling over again and again. The impact was loud and deafening. Tony heard himself shouting, but he couldn’t tell which way was up. Then he felt a sharp pain in his chest and blacked out.
Two policemen walked into the club and asked for Jake. The manager of the casino took them to the office. Jake stood up as they knocked and walked in. He was waiting for them to speak and trying to think on his feet. As far as he was concerned, they had done nothing wrong.
‘Are you Mr Jake Sinclair?’ one of the officers asked, sounding official.
Jake felt that was a bit stupid, because they knew exactly who he was. Jake nodded and sat down again, waiting for whatever it was they were investigating.
‘There has been an accident on the motorway involving Mr Lambrianu.’ The woman police officer checked her notepad. ‘You and a Mrs Elle Watson are down as his next of kin.’
Jake paled. An accident? It must be bad if the police were here. He sat in silence and waited while the police told him that Tony had been taken by air ambulance to a nearby hospital and that a lorry had swerved over the motorway and hit his car head-on. There were lots of cars involved in the accident and many casualties.
Jake grabbed his coat. ‘Where is he? And is he alive?’ Panic was rising in him. He couldn’t believe what they were telling him.
‘We don’t know much more, sir, but we believe he is still alive. It seems that re-enforced steel-plated car of his took a lot of the impact,’ said the officer.
Jake knew Tony’s cars were steel-plated. That stopped any bullets firing through the car, or any other weapons anyone thought of using. As Tony had been going to see another ‘firm’, and not knowing the outcome, Tony had took the precaution of using one Thank God.
Jake ran out of the door, leaving the police in his office. There was always a car on standby in case they needed it. He jumped in the back and threw a piece of paper at the driver. ‘Quick, take me there.’ The paper had the name and address of the hospital Tony had been taken to on it. ‘Tony’s been in an accident.’
It took a long time to get there. They had to use side roads, as the motorway was closed. Now Jake could see some of the accident himself. There were ambulances and fire engines everywhere. Dear God, let Tony be alive, Jake prayed to himself. It occurred to him that he should telephone Elle and get her there as soon as possible—just in case.
‘Elle.’
The panic in Jake’s voice alarmed her. She knew something was wrong. This was not Jake’s usual time to ring her. Jake phoned on a daily basis, even just to say hello. Tony, on the other hand, just took it for granted she was there and telephoned now and again. But that was Tony.
‘Tony’s been in accident on the motorway. I’m heading to the hospital now in the middle of God knows where. I don’t know if he’s alive or dead—only that he was air-ambulanced by helicopter. I am sending a car for you, but I’ll warn you the roads are bad. The motorway is closed.’
Elle paled. Her boy had been in an accident, and Jake didn’t know if he was alive? This must be bad. Her boys needed her.
‘The car will take too long to come and get me, Jake,’ Elle said. ‘I will meet it halfway. You stop panicking. I’m on my way.’ With that, she put the telephone down and picked up her coat and bag.
She was just about to turn on the ignition when she felt tears brimming. She took a breath. Stay calm, Elle, she thought to herself. There was no point in causing another accident. Next, she rang one of Jake and Tony’s drivers and told them were to meet her, choosing a spot that was closer to town.
Jake ran through the hospital doors. There were stretchers everywhere. The reception desk was crowded with people shouting and panicking, giving the names of their families, and crying. It was mayhem. Jake couldn’t wait in line. He shouted at the top of his voice, ‘Lambrianu, where is he?’
Upon hearing the name, someone tapped Jake on the shoulder. ‘Are you looking for Mr Lambrianu? Come with me.’
Jake followed the doctor to a side room. Tony wasn’t there. Where was he? His heart was pounding. Oh no. This doctor was going to break the news to him that Tony was dead. Once the doctor had questioned him about who he was, he seemed satisfied. Knowing Tony Lambrianu, the last thing the doctors needed was to have journalists around the hospital.
Jake told him he was Tony’s brother and that the police had informed him about what had happened to Tony. He added that their mum was on their way. Jake thought it wasn’t exactly a lie; he, Tony, and Elle might not be blood, but family was what they were.
‘Mr Lambrianu,’ began the doctor, ‘is alive, you will be pleased to hear, but just. The car took most of the impact. He’s been very lucky, unlike the driver, who was dead on arrival.’
As the doctor carried on talking, Jake’s brain went numb. John was dead? He was one of their oldest friends and a loyal driver. They had been through a lot together.
The doctor informed him that John’s family had been informed and were on their way. Jake couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He threw out loads of questions to the doctor, pressing two: Where was Tony? And he could he see him?
The doctor told him the steel plating on the side of the car had saved Tony. The fire brigade had had to cut him out. Thank God Tony had had the car reinforced and had taken it with him when he went to meet another gangland boss. After all, you never knew how such a meeting would end. The steel plating had saved them from all kinds of bullets in the past, and now it had saved Tony’s life.
‘We have taken him down for scans, Mr Sinclair.’ The doctor looked at him oddly. It was obvious he was wondering why, if Jake was his brother, he wasn’t called Lambrianu. ‘We have to check if there is any bleeding on the brain, and he has a punctured lung. His ribs were broken, and with the impact of the vehicle, one has gone through his lung.’
He couldn’t see Tony yet. He wished Elle were there. Tony was alive, but it didn’t sound good. At least he was alive. But bleeding on the brain? Would that mean that Tony would be brain-damaged? A vegetable for the rest of his life?
Jake sat there. He didn’t know what to do. He telephoned John’s wife, who answered instantly. She was crying and hysterical. Another family member took the telephone from her and told Jake they were on their way already.
Then he telephoned Ralph and told him what had happened. He too said that he was on his way. He told Jake he’d seen the crash on the news. Some people had recorded it on their mobile telephones. Journalists were everywhere, especially now they’d heard that Tony Lambrianu was in the middle of it.
All Jake could do was wait. The hands on the clock never seemed to move. Trollies with people on them covered in blood were being rushed past him. He held his hands to his ears to block out the noise and started to sob. This was a nightmare.
Thankfully, the doors opened, and Elle walked in. She held out her arms, and instantly Jake fell into them. She wanted to know how bad it was. She was trying to stay composed for Jake’s sake. She listened and then told him to stay there while she went and found a coffee machine. This was going to be a long night. As Elle got to the vending machine, she saw Ralph and Julie walking towards her.
‘You two got here quickly,’ Elle said, surprised at seeing them already.
‘Helicopter,’ said Ralph. ‘You can’t get through the traffic. It’s a nightmare, and that motorway is a total devastation. What happened? Are you and Jake okay?’
Elle started to cry and could hardly speak. She told them what she knew and pointed down the corridor to where Jake was. She stayed with Julie to get some coffees, while Ralph went to see how Jake was doing.
‘He asked me to go with him, Ralph. I said no—that I was too busy. That is the last conversation we had.’ Jake seemed to fall into Ralph’s arms.
Ralph took over as the father figure. He assured Jake that he had done nothing wrong and that he shouldn’t feel guilty.
‘Tony’s a fighter, Jake, and you weren’t to know this would happen. Hindsight is a wonderful thing,’ said Ralph.
They all sat in silence, waiting. Eventually, in the early hours of the morning, a doctor came to see them. He informed them that they had put tubes down Tony’s throat to try and open up his lungs. They hoped they would start opening up. If not, they would have to operate. It seemed there was no bleeding on the brain but a lot of swelling.
Jake and the others asked the doctor if they could see Tony. They were taken into an intensive care unit. Machines and tubes were everywhere. You could hardly see Tony’s face because of the swelling. Both of his arms and ribs were broken, as well as one of his legs. His broken rib had pierced his lung, and now he couldn’t breathe without a machine.
Ralph spoke up for them all as they looked on in shock. ‘Is he going to be okay? What is the score, doctor? Whatever it is, we want to know.’
‘We’re not sure, Mr Gold. It’s early days and fifty-fifty if we have to operate or not. If his lungs don’t start opening up for themselves, we will have to drain them with surgery.’ While the doctor carried on talking, Jake and Elle sat beside the bed with Tony.
‘At least he is alive and he has a chance. It would have been worse if he hadn’t been in that tank of his,’ Ralph said, trying to make light of the situation.
‘Tony’s drivers dead,’ said Jake to anyone who would listen. ‘What do we do, Elle? What can we do to help him? I can’t just sit here doing nothing.’ Jake felt helpless and lost. He needed to do something for Tony, but there was nothing.
Elle understood. Jake may not be bruised. But he and Tony were so close like real brothers Jake could feel Tony’s pain. ‘Find him a priest, Jake. That is what you can do—in case the worst happens. The doctor says he has a fifty-fifty chance. Well, Tony would want the last rights.’ She felt this might give Jake something positive to think of, and she knew for a fact Tony would want this.
Jake raised his face and looked into her eyes. It was as though a light had been turned on. ‘Of course. He’s a crazy bugger, but he’s an Italian Catholic. Trust me, Elle. I will find one.’ Jake left the room, with Ralph hot on his heels.
Jake was determined to find a priest, whatever it took.
Julie sat opposite Elle. A thought had come to her, but she didn’t want to mention it in front of Jake. ‘Do you think we should tell, Fran? I think she might want to know, don’t you?’ Julie waited for a response from Elle. She knew maybe now wasn’t the time to mention Fran, but she felt she had to.
Elle looked up at her and nodded. ‘I suppose so, although she probably knows already. It’s all over the television.’
Elle was right, Julie realised. Details of the crash were all over the news, and the reports had mentioned Tony. How could Fran not know?
After a couple of hours, Jake returned with a priest. The driver had found a local Catholic church.
Apparently, Jake had hammered the door down until the priest had answered at this time of the morning. Once Jake had explained his mission (and offered him some money), the priest had gathered his things and gotten into the car.
‘Just do your stuff, Father,’ said Jake as the priest was preparing himself. ‘Make it a good prayer.’ Jake was nearly shouting as the priest calmly stood next to Tony and started giving him the last rights.
At last, the priest made the sign of the cross. ‘Amen,’ he said. Absolution.
Suddenly the machines started bleeping. They were getting louder. Jake shouted for the doctor, but medical personnel were already rushing in. The crash team ran in and ordered everyone outside. Tony had gone into cardiac arrest. He was drowning in his own body. He couldn’t breathe, and he needed surgery.
All everyone could do was look through the windows of the intensive care unit as the team tried starting Tony’s heart again. At last, after what seemed forever, the doctors stood back. Tony was stable again, and his heart was working. They wanted to get him down to surgery as soon as possible. They needed to drain his lungs to suck out blood and other fluids that were in the pleural space.
It was Elle who brought the subject up. ‘Do you think we should tell Francesca, Jake?’ She knew it had to be said.
On hearing her name, Jake flipped. He looked at Elle, his eyes full of anger. ‘That fucking bitch. She is the one who made him unhappy. She doesn’t care about him, and she never did.’ Jake now had someone to vent his anger on. He hated Francesca. ‘How can you say that, Elle? She snubbed him and made sarcastic remarks to him. No way. She would probably be glad that he’s in bed alone for once. This is all her fault.’ Jake slammed his fist against the wall.
Julie spoke up. She knew that Jake was upset, but she wasn’t having this. ‘You wish that he had never met her, don’t you, Jake? And that it’s all her fault. I know everything, Jake. You brought Francesca into the family.’ She pointed her finger at him. ‘You wanted her to be a part of his life. Remember, Jake?’ Julie wasn’t having Francesca taking the blame for this.
Jake looked shocked. He stopped shouting about Francesca and looked at Julie. Just how much did she know? More to the point, what did Ralph know?
I woke with a start. Something had woken me up, but I didn’t know what it was. I had heard someone call my name in the darkness of the bedroom. I jumped out of bed and turned the lights on to illuminate the room to the fullest. I went into Bobby’s room to see if he was okay, but then a thought occurred to me. Bobby wouldn’t call me Francesca. I had heard it as clear as day. Tentatively, I crept downstairs and checked the monitors. There was no one around. I had a feeling of dread but couldn’t explain it.
It felt spooky, eerie to say the least. Maybe I had been dreaming? My name had been said so clearly it sounded like someone was in the same room as me. It made me shudder.
I went back upstairs but couldn’t settle. Leaving the bedroom lights on, I lay back. I had this strange feeling of foreboding. I waited in the silence to see if I could hear it again.
I had let Bobby watch his cartoons all evening, and then we’d had an early night with hot chocolate and marshmallows. And then this. My mam used to say it felt like someone had walked over her grave.
I couldn’t sleep. So I got up again and turned on the television and started to make some coffee. I heard that there had been a devastating crash on the motorway with a lot of casualties.
Eventually, it was time for Bobby to go to school and to walk Susie along the beach.
I was surprised that, when I got home, Elle wasn’t there. She usually came early. Even if she wasn’t staying, she popped in to see if I needed anything from the shops. I telephoned her, but the call just went to her answerphone.
Sharon walked down the hospital corridor and found Jake. He had telephoned her because he didn’t know what else to do, and she had come as soon as she could get there.
‘How is Tony?’ She put her arms around Jake and hugged him. He looked pale and his eyes were red and puffy.
‘They’ve taken him down to surgery, Sharon. He’s suffocating to death. They need to drain his lungs. He’s had a heart attack and nearly died.’ Jake just blurted out everything at once. He was glad she was there. He needed her support, and she had come without a second thought.
Ralph had dozed off in a chair while Julie had sat comforting Elle. They hadn’t mentioned Fran’s name again. Emotions were running high, and Jake wanted someone to blame for all of this. Eventually, a doctor came to see them and told them that Tony was out of surgery and in recovery. They explained that the operation had gone okay. Now, it was just a matter of time.
Ralph suggested that he and Julie go and come back later with clean clothes and things for Tony. Jake wouldn’t leave Tony’s side and just handed over the apartment keys. Once in the car, Julie checked her mobile. There were a couple of messages from Francesca. None of them mentioned the accident or Tony.
‘Ralph,’ said Julie, ‘I don’t think Fran knows about Tony. I don’t know how she has missed this, but I have to tell her, Ralph, because not one of her messages mentions it.’ Julie took hold of Ralph’s hand and squeezed it.
They were both tired, and Ralph was concerned that Julie had been up all night and stressed in her pregnant state.
‘Keep out of it. Julie. You heard Jake. He won’t have her there.’ Ralph was worried. He sat back against the back seat of the car. ‘Is that really wise, Julie?’ He knew Julie would do just as she pleased. But everyone’s nerves were raw, and they had started snapping at each other through lack of sleep and worry. ‘Okay, tell her then. But don’t let her go to the hospital. There have been enough fireworks. Let Jake calm down first. Anyway, what did you mean before when you told him that you knew everything?’
Julie lay back and closed her eyes. The last thing she wanted now was a confrontation with Ralph. ‘Oh nothing. Forget it. It’s just about Fran, and Jake was annoying me, accusing her of everything.’
She dialled Francesca’s mobile and was surprised to hear a happy cheerful voice on the other end of the telephone.
Julie was shocked. She looked at Ralph and shook her head, indicating that Francesca didn’t know anything about Tony. God, did she live in a bubble; everyone else knew.
‘Fran, listen to me, there has been an accident on thee motorway. Ralph and I have just left the hospital. Tony is in a bad way. He went into cardiac arrest early hours of this morning, about four, but he’s alive. For goodness’ sake, don’t go, Fran. Jake won’t have you there. I will keep you updated.’
