Emergency at the Royal. Joanna Neil

      CHAPTER ONE

      ‘SOMETHING must be really wrong. Do you see that van driver? What’s he doing?’

      Oblivious to everything around her, Katie had been sipping her coffee in a peaceful corner of the café, but now, hearing a quiet buzz of conversation, she looked up and glanced around. Who had said that? She couldn’t be sure, but she was conscious of a slight disturbance starting up around her, of a faint hum of distracted chatter passing through the room.

      Her mind had been somewhere else—sitting here was the perfect chance to enjoy a few moments of relaxation after her afternoon shopping trip. Would Reece like the wooden train set she had bought for him? Thinking about her brother’s little boy, she smiled. He would be four years old next week, and he loved to play with anything that had wheels, so with luck he would appreciate her birthday gift.

      ‘Oh, no. Look at him—he’s all over the place.’

      Katie was startled into attentiveness once more. Lost in her own thoughts, she had missed what was going on. Now, though, she realised that people were getting up from their tables and going over to the window.

      ‘What’s he doing? He’s lost control—oh, those poor people.’

      Katie put her cup down on its saucer and turned towards the window to see what everyone was looking at, and a nightmare image met her eyes. Across the street, a van was mounting the pavement, and people who had been in its path were scattering in sheer panic. Then the vehicle smashed into a wall and came to an abrupt halt.

      Katie didn’t stop to think any longer. She was on her feet in an instant and running out of the café towards the wreck of the van and the devastation of shattered brickwork and damaged people who simply hadn’t managed to escape in time.

      Assessing the full horror of what had happened, she pulled in a deep breath and her mind flipped smoothly into professional mode. Her phone was in her handbag, and she reached for it now and called for an ambulance.

      As she spoke, her gaze flicked along the street and she saw that a passing car was slowing down. She guessed that the driver was about to pull in at the side of the road. Other drivers seemed to be following suit, and a small crowd was beginning to gather.

      As far as Katie could see, there were four casualties—the van driver, who was slumped across his steering-wheel, a man who was sitting crumpled on the pavement and next to him a woman who was crying out in shock and despair. Finally, there was a small child who was lying on the ground to one side of the front of the van.

      ‘Help us, please,’ the woman said, tears rolling down her cheeks. ‘My little boy—he’s not moving. I don’t know what to do.’ Her voice cracked. ‘How could this be happening to us?’ Her blonde hair was damp and streaked with blood, and she was shaking, her face white with anguish.

      ‘I’m a doctor,’ Katie said, gently. ‘I’ll do what I can. Try to stay calm while I check everyone out.’

      She could see that the woman was bleeding from a head wound and that her arm was grazed, but at least she was breathing and talking, and Katie wasn’t worried about her for the moment. The man was nursing his abdomen, but he, too, was conscious, and Katie turned her attention to the child.

      He was about six years old, and he was lying very still, but his eyes were open, and she said softly, ‘Hello. I’m Katie. Can you tell me your name?’

      ‘Matthew.’ He forced the word out between his lips.

      ‘Can you tell me where it hurts, Matthew?’

      ‘It’s my leg.’ His eyes blazed in sudden warning. ‘Don’t you touch it.’

      ‘All right, Matthew. I’ll be very careful, I promise.’ She examined him briefly, and then said, ‘I’m going to leave you for a moment while I go and take a look at the other people who are hurt. I’ll be back very soon. Your mum will sit with you, and you’re going to be all