Unfortunately, progress hadn’t been so easily forthcoming without her star team member.
Wake up, Connor
, she thought irritably.
Get out of that damn hospital and get back into the Auditorium. Send Mark back to head office in a deluge of sarcastic comments. Put him in his place and get back into yours.
They climbed the steps leading onto the upper terrace then eased through a gap in the temporary fencing on the lawn area. Mark stopped to talk with a subcontractor and Emma chose not to wait for him. She tugged her safety glasses from around her neck and slipped them on before stepping through the new penetration and onto the ramp that stretched down to the working platform of the birdcage scaffold. Orange was everywhere. Workmen bustled about, preparing the area for the technical zone steel that was soon to arrive. She could hear block workers on the Stalls level, sixteen metres below her feet. Somewhere out of sight a man worked with a blowtorch. Blue light and gold sparks flashed.
She felt a vibration in her pocket and reached for her phone. She didn’t recognise the number.
“Emma Kitchener speaking.”
“Ms Kitchener, this is Renee from the Royal Melbourne Hospital.”
Emma’s heart constricted. Then it began to beat very fast. “Yes?”
“I’m calling to let you know that Mr Abbott is awake.”
Something inside of her loosened. Ecstatic, Emma grinned. “That’s brilliant news.”
“Are you aware of our visiting hours?”
“Can I come now?”
“Of course.”
Renee sounded pleased. It must be fun to make these kinds of calls, the kind that made people stutter with joy.
Emma turned on her boot heel and strode up the ramp. The looming storm obscured the sunshine. There wasn’t a scrap of blue sky in any direction, but her day had just got brighter.
Renee’s tone shifted slightly. “The doctor has asked that you speak with him prior to seeing Connor.”
Emma stopped walking. “Why?”
“You’ll need to speak to his doctor, I’m afraid I can’t give you that information over the phone. You’re listed as his emergency contact. Are you family?”
“No.”
There was a moment’s pause. “Do you know the contact details of any family members?”
“He doesn’t have any family.”
Another pause. “No worries. We’ll see you when you get here, then.”
Emma hung up and stared ahead. Her intuition flared. Connor was awake at last but something had clearly taken the doctor by surprise. Renee’s interest in contacting his family was not the best of omens.
She was listed as his emergency contact only because she’d filled in the forms the night he’d been rushed into emergency. She’d been covered in blood that had stained the admission pages, and she hadn’t had the information she’d have needed to fill out the forms any other way. She had access to the information now, however much she hated to use it.
Emma crossed to Mark and the contractor from NJK. He took his sweet time acknowledging she was there, but she was too distracted to care. “Connor’s phone, please.” She offered her hand, palm up.
What Mark saw in her expression she couldn’t guess. He handed it over. The moment the plastic touched her skin it rang. She rejected the call then thumbed through the menu button. She scrolled through his address book, past her name that still read ‘ICE Em’, and stopped when she reached the name ‘Singh, Asha’.
She connected the call and walked over to the balcony edge. Below her, activity was under way preparing the riverfront for piling works. Rock breakers drilled into the earth, shuddering against the bedrock. In a few months time, the team would begin rebuilding the deck.
The phone rang and rang. Then, “Connor?”
She cleared her throat. “Uh, no. It’s Emma.”
“Why do you have Connor’s phone?”
“It’s a work phone, Asha. It went to the guy that replaced him. Listen, I’m calling because Connor’s awake. But it sounds like something’s up. I’m heading over now to find out what, but I thought you should know.” She closed her eyes. “Did you want to meet me there?”
“Don’t you dare go in without me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. I’ll wait at reception.”