Story Of My Life

Chapter 15

Sergeant Oliver Williams was sat in his response car at a Starbucks drive-through when the call came from the dispatcher. A panic alarm had been activated at a home in Hampstead Heath. He was only a couple of miles away from there and radioed back that he was on his way. He drove skillfully through the light traffic with lights flashing but no siren. The dispatcher had told him that another unit would meet him there as back up.

When he arrived at the large white home a few minutes later, he noticed that the security door in the wall surrounding the property was slightly ajar. He looked up and down the street but it was empty. He was surveying the exterior of the home when the second response car arrived and he was joined by Constable Kate Jones. Together they went through the security door and walked to the entrance of what appeared to be a dining room. Keeping alert to movement and unusual noises, they approached the French doors. They were standing open. Kate nodded at Sergeant Williams and he called into the home, "This is the Metropolitan Police." There was no response. He called out a second time, and again there was no answer.

With Sergeant Williams leading the way, the officers stepped into the room. Just to the left of the door there was blood smeared on the wall and floor. A vase of silk flowers lay overturned on the large table, blood smears visible on the base. There were drops of blood in a trail on the floor leading to the adjacent room. Following the trail, the officers paused at the doorway to a sitting room to listen for movement, hearing none they turned the corner.

The sight that greeted them made Kate Jones gasp out loud. The room was large and spacious with three white walls and an accent wall of moss green. The furniture was upholstered in light colors, almost pastels. It was the light colors that made the brilliant red of the blood stand out in contrast. There were round stains of blood on the blond hardwood floor, smears on the walls and nearly every surface had at least one pool or spray. The tangy, metallic smell of the blood hit them as they walked carefully into the room, trying not to disturb any evidence in their path. As the officers neared the couch, they saw the bodies of two females on the floor beside the coffee table. Moving swiftly, they continued through the house making sure that no assailant remained hidden. Once the house was secure, they hurried back to the two women in the sitting room. Pulling nitrile gloves from their vest pockets, they checked each of the females. Both were alive but unconscious. Constable Jones began giving aid to the more injured of the two while Sergeant Williams headed out to his vehicle to retrieve his official departmental camera. On the way, he called for ambulances and the crime scene unit and asked that the Criminal Investigative Division be alerted.

It took 10 minutes for the ambulances to arrive. The sergeant had quickly documented the scene with his camera so that the women could be moved without disturbing the evidence. Hearing the medical teams arrive through the still open outer door, he went to meet them and escort them into the home. The paramedics followed Sergeant Williams into the sitting room, their steps faltering just a bit when they saw the sheer amount of blood on the walls, floor and furniture. Seeing Constable Jones on the floor holding pressure to multiple stab wounds, they hurried to assess the patient. With the help of the second ambulance crew, they got her up on the stretcher and out the door in only a few minutes. Sirens blaring, they headed for the nearest trauma center. The second female was much less severely injured but was still transported to the A&E. With the women en route to the hospital, the police officers cordoned off the entry door with crime scene tape and waited for the investigative teams to arrive.

*

The red phone in the Emergency department shrilled insistently.

The nurse closest answered "King's College A & E"

"This is Kim, EMS unit #123 paramedic #2933, en route to your location. We have a white female who appears to be in her mid-twenties, with blunt force trauma from a cricket bat to the frontal parietal and occipital areas of the head. Patient was unconscious upon arrival with a Glasgow Coma score of 8. She has multiple stab wounds to the abdomen, right thigh and left forearm. Bleeding is controlled by direct pressure. Patient has been nasally intubated and is on 100% O2. Two 16 gauge IVs in the forearms with lactated ringer's wide open. We have an ETA of 10 min."