I stirred to the sound of traffic down below. It was nearly three in the afternoon. Yawning, I noticed that everyone had left already. On the ground was my mobile phone and I picked it up. 8 missed calls from my sister, Lauren. Oh no. I remembered the conversation we had about missed calls. The amount of attempted calls was dependant on its priority, 8 being the most important. What had happened? Had the house burnt down? Was someone injured?
Quickly, I dialed her number.
“Lauren? What’s happening?”
“Come quick. I don’t have time to explain. Royal Melbourne Hospital, Emergency department and ask for me. Hurry.”
The phone hung up. I hastily dressed myself and left with a cup of coffee. By the time I had arrived it was almost four, as the traffic was terrible. Finally I saw Lauren.
Tears rolled slowly down her cheek, as she sobbed the words “You’re … too… late.” Gently grasping my wrist she led me to one of the patient beds. A white cloth was already draped over what seemed like a limp body. My mother, Linda was also sitting in a chair, hands full of damp tissues. Oh no. A solemn nurse was standing nearby holding a clipboard. I was progressively becoming more and more nauseous. My father was missing, my heart sank immediately. Everything seemed to freeze.
The nurse walked over to where I was and spoke in a gentle and composed voice. “I believe you’re Jacob Davies.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“You’re father, Gregory Davies has … unfortunately passed away. I offer you my deepest sympathy. He died of electrocution.”
A wave of queasiness filled my body even though I had been expecting this piece of bad news, but electrocution? No. This couldn’t be. My father was an expert electrician! He would know how to handle electronics. It took me a while to think of what to say.
“No. Someone else must have interfered. Dad was great with electronics.”
Lauren began to speak in a soft voice “Jake… Forensics performed a test and there weren’t any fingerprints…It was perhaps just the wrong actions at the wrong time.”
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