Chapter 7
The chaotic scenes at the Graham household were continuing. Paramedics that had worked on the two babies were now working intensely on Kate Graham who had collapsed and begun suffering from involuntary fits, trying to stabilise her.
Police officers asked a hapless Ed to go with them and answer a few questions. Ed was devastated and in no real state to comply, but decided to go along as he could no longer bare seeing his wife in that condition. They escorted him back to the house and went in to his front room where they carefully ushered him on to the sofa. Ed looked as though he had lost connection with reality.
“My fault... Door locked... car... house... wet... My fault” Ed was in shock and jabbering incoherently. The police were trying to make sense of his statements but were met by the same words over and over again.
The street was now filled with onlookers who were witness to the drama unfolding before them. Some began taking pictures from their camera phones while others just stared on in shock and in tears. Rumours quickly began circulating amongst the spectators that the parents of these children were neglectful and had locked their kids in the car.
That which began as a routine family trip to the supermarket unfolded in to tragedy and the consequences had yet to be fully felt.
The whirring sound of a helicopter was now being heard above. The body of Kate was shaking violently and the doctors on the scene were struggling to contain it. They decided that in order to revive her, they would need more sophisticated apparatus.
The police and doctors picked up her convulsing body and carefully put her on a stretcher which was then tied down in order to restrain her. They loaded her in to the back of the ambulance and closed the doors with force, which gave the driver of the ambulance the signal to proceed at full pelt. The sea of people had to part in order to make way.
Ed, still inside the house, had once again heard the sirens which began this shattering episode. Despite his disconnection to the here and now, Edward managed to decipher the meaning of that sound and got up from the sofa. He wobbled outside as officers stood by his side. He had no choice but to look on helplessly and blabbered on some more incoherent sentences.
“I’m afraid we are going to have to arrest you Mr Graham.” Explained one of the officers that escorted him outside.
“The water...the car...my fault” Ed continued to ramble.
“You are under arrest on suspicion of child abuse and manslaughter. You do not have to say anything, but anything you do will be used in the court of law” said one police officer, while another restrained him and a third applied the handcuffs unchallenged.
They escorted him out of the drive way through the hoards of people standing outside, while people continued to gasp and film him on their camera phones.
Edward face had a ghostly look on his face.
One of the officers opened the door, while the other pushed Edward Graham in to the back of the vehicle. The sirens then began blaring from the police car and sped off in to the distance.
