The ambulance arrived first, then the police car. The paramedics checked Nell’s pulse. They tried to ease her out of Joe’s arms, but he tightened his grip and they left him cradling her as they went to get a stretcher. The policewoman ushered Liesel off the bus and into the police car. The policeman got contact details for the passengers and the bus driver. The paramedics loosened Joe’s grasp, lifted Nell out of his arms and laid her gently on the gurney. There was no urgency to their movements, just a steady calm with occasional comments to the policeman who’d come off the bus. They didn’t zip her into a bag. Joe had been afraid they’d cover her face. The bus pulled away and more police cars arrived. There were men positioning striped tape, taking samples of things and muttering into their radios and mobiles. One came over to Joe and knelt beside him and the paramedics. “Look, son, we need to get you to hospital, and we need to contact your mum or your dad. Can you stand up?”
