by M A Comley
She wiped away the tears that dripped onto her cheeks as the image of her father passed away at the kitchen table drifted through her mind. “I miss you so much, Dad. Please, please help Jade through this. I couldn’t bear losing her too.” Lorne reflected on the way she’d been feeling out of sorts all day and wondered if it could be attributed to a premonition of her sister’s dilemma. Who knows about these things, really? She made a note to try and ring Carol after visiting Jade.
Lorne pulled into the drive of her sister’s detached house and locked the car. Jade was standing on the doorstep, ready to greet her. She ran into her sister’s arms, and together, they sobbed.
After several minutes, Luigi appeared. “Ladies, please, come inside.”
Lorne hugged and kissed her Italian brother-in-law, who was still as handsome as the day Jade had married him. “Hello, love. It’s good to see you.”
He smiled and touched a hand to her cheek. “Too long, Lorne. We’ve missed you.”
She felt a sharp pain in her gut as though a knife were being twisted. She felt bad that her super-busy workload and the kennel had meant she’d neglected Jade and her family over the years.
“Come through to the kitchen. Do you want something to eat, Lorne?” Luigi asked, his voice tinged with emotion.
Lorne sat on one of the stools at the kitchen island. “No, I better not. Tony will be cooking dinner. Sit down with me, Jade. Tell me what the doctor has said.” She pulled out the stool next to her, and Jade sat down heavily. Her head sank onto her chest, and she clutched her hands together as Luigi stood next to her.
“I have to go for a biopsy at the hospital,” Jade said.
Placing her hand over Jade’s, Lorne asked, “When did you find it?”
“I went to the doctor yesterday, although I felt the lump a few weeks ago. You know what it’s like to get an appointment with a GP these days.”
Annoyed, she asked, “Couldn’t they have fitted you in as an emergency?”
“Nope. Oh, I don’t know. I suppose they could have. I’ve been in a bit of a daze since we discovered it.” Jade looked up at Luigi, who was smiling down at her, pure love etched on his face and welling up in his eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Lorne suddenly felt left out. Knowing that was foolish, she pushed the feeling away.
“I didn’t want to upset you. I needed time to process the truth before I told you.”
“I understand. Maybe it’ll turn out to be a cyst or something like that.”
Jade hitched up a shoulder. “Let’s hope so. We’ll know more once the biopsy has been taken.”
“When do you have to go in for that, love?”
“I’m waiting on the appointment to come through. The doctor thinks I should hear within a few days. It’s a bittersweet moment. On the one hand, I want to know, and on the other, I’m dreading hearing the news and the consequences it will bring if the answer is that it’s cancer…” Tears surfaced in her eyes as the dreaded word stuck in her throat. “My God, what if it is? What will I do? I couldn’t bear not seeing the boys grow up.”
“Please think positively about this, Jade. If it is the C word, then hopefully, they’ve caught it in time. It’s best not to speculate too much.”
Jade ran a worried hand around her face and shook her head. “It’s kind of hard not speculating, Lorne. I’m constantly reminded of what I’ve lost in this world.”
Lorne surveyed the room as her sister’s gaze landed on a photo of their parents that had been taken just before her mother’s death. “We’ve all lost someone close in this world. You need to think of the here and the future, not dwell on the past, love. We’ll be here to support you through this. All of us will be here.”
Jade looked her in the eye. “Will you? Because you haven’t been around much lately.”
“Now, Jade. That’s unfair of you to say that,” Luigi reprimanded his wife.
Lorne just stared at her sister. In the past, she would have jumped down Jade’s throat as soon as she uttered such words, but she couldn’t bring herself to retaliate.
Jade squeezed her hand. “That was uncalled for. Please forgive me, Lorne.”
She smiled at her sister. “Nothing to forgive. It’s the truth. We all realise that, love. I’m so sorry for neglecting you over the years. Let’s make a vow right here and now to correct that, yes?”
Jade glanced up at her husband then back at Lorne. “We’d like that. Maybe we can spend Sundays together sometimes? What about once a month? Or would that be too much?”
“Hmm… I was thinking more along the lines of every Sunday. How would that suit? If we don’t make the effort…”
“That sounds great to me. We could take it in turns to do a Sunday lunch, and when the weather’s nice, we could all meet up for a picnic somewhere. What do you say?”
“Suits me. What about you, Luigi? You’re pretty busy yourself with your export business to manage.”
“It’ll be good to find the time for family. We really have missed you guys. The boys idolise you and are always asking after you, wanting to know who you’ve arrested. They’re so proud to see their auntie Lorne when you’re on the TV, appealing to the public for help.”
“Aww… that’s lovely to hear. Right, we’ll make a pact that no matter how busy we are in the future, Sunday is family get-together day.”
“Maybe if it is the C word, we should be grateful that it’s touched our lives again, if it has brought us together like this,” Jade admitted with a slight smile.
Lorne chuckled. “That’s one way of looking at it, love.” It was good to see her sister not treating the situation as a doom-and-gloom scenario. The old Jade would have been in floods of tears, wailing about how unfair life was. It was, of course. However, Lorne took heart from the fact that Jade appeared to be handling the situation maturely. There was little anyone could say or do to make the situation more bearable until the hospital had run the tests.
Luigi made them all a coffee and called the boys into the room. Lorne hugged her nephews, Marco and Gino, who were eight and six.
Where has the time gone?
They hugged her tightly in return. Lorne wasn’t sure they knew what was going on with their mum, but she feared they sensed something bad was happening. She looked over their shoulders at Jade and raised an eyebrow.
Jade shook her head adamantly. Lorne nodded and hugged the boys even more. Tears moistened her eyes, and shame tugged at her heart for not giving her family the time over the years. “Can I change my mind about dinner?”
Jade smiled. “Of course. Why don’t you ring Tony and invite him over, as well?”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“The more the merrier. Hang on, wasn’t he cooking you a meal this evening?”
“That can do for another day. It’s been ages since we sampled one of Luigi’s finest lasagnes. I’ll give him a ring. I don’t think Charlie will make it, though. We barely see her as it is now that she’s got a regular boyfriend on the go.”
“I’m glad she’s found someone she can trust after all she’s been through in her young life,” Jade said.
“So am I. He’s a really nice chap. Oh dear, hark at me, that sounds like something Mum would have said.”
The sisters chuckled. Lorne walked into the garden to ring Tony. “Hello, love.”
“Hi, I was expecting you home by now. Something up?” he asked, sounding concerned.
“I’m at Jade and Luigi’s. They’ve invited us for dinner.”
“Oh dear, that’s awkward. I’ve got a casserole in the oven.”
Lorne exhaled a breath. “Phew, that’s okay then. It won’t spoil if we leave it until tomorrow, will it?”
“If that’s what you want, love. What aren’t you telling me?”
She took another few steps away from the house and spoke quietly. “I need to be here for Jade, Tony. She rang me before I left work to tell me she’d found a lump in her breast.”
“Shi
t! I’m so sorry. Is it, you know, cancer?”
“She’s awaiting a biopsy. Can you come over?”
“Of course. I’ll switch off the oven, leave Charlie a note and grab Sheba. It’s all right if I bring her, yes?”
“I should think so. The boys would love to see her. Thanks for understanding, Tony. We’ll see you soon. Can you drop by the offie and pick up a bottle of red?”
“I suppose one glass wouldn’t hurt us. We’ll both be driving home, so bear that in mind when you’re drinking it.”
“Ever the practical one.” She laughed and hung up. When she walked towards the house, she saw that Jade was watching her through the kitchen window. She waved, and Jade returned the wave, wearing a huge smile.
Lorne reminisced a little, thinking of when they were younger. They had always been close when they were growing up. Lorne divorcing Tom had really put the first dent in their relationship, though. Jade had always been close to Tom. Every time Tom and Lorne had an argument and Jade heard about it, she always went out of her way to side with Tom, whether he was in the right or wrong. Lorne took umbrage at her sister’s loyalty to Tom over her. She realised, though, that it was about time they put all that behind them and made the most of what life had in store for them in the future, whether that involved Jade going through traumatic cancer treatment or not.
Tony arrived around twenty minutes later, and again Lorne’s guilt seeped through her. The short distance between their houses highlighted how much they had drifted apart over the years. Sheba bounded through the front door and almost knocked little Marco over in her haste to get to him.
Normally, Jade would have shouted at Sheba. Instead, she laughed when Marco jumped to his feet and threw his arms around the German shepherd’s neck in glee. Maybe Jade had turned the corner, after all.
“Oops… perhaps I should have warned you she was coming,” Lorne said, giggling.
“Boys, why don’t you take Sheba in the garden for a kick around until dinner is ready?” Luigi ushered the boys through the house, and Sheba, hearing her name, followed.
Once the boys were outside, Tony reached out and pulled Jade gently into his arms. He whispered something in her ear, then Jade pushed him away and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m sure it’ll be fine and that I’m worrying about nothing. We’ll find out soon enough. Thanks for coming over to be with us, Tony. Lorne has something to tell you.”
Tony eyed Lorne with puzzlement. “You do? You’re not pregnant, are you?”
Everyone roared with laughter when Lorne’s mouth dropped open in sheer terror.
“My God, I don’t think I’ve ever seen my sister speechless before. Okay, I’ll tell you then. We’ve had a chat and decided we need to spend more time together and agreed that going forward, we’ll be spending every Sunday together. How does that sound to you?”
“Well it’s about time. Someone needs to take those lads under their wing and show them how to dribble decently.”
Lorne laughed. “With your bum leg? You think you’re such a football expert, you delusional fool.”
“Who said anything about football?” He took a swig from a drink on the table that belonged to one of the boys and spat a little out so it dribbled down his chin.
Lorne slapped his arm. “Tony Warner, you’re a disgusting animal.”
The four of them laughed. “Seriously, though. It’s about time we patched things up and became a tight-knit family again.”
“Ouch, I wasn’t aware things had become that bad,” Lorne replied sadly.
“Neither was I,” Jade said. “But upon reflection, I suppose Tony is right. Okay, starting from today, we’re making a pact that things are going to be different between us. Deal?”
The four of them agreed and hugged each other to seal the deal.
Luigi checked the oven and announced, “Can someone clean up the boys? Dinner is ready to be served.”
Jade walked across the room and beckoned the boys while Lorne approached her brother-in-law. “I don’t suppose there’s garlic bread to go with that, is there?”
Luigi nodded his head and beamed at her. “But of course, no lasagne would be complete without a side order of garlic bread. Can’t you smell it?”
“I did. But I wasn’t sure how much garlic you’d put in the lasagne.”
Tony slung an arm around Lorne’s shoulders. “Hey, it’s a good job you rang me to join you. Otherwise, you’d be spending the night on the couch.”
Lorne poked him in the ribs. “Cheeky sod. Can I lay the table for you?”
“Thank you, Lorne. Tony, perhaps you can open the wine for me?” Luigi asked.
“Consider it done.”
The meal was delicious, as Lorne had expected. Once the toffee-flavoured cheesecake had been served and eaten, the clearing up began. Luigi and Tony went through to the lounge to play the Xbox with the boys while Lorne and Jade washed and dried up the dishes. It felt good to have some time alone with Jade.
“I’m always here for you, love. You know that, right? I’ve always been here for you.”
Jade glanced her way and smiled. “I know that. I also realise that I’ve not been the easiest person to deal with since Dad passed away. His death hit me harder than I could imagine. I treated you appallingly, blaming you for not being there at the end with him. I’m ashamed of my actions, Lorne. Please forgive me.”
Lorne shook her head. “There’s really nothing to forgive. People grieve in different ways. No one realises that more than me. I see how people react when I have to share the news of a loved one’s passing during the course of an investigation. It’s tough and not everyone accepts the news the same. I should have been more understanding in that respect.”
“Not at all. Please accept my apology.”
“I can’t, Jade. Let’s forget about it and move forward. If you want me to go to the hospital with you, I’ll willingly take time off work to do that.”
Jade stumbled backwards. “Good Lord, I never thought I’d hear you ever utter those words… you, take time off work?”
Lorne pulled a face at her. “I’ve recently been mulling over the more important things in my life, to be honest. Doing that stint at Christmas at the homeless refuge, kind of put things back into perspective a little for me. We need to make the most of our time in this life. We’ve only got one crack at it after all.”
“Is that true? You’re not just saying this because of my situation?”
“Honestly, it might seem a coincidence, but that’s the truth, hon.”
“I should hear within a week. At least, that’s what the doctor said.”
“Let me know, and I’ll arrange time off. Tough shit if Roberts doesn’t like it.”
“Have you and Sean had a falling out?”
Lorne folded the tea towel and placed it over the handle of the oven. “No, not at all. Truly, this is all about how I feel. I can’t let my sister down when she needs me the most.”
“I appreciate it. Do you want some coffee?”
“I’m going to pass for a change. Would you mind if we shoot off home now?”
“Not at all. I’m glad you could join us.”
Lorne went through to the lounge, where Tony, along with Luigi and the boys, was shouting at the screen. He was so engrossed that he jumped when she called his name.
“Tony, are you ready?”
He pouted, obviously having too much fun to leave. “I’ll follow you home a little later. I want to continue thrashing the kids.”
Lorne smiled and shook her head. “I’ll take Sheba with me. See you soon, guys.”
Only Luigi responded. “Thank you, Lorne, for everything.”
She blew him a kiss and collected Sheba’s lead from the hall table. Jade waved her off at the front door. Lorne wasn’t sure how she made it home that night with the dark thoughts prominent in her mind. I can’t lose her. I won’t allow that to happen!
Once home, Lorne ran a bath for herself and did something she hadn’t done for months—t
horoughly checked her own breasts.
Chapter 8
A few days later, Lorne drove into work at the usual time, but when she walked into the incident room, she found Katy sitting at her desk, looking perturbed.
“Good morning, Katy. That look isn’t the face of a happy person. What’s up?”
“You’re going to want to sit down for this.”
Lorne pulled the nearest chair closer to Katy’s desk and dropped into it. “I’m listening. What’s wrong?”
“When Karen and I came in this morning and started up the equipment, something jumped out at her.” Katy turned the monitor towards Lorne and pointed.
The text on the screen mentioned that a body had been extracted from the river the previous evening, close to Canary Wharf. Lorne read the text, but when her eyes landed on the victim’s name, her mouth dropped open.
She looked up at Katy. “Oh my God, tell me I just misread that.”
“I can’t. That was our first reaction too.”
“Gerry Sutherland… that poor man. Do you think he was targeted because we spoke to him?”
Katy shook her head. “I haven’t got a clue what’s going on.”
“I just don’t know where to start. Any suggestions?”
Karen cleared her throat. “If someone is targeting the builders of newbuild sites only, then maybe we should see if anyone has publicly been outspoken about their presence in that area.”
“That’s an excellent suggestion, Karen. I should have thought about that. Can you delve into the archives and see what you come up with?”
“On it now, boss.”
Lorne left her chair and crossed the room to the vending machine. She bought a coffee for the three of them, distributed the cups then took hers into her office. “I’ll be back soon. Let me know when Graham gets in, and we’ll go over what we have so far.”
She paused at the window. The grey clouds moved swiftly above, and a glimmer of the sun’s rays tried to force through to brighten everyone’s day.
After tackling the small amount of post on her desk, she picked up the phone and called the pathology lab. “Hi, Patti. It’s Lorne. Can you talk?”