by Joanna Neil
‘We’re in here,’ Brodie said. ‘We’ve had some new additions to the family.’
‘Hey, that’s great.’ David came to look at the proud mother, kneeling down to stroke her gently and admire her offspring. ‘Well done, Daisy. Are you all done, now? Is that it...five altogether? Wow!’
They watched the tableau for a while and then David asked, ‘Is that Chinese food going spare in the kitchen? Only, I haven’t eaten for hours.’
‘Help yourself.’ Caitlin stood up. ‘I’ll get you a plate.’
‘Cheers. You’re an angel,’ David murmured. ‘Oh, and at the weekend, I thought you might want to play the part of a farm girl feeding the hens—Brodie can be hoeing the kitchen garden. I talked it over with the producer and he’s okay with that. You don’t have to say anything, just do the actions.’
Brodie followed them into the kitchen, frowning. ‘So what’s the scene all about?’
David took a seat at the table and helped himself to stir-fried noodles and chicken. ‘It’ll be mostly centred around the barn—the detective is looking for a suspect and asks the farmer if anyone’s been hiding out in the barn overnight. The farmer says no, but then they find a bloodstain in the straw and after that the forensic team is brought in.’
‘That’s it?’ Brodie raised his brows expressively.
‘Yeah. It’s an essential part of the drama. Someone was there, see, but the body has been moved.’
‘The plot thickens.’ Caitlin chuckled. ‘What does your father have to do in the scene?’
‘He’ll be delivering foodstuff for the animals—unloading it off a lorry. I suppose Brodie could go and give him a hand—yeah, that would be good. It’ll fit in with the red herring we planned: he looks like the man who drove the getaway car—our prime suspect.’
Caitlin smiled. ‘What a pity the drama spans the TV watershed; the youngsters in the children’s unit will be missing a treat—their favourite doctor on TV. Unless, of course, their parents let them stay up for the first half.’
Brodie’s eyes narrowed on her. ‘Please don’t tell them. I’ll never hear the last of it.’
She chuckled, but David said quickly, ‘I think most people roundabout will know, sooner or later. The press will be on hand for the filming—you know the sort of thing: “Murder Mysteries will be back on your screens for the autumn. Filming is taking place now in the peaceful, picturesque village of Ashley Vale, Buckinghamshire. Local doctors have given over their properties for the recording...”’
Brodie groaned. ‘Why did I ever agree to this? We’ll have the local newshounds all over us as well as the national.’
Caitlin lightly patted his shoulder. ‘Look on the bright side: you’ll be out at work most of the time. Unless they follow you and find you there, of course...’
He groaned again, louder this time, and they laughed.
* * *
The film crew arrived early in the morning on Saturday to allow time for costume, make-up and setting the scene. David had the bright idea of putting Daisy and her puppies in a wooden feed trough in the barn. They would be written into the scene, he said—a means whereby the victim of the story was drawn to the barn. ‘It’ll be a sweet moment in the drama,’ he said, ‘Seeing them all golden-haired and snuggled together.’ They were certainly thriving, getting bigger every day.
Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, Caitlin duly went out to scatter corn for the hens. There was a moment of aggravation when the geese decided they needed to ward off the visitors, but after a few minutes of chasing about, she and Brodie managed to grab hold of them and shut them in one of the outhouses.
‘I’ll give them a feed of leftover vegetables and pellets to keep them happy,’ Caitlin said, breathless after her exertions. ‘I hope we haven’t disrupted the filming too much.’
‘I think they’re used to happenings like that on set,’ Brodie murmured. ‘Besides, it’s given you quite a glow—you’ll look great on camera.’
So she was flushed and harassed already—not a good start. One of the extras was wheezing heavily as he walked by the barn to the lorry but she decided perhaps that was the part he was meant to play. Anyway, Brodie was with him, unloading sacks of grain, his shirt sleeves rolled up, biceps bulging.
She looked away, her own lungs unexpectedly dysfunctional all of a sudden. She began to spread corn over the ground, trying not to show that she’d been affected in any way by his sheer animal magnetism.
For his part, Brodie’s father stood by the lorry and helped to unload the sacks. He and Brodie spoke briefly to one another in undertones as they worked, but their expressions were taut, businesslike. Brodie heaved another sack from the lorry and walked with it on his shoulder to the barn.
‘Okay, thanks, everyone. That’s a wrap on this scene!’ the director said after a while. He went over to the film crew. ‘We’ll move on down the lane in half an hour and do the accident scene. David, you need to come along with us—I’m not sure the script works too well where the policewoman finds the overturned car with the woman at the wheel. She’s on her way to meet her daughter at the farm but I’m not sure her feelings of anxiety are fully shown. Maybe you can tighten it up a bit.’
‘Okay.’ David winced briefly but he didn’t seem too bothered by the request and Caitlin guessed he was used to being asked to make last-minute changes.
‘An overturned car?’ Brodie shot David a piercing look. ‘You didn’t mention that part of the script when you told me about the episode.’
David pulled a face. ‘It was something the producer wanted written in to heighten the drama. There are only the main members of the cast involved, so I didn’t think you’d need to know the details.’
Brodie’s expression was taut. ‘Don’t you have any problem with it?’
David’s mouth flattened. ‘Of course I do—but it’s my job, Brodie. I don’t have a choice but to go along with things. You understand that, don’t you?’
Brodie didn’t answer. His jaw flexed and his eyes glittered, bleak and as hard as flint.
Caitlin watched them, two brothers deep in earnest conversation, and knew something was badly wrong. A car accident had featured heavily in their young lives—it had been the cause of major tragedy for both of them. Was that what was causing the tension between them now?
David glanced at her. ‘I should have said something before this,’ he murmured. ‘It was bound to come as a shock...a reminder of what happened. I’ve had time to get used to it because I’ve been working on the original script for some weeks.’ The director was on the move, briskly calling for the crew to follow him, and David looked back at his brother. ‘I have to go. Will you be all right?’
‘Of course.’ Brodie’s answer was curt but David clearly wasn’t convinced. Once more, he looked at Caitlin and made a helpless gesture with his hands.
She gave an imperceptible nod. ‘Brodie, let’s go and get a coffee, shall we? And I need to let the geese out of prison as soon as the crew have gone.’
‘They’re all packing up and moving out along the lane. It shouldn’t take them too long. I imagine it will be safe soon enough.’ He walked over to the barn, calling out, ‘I’ll get Daisy and her brood.’
His father had already left, Caitlin noticed, and she wondered if that bothered him too. She’d invited Colin to stay behind for coffee and a snack earlier, but he’d declined the offer, saying he had to get back to Mill House. He was having problems with his roof.
Brodie installed Daisy and the puppies—three male, two female—back in their new home in the utility room and then came into the kitchen. Caitlin poured coffee into a mug and slid it across the table towards him. ‘I see you let the geese out,’ she murmured, glancing through the kitchen window. ‘They’ve taken up position by the gate, just in case anyone tries to come back.’
He made a faint smile at that. ‘It’s good to know we don’t need a guard dog. I’m not sure Daisy would be up to the job right now.’
‘I don’t know about t
hat. Wait till the pups are wandering about. I expect she’ll be very protective of them—the mothering instinct will take over.’
Brodie’s expression tautened and she quickly sat down opposite him at the table, placing her hand over his in a comforting gesture. ‘What’s wrong, Brodie? Do you want to tell me about it?’
‘Nothing’s wrong.’ He stiffened, sitting straight backed, his gaze dark.
‘Your mood changed as soon as you heard about the car scene. Perhaps it will help to talk about it.’
‘I don’t see how. Anyway, it was all a long time ago. It shouldn’t...’ His voice trailed off and Caitlin gently ran her hand over his.
‘Did you ever talk about what happened? This is about your mother, isn’t it? Why don’t you bring it out into the open once and for all? Tell me what you’re thinking. It might help.’
Angry sparks flared in his eyes. ‘Don’t you think David suffered just as much as I did? He lost her too, you know, and he was younger than me. She was a huge loss to all of us.’
‘I know. But there’s something that’s been burning inside you ever since it happened. I saw it in your face after the accident. I knew there was something you weren’t telling me...something you kept locked up inside. What is it, Brodie? Why can’t you tell me what’s wrong?’
He wrapped his hands around his coffee cup and pulled in a deep breath, bending his head so that she wouldn’t see his face. When he spoke, finally, it was almost a whisper. ‘It was my fault,’ he said.
She frowned. ‘How could it be your fault? You weren’t there. It was dark and there was a rainstorm—the roads were treacherous. She went into a skid on a bend in a country lane and the car overturned. How was that your fault? How could you even think it?’
‘I was sixteen. I’d stayed out too long in town—way past when I was supposed to be home—and the buses weren’t running. I didn’t have the money for a taxi, so I phoned home and asked for a lift.’
His voice was low so she strained to hear what he was saying. He took a shuddery breath and went on, ‘Dad answered the phone. He was furious because I’d been irresponsible and he told me to walk home in the rain. It was twelve miles, and I argued with him, kicked up a fuss, which made him worse. He was going to put the phone down on me but my mother came on the line and wanted to know where I was. She came out to fetch me because he refused.’
His hands clenched into fists. ‘It was my fault she died,’ he said. ‘I should have walked home. In the end, the police came and found me and told me what had happened. My dad didn’t speak to me for days.’
A small gasp escaped her. ‘I didn’t know...about the row, I mean. I’m so sorry, Brodie.’ She stood up and put her arms around him. ‘It was an awful thing to happen, but it wasn’t your fault. Lots of teenagers get into scrapes and cause their parents hassle. You can’t go on blaming yourself.’
‘But I do.’ He pulled a face. ‘Logically, I know all the reasoning, the explanations—but in my heart I feel the guilt all the time. I don’t feel I have the right to be happy. I didn’t know how to handle it when I was younger, but later I decided to try to make some kind of reparation by going into medicine. It doesn’t appease my guilt but it helps, a bit.’
‘Believe me, you’ve done everything you can. And now you have to put it behind you. Your mother wouldn’t want you to go on blaming yourself. She wouldn’t want you to waste your life feeling guilty.’
His brow creased. ‘No, perhaps not.’
‘Definitely not. She was always there for you, Brodie. She loved you. She would want you to be happy. And I think she would have wanted you to make up with your dad.’
She rested her cheek against his. ‘She would have hated the way your father reacted afterwards, not speaking to you, but have you ever thought that maybe, once he was over the initial shock, that he felt guilty too? You asked him to come and get you and he refused—maybe, if he’d been driving, he’d have handled the road conditions differently. Perhaps that’s why you and he can’t get on—you both feel that you’re equally to blame for what happened.’
He sighed heavily. ‘I know...I know...you’re probably right. I’ve been over and over it in my mind. But I don’t see how we can resolve things after all this time. I stayed away because I wasn’t wanted but now I’ve come back here to work, he does his best to avoid me.’
‘Does he? Are you sure about that?’ She straightened, letting her arms fall to her sides. ‘Why did he take part in the filming today? He didn’t have to do it. He could have found an excuse and stayed away. But he didn’t, Brodie. He came along, knowing you would be here. It isn’t much, but it’s a start. Don’t you agree?’
‘I suppose so.’ His mouth made a crooked, awkward line. ‘The truth is, I’m not actually sure I want to make up with my dad. He treated me harshly and it left a scar.’
‘You’ve both been scarred. It’s time to start the healing process.’
He gave her a long, assessing look. ‘When all’s said and done, I think that’s what I like about you, Caity. You’ve always made me look at the big picture, made me face up to what I’m doing with my life; shown me what a mess I’m making...even if it’s not what I want to know at the time.’
‘Maybe I do it because I care about you,’ she said softly. ‘I don’t think you’re making a mess of things—you’re doing the best you can in the circumstances. I want to help you. I don’t want to see you hurting.’
And maybe she did it because she loved him...because she’d always loved him, though she hadn’t always recognised it.
His revelations had shocked her to the core, but now she understood why he had so many doubts about himself. Perhaps this tragedy of his childhood, together with the uncertainty of his parentage and the difficult relationship with his father, were all part of the reason why he couldn’t commit to love.
For herself, she had come to realise that her feelings for him went very deep, far more than she had allowed herself to acknowledge until this moment. He might not feel the same way about her, didn’t even know what he wanted right now, but she would look out for him all the same. She couldn’t help herself.
CHAPTER SIX
‘I HAVE TO go over to the hospital to deal with a couple of things that have cropped up,’ Brodie said. It was Sunday morning; he’d surprised Caitlin by appearing on her doorstep some time after breakfast.
She was dressed casually in a short-sleeved shirt and pencil-line skirt that faithfully outlined her curves. She was inwardly thrilled that he appeared totally distracted for a moment as he looked at her, until he shook his head, as though to clear it.
‘Uh, something...something’s happened with one of your patients—a reaction to the medication she was prescribed—and I wondered if you want to come with me. It’s Janine, the five-year-old with the chest infection.’
‘Heavens, yes, of course I’ll come with you.’ She was appalled by the news and immediately on the alert. ‘Is she all right?’
‘I believe so. It looks as though she’s allergic to the penicillin she was given this morning. Her throat swelled up, she was wheezing and she has an all-over rash. The registrar acted quickly to put things right, but obviously the parents are upset, so I want to go and talk to them.’
‘Okay.’ She made sure Daisy and the puppies were safely ensconced in the utility room and grabbed her jacket, going out with him to his car.
The roads were fairly clear of traffic but Brodie drove carefully as usual and appeared to be deep in thought. ‘You’re very quiet,’ she commented. ‘Are you worried about the situation at the hospital?’
He shook his head. ‘These things happen. It’s no one’s fault, and the little girl is all right.’
‘Okay.’ She glanced at him, noting the straight line of his mouth. Was he dwelling on what they’d talked about yesterday, about his problems with his father? ‘Is it your dad, then? Are you going to try to sort things out with him this afternoon when the film crew set up again?’
He shrug
ged. ‘I haven’t given it much thought. I prefer not to think about it.’
It was clear he wasn’t going to talk about it and she was disappointed. Maybe that was selfish on her part, but she couldn’t help feeling that sorting out the problems from his past was the key to his chance of true happiness for the future.
Would that future include her? Something in her desperately wanted to keep him in her life but, at this point in time, who could tell if it would come about? More importantly, would any relationship last? He had more than enough problems to overcome and, as for herself, she’d been through a lot of heartache; she didn’t want to put herself through any more. Caring had been her downfall. Somehow, she had to be strong, put up defences and guard herself against being hurt.
And right now they both had more pressing matters to deal with. Of course he was right to stay focused.
At the hospital, Brodie showed Janine’s distraught parents into his office and invited them to make themselves comfortable in the upholstered chairs. The room was designed to put people at ease—carpeted underfoot and fitted out with pale gold beechwood furniture.
‘Unfortunately, Janine had an allergic reaction to the penicillin,’ he told them. ‘It’s fairly unusual, but luckily the doctor on duty caught it quickly and gave her an injection of adrenaline. We’ll give her steroid medication as well for a short time, and obviously she needs to have a different antibiotic.’ He frowned. ‘The allergy wasn’t noted before this on her records, so I’m assuming this is the first time she’s had a reaction like that?’ He looked at the parents for confirmation.
The girl’s mother nodded. ‘She’s always been healthy up to now and not needed penicillin. We were just so shocked when we saw what was happening to her.’
‘That’s understandable.’ Brodie was sympathetic.
‘I’m so sorry this happened to her,’ Caitlin said. ‘We hoped that the penicillin would resolve the problem of her infection but clearly she’ll need to avoid it in any form from now on.’
‘We’ll inform her GP,’ Brodie said. ‘And a note will be made in the records. This shouldn’t happen again but you’ll need to tell any medical practitioner of the allergy if they plan on prescribing antibiotics for her.’