by Linda Sole
She could see that there was an open space at the end of the corridor, and suddenly she heard the sound of something being wheeled. Two men were pushing a patient lying on a trolley and they came round the corner towards her. One of them gave a shout as he saw her, and Frances turned and fled. She had no choice but to go back the way she had come, but as she approached the stairs she saw a small group of people coming from the opposite direction.
‘Stay where you are!’ a man called from her left. ‘You shouldn’t be wandering about like that …’
Frances gave a cry of despair and put her foot on the bottom step in an effort to escape the way she had come. Even as she did so, she heard someone call her name and, turning, she saw a woman break from the little group to the right and come rushing towards her.
‘Emily …’ Frances cried with a sob of relief as she recognized her. Tears were streaming down her cheeks now as the fear she had suppressed overwhelmed her. ‘Don’t let them take me back. They want to give treatment to make me forget … please don’t let them take me …’
‘Of course I won’t let them hurt you,’ Emily said and grabbed hold of her, holding her tight. Frances was shaking, terror in her eyes as the clinic porter caught up to them. ‘I’m taking you back to Vanbrough with me until you are better, dearest. I should never have left you alone in the first place.’
‘You can’t take a patient out without permission,’ the porter asserted, having arrived in time to hear Emily’s statement. ‘She shouldn’t be wandering about like that …’ He reached out to take hold of Frances’s shoulder.
‘Kindly stand back and leave my sister alone,’ Emily said in a voice of ice. ‘I have two doctors with me and an order for her release. She should never have been brought here in the first place – and you, sir, are not a proper person to tell me what I should or should not do. What you can do, is to tell us where we can find Dr Marsham?’
The porter laughed harshly. ‘That’s what a good many more would like to know, madam. If you asked me he’s done a bunk – but if you want to see the person in charge you’d better go up those stairs and talk to Sister Rendle. I reckon she’s about the only one who knows what is going on here.’
‘Thank you,’ Emily said. ‘First I want a blanket to wrap my sister in and then I shall need a wheelchair, if you please. I am going to take my sister out to the car.’ She turned to look at the two men accompanying her. ‘I think I can leave the formalities to you, Dr Renton?’
‘Yes, you certainly can,’ the younger man replied. He looked apologetically at Frances. ‘I am very sorry for what happened to you, Mrs Danby. Please go with your sister – we shall follow shortly.’ Turning to the porter, he said, ‘Fetch a wheelchair and a blanket immediately if you know what’s good for you. This place may be officially closed down and heads are going to roll …’
‘Nothing to do with me what goes on here, sir. I only take the poor devils where I’m told.’ The porter looked at Emily. ‘Hold on to her in case she faints. I’ll be back in two minutes.’
Frances was still shaking. As the porter went off, she swayed and Dr Renton helped Emily to support her. He looked at her white face anxiously. Frances gave him a wan smile.
‘It is all right,’ she said. ‘I’m just a little dizzy. They have been giving me drugs to keep me quiet ever since I got here. I fought them when they tried to give me medication and this time I didn’t swallow the tablets. Dr Marsham said that once I had been treated I would forget all the things that had hurt me, but I don’t want to forget Charlie. I love him and I want to remember all the good things.’
‘Of course you will, dearest,’ Emily told her with a sob in her voice. ‘It will all seem better soon. I’ll look after you, Frances. I promise you it will be better soon.’
The porter had returned with a chair and a blanket. He helped Emily settle Frances in it, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders and legs.
‘Is there anything else I can do for you, madam?’
‘You can help wheel Mrs Danby to the car we have waiting outside and get her settled inside,’ Dr Renton said. ‘I am going to speak to Sister Rendle and give her my authority to remove Mrs Danby.’ He nodded and the two doctors walked on up the stairs.
The porter wheeled the chair down the corridor to the right of the stairs. He was silent for a moment and then he looked at Emily.
‘We suspected something odd was going on,’ he said after a moment. ‘It was peculiar the way patients were kept sedated for so long – and some of the poor devils seemed worse after he treated them than they were before. Didn’t seem to know what was going on …’
‘You might be asked to repeat that in court,’ Emily said. ‘What is your name and how long have you worked here?’
‘Eric Green, madam. I came here six months ago. It all seemed above board at first, but there was talk of money being short – and then things started to happen. Patients being brought here late at night in a drugged state … and other things.’
‘Save it for the lawyers,’ Emily advised. ‘This is my car. I think Frances should come in the back with me. Dr Renton will drive us.’ She smiled at Frances. ‘It won’t be long dearest. We’re going back to Alice’s house for tonight, because I want Dr Renton to make sure you are fit to travel – and then I am taking you home with me.’
‘Yes,’ Frances said, tears beginning to trickle down her face. ‘Take me home with you, Emily. I can’t be alone yet. It hurts too much …’ She gave a little sob.
‘You won’t be alone, dearest,’ Emily said. ‘I love you and I’m going to look after you until you are well again.’ She smiled and kissed Frances as she sat beside her in the back of the car. ‘Close your eyes and go to sleep. We shall soon be home …’
‘She is sleeping now,’ Emily said the next morning as she came downstairs to the kitchen where Alice and Daniel were sitting drinking a cup of tea. ‘Dr Renton said that she might sleep for a long time once she felt safe. They gave her a lot of drugs to keep her quiet and it will be a while before that clears from her blood.’
‘The devil they did!’ Daniel was half on his feet, clearly furious. ‘They might have killed her!’
‘I think the idea was to make her more tractable,’ Emily said and frowned. ‘Paul says that electric shock treatment can be useful with some patients. If they are violent it can sometimes calm them, and it helps in various conditions – but it can leave a patient bewildered and forgetful, and that is what was planned for Frances. She would probably have been given far more than the regulated doses. Apparently, Dr Marsham was sacked from his last hospital for breaking the rules with similar treatments. He was working on a theory of his own that he believed might help schizophrenics and set up the clinic as a means of continuing his experiments. It seems that he may have gone too far in the treatment of some of his patients, and apparently the clinic was in financial trouble – and, Vane has learned, Sam Danby wasn’t the first to pay him to keep a troublesome relative out of the way.’
‘He deserves to be locked away for good!’ Daniel said, his fists clenched. ‘As for Danby …’
‘I think Dr Marsham will be struck off the medical register,’ Emily said. ‘Vane is taking steps to ensure that he is barred from working in this country. He may already have fled the country. Vane thinks he may have been tipped off that he was being investigated – and that’s why he had disappeared. It was fortunate that he did decide to leave because he didn’t have time to start giving Frances the treatment. As far as Sam Danby is concerned, I think you can be sure that he will be punished, Dan. Vane says that he has spoken to the chief constable at Cambridge – he knows him from his Masonic lodge meetings. Mr Danby will be thoroughly investigated.’
‘Good, that is just what he deserves.’ Daniel walked towards the kitchen door.
‘Where are you going?’ Alice asked with a worried frown.
‘I have some work to do,’ Dan said. ‘Don’t worry, love. I’m not daft. If Emily says Danby will be caught and puni
shed, I believe her.’
‘And if you believe that, you will believe anything,’ Alice said as her husband went out. ‘He is going to find Sam Danby. I know he is. He feels that he let Frances down – and he can’t live with that. He is going to find Sam and tell him what he thinks of him.’
‘Let’s hope that is all he does,’ Emily said. ‘It would be better to leave Mr Danby to the police, but I know what Dan is – he won’t be satisfied until he has given him a good hiding.’
‘Yes, that is what I’m afraid of,’ Alice said. ‘I know he can do it – but he will be in trouble himself then.’
‘Let’s hope he decides to be sensible,’ Emily said. ‘But neither of us can stop him, Alice. He blames himself for what happened to Frances and he won’t be satisfied until he has done something to set the balance straight.’
Daniel was seething as he walked out to his van. How could he have been so stupid as to be deceived by Sam Danby? He had never dreamed that a man who seemed to be so respectable could do the things he had and get away with it. No one had even suspected what he did in London – and Daniel hadn’t believed Frances when she’d hinted that Danby was making her life miserable. He had found it difficult to take in when Emily said that Sam had had Frances committed because he wanted to punish her for attempting to blackmail him. But he knew the truth now and he was bent on revenge.
It wasn’t enough that Danby would be investigated. If he was clever enough to keep his dirty dealings hidden all these years, the police might not be able to pin anything on him. Marsham might be in trouble if the authorities caught him, but whether he would implicate Danby was another matter. And Sam would naturally plead innocent. He would say that he had tried to help his son’s wife out of concern that she might try to kill herself again. A lot of people would believe him – Dan might have himself if he hadn’t known the truth.
He wasn’t going to get off that easily if Daniel could help it! He might get away with the rest of it – but he was going to pay for what he had done to Frances!
He knew where Sam was likely to be at this hour of the day, and if he wasn’t there he would just keep on looking!
‘Damn it, Marsham, you told me it would be perfectly safe!’ Sam growled into the receiver at his home. ‘You had her for a few days – why didn’t you make sure she conveniently lost her memory?’
‘She was difficult. I had to drug her sufficiently to make her more amenable before I could begin the shock treatment …’
‘I paid good money and you haven’t delivered. I hope they lock you up for good!’ Sam slammed down the receiver and turned to see his wife watching him. ‘What the hell are you staring at, woman?’
‘You told me Frances was a danger to herself,’ Rosalind said, an expression of disgust on her mouth. ‘But you wanted to keep her quiet because she knew things about you that could cause you some trouble, didn’t you, Sam?’
‘Don’t talk rubbish woman. You have no idea what you are saying.’
‘You think I’m stupid, don’t you, Sam? Because I put up with your temper and your cheating ways, you imagine I’m just a doormat that you can wipe your feet on – but one of these days you will discover just how wrong you are.’
‘Bloody woman!’ Sam muttered and knocked her aside as he walked past and out of the front door. He got into his Rolls Royce and started the engine. It was time he was at his office. There were lorries to get off and loads to check. If those lazy devils he employed were left to their own devices nothing would get done.
As he drew into the yard, he noticed that Daniel Searles had parked his battered old van in front of the office, and he felt a flutter of apprehension in his stomach. He quelled it immediately, putting on a smile as he walked into his office.
‘Good morning, Dan,’ he said. ‘What can I do for you?’ The smile vanished as Daniel turned to look at him and he saw the fury in his eyes. Sam glanced at his secretary. ‘Fetch me some cigarettes from the pub, Milly,’ he said and gave her a pound note from his pocket. He eyed Daniel nervously as the girl took the money and went out. ‘Don’t look at me like that, Dan. I had no idea what Marsham was up to at that place. I was recommended to him and I acted purely out of concern for Frances. How is she by the way? Feeling better I hope?’
‘Damn you, Sam!’ Daniel said, fists balling at his side. ‘You’re lying through your teeth. ‘You sent Frances there hoping that Marsham would destroy her memory with his experiments – and don’t try to tell me you were afraid she might kill herself, because that would suit you down to the ground. It was because you couldn’t be sure that she wouldn’t talk, wasn’t it – because she knew too many of your nasty little secrets? Well I know them now too – so are you going to have me dealt with by one of your bully-boys? Well, maybe I should teach you some manners and see how you like being on the receiving end for a change …’
‘Don’t be stupid …’ Sam said and backed away from him. ‘Keep away from me, Dan. I’m older than you are and I don’t want to fight you. If you attack me I shall go to the police …’
‘You can do what you damned well like,’ Dan said. ‘You are like a lot of bullies – you can hand it out but you can’t take it. Are you coming out into the yard to stand up like a man – or do you want me to make a mess of your office?’
‘You wouldn’t dare …’ Sam backed away from him as Dan raised his fists. ‘All right, let’s do it outside …’ His brain was working furiously. There were men working in the yard; he only had to call for them to drag this maniac off him. ‘If you insist on settling this with brute force.’
He went out into the yard, ignoring the startled look his secretary threw him as she brought his cigarettes and was sent off with a jerk of the head. She took refuge in the office. Sam took his jacket off and laid it over a stack of crates. Daniel had already stripped his off and thrown it down. Sam put up his fists defensively. As a young man he’d had his share of fist fights but he knew that he wasn’t up to it these days; years of good living and little exercise had taken its toll, but he couldn’t lose face now, because he knew they were being watched.
‘Come on then,’ he said with an air of bravado. ‘Let’s get this over with …’
He put his fists up and stood waiting, moving from one foot to the other, weaving and ducking as Daniel came at him. He hardly saw the first punch coming, his head jerking back as it hit him on the chin. His head was reeling as he attempted to land one on his opponent, but Daniel was too quick for him. He was like lightning, jabbing and retreating, his next blow, catching Sam in the stomach, making him wince and double up. Before he could recover another four or five blows reined in, making him jerk and stagger back. He cursed himself for not finding a way out of this before it began, knowing that he was merely a punchbag for his opponent. He swore and flung himself at Daniel, trying to hold on to him like a bear hugging its victim, but though he used all his strength in a few moments he was flung back and another barrage of blows to his head sent him reeling.
‘That’s it, Dan, give the bugger one for me while you’re at it.’
‘Yeah, me too!’
Sam could hear the jeering as Daniel’s fists exploded in his face time after time. He looked about him desperately, hoping for a sign that one of his men would be ready to pull Daniel Searles off him, but he could see hatred in the eyes of the men, who were supporting his opponent all the way. He realized that he had taken too much for granted, using his employees as if they had no feelings, expecting them to pull caps and obey his every word if they wanted to get paid. They had given him lip service because they needed their jobs, but now they were enjoying his humiliation. When this was over, he would sack the lot of them. There were plenty of men looking for work.
The next barrage of blows sent him to the ground, where he lay winded, and face down in the dirt. He sensed someone standing over him and rolled over on to his side, looking up at the man who towered above him. His thick lips pulled back in a sneer.
‘Put the boot in, Dan,’ h
e muttered. ‘Enjoy your triumph while you can. You’ll have a long time in prison to reflect on your folly … even longer if you kill me.’
‘You’re not worth the effort,’ Dan said. ‘I just wanted to let you know how it feels to be beaten, Sam. Do your worst. Go to the police, but I am going there now and I’m going to tell them what I saw in London. I think you’re going to find yourself sitting in that prison cell right along with me …’
Dan turned and walked off, getting into his van. He drove away as Sam was rising to his feet and dusting himself down. He put his jacket on, his furious gaze moving over the small group of men that had watched the fight.
‘What the hell are you staring at?’ he growled. ‘Get on with it if you value your job.’
‘I don’t think I do,’ one of the men said. ‘I worked for you out of respect, Danby. You’re a hard man but I thought you were decent – but from what I’ve been hearing you’re rotten through to the core. So you can keep your job and I’ll be looking elsewhere.’
‘Don’t come crying to me when you can’t find anything, Riley,’ Sam sneered and looked at the faces of the other men. ‘Any more of you want your cards?’
They looked at one another uneasily. One or two shook their head, but three of them followed Tom Riley from the yard. Sam scowled at the men who remained.
‘Get out all of you. The yard is closed for today. Anyone who wants work can sign on in the morning.’
He turned and walked into the office. Milly was putting on her coat. She wouldn’t look at him as she walked towards the door.
‘Where are you going?’
Milly stopped and looked back at him. ‘I thought this was a good job when I came here, Mr Danby. My mother heard things in the shop yesterday, but I wouldn’t believe them. I thought you wouldn’t do anything like that – but I was wrong and now I don’t want to work for you anymore.’