A Consultant Beyond Compare

by Joanna Neil

  It was a beautiful, tranquil setting, and she ought to be glad that she was here and able to appreciate its peacefulness, but as she headed towards the railway station and parked her car, she was hardly aware of that.

  She walked over to the café the man had mentioned. Tables and chairs had been set up outside on a terraced area in front of the building so that customers could enjoy the summer sunshine. A few people were relaxing there, sipping coffee or cold drinks, and as she scanned their faces, she discovered that her sister was amongst them.

  Jessica was sitting tensely upright next to a man who was wearing a crisp blue shirt and immaculate dark-coloured trousers. His discarded jacket was placed casually over the back of his seat.

  Although he was partially turned away from her, Katie could see that his hair was black and close cut in an attractive fashion, so that it framed his features and outlined the angular lines of his face.

  Just then Jessica looked up and saw Katie approaching the café. She stood up and started towards her, moving awkwardly as though she wasn’t quite sure what her reception would be.

  ‘Katie…Katie, oh, I’m so glad you came.’ She hesitated. ‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to fetch you out of work, but everything went wrong and I was lost and I didn’t know what to do.’

  ‘It’s all right.’ Katie put her arms around her sister and ran a soothing hand over the girl’s silky brown curls. ‘I’ve found you now. We’ll sort everything out.’

  Jessica’s body slumped with relief as some of the tension left her. She clung to Katie for a few moments longer, and then eased back, her expression taking on a strained appearance.

  She said softly, ‘I knew your address, and I was trying to come over to your house, but this man stopped me and made me wait with him here. I’d have been all right, honest, but he wouldn’t let me carry on.’ She lowered her voice and whispered confidentially, ‘He thinks you and I had an argument and that I was running away. I daren’t tell him what really happened. I thought he might put me on a train and send me back home.’

  Katie nodded. ‘Yes, I can see why you kept quiet, but he was right to stop you, you know. You might have ended up in a terrible state. You’re lucky that he turned out to be one of the good guys.’ She frowned. ‘We must go and let him know that you’re safe now.’

  Jessica chewed at her lower lip. Reluctantly, she allowed Katie to lead her back to the table where she had been sitting, and for the first time Katie managed to take a proper look at her sister’s saviour.

  He stood up, unfurling his long body with a supple grace that added to the immediate impression of lithe vitality. He took her breath away. He was tall and fit-looking, flat-stomached, with broad shoulders and a lean physique that she guessed was honed to perfection.

  He was staring at her in return, a look of startled surprise coming into his grey-blue eyes. ‘Do I know you?’ he asked. ‘You look somehow familiar.’ And once again that deeply satisfying voice shimmered over her consciousness. It made her feel warm all over, and quickened her pulse so that she had to quell a sudden surge of nervous tension.

  ‘No, I don’t think so,’ she murmured. But then again, there was something about him that struck a chord with her too, and she looked at him again, more closely this time. Did she know him from somewhere?

  She dismissed the thought. ‘I must thank you for taking care of my sister,’ she said softly. ‘I’m really very grateful to you. I can’t imagine what she was thinking.’

  ‘It appeared to me that she was desperate to get away,’ he said, his gaze drifting over her. ‘I can’t begin to understand what must have gone on in order for her to feel that way, and yet from the way you greeted one another it seems that she’s either changed her mind or learned a lesson. I hope you’ll be able to resolve things between you.’

  ‘Yes, well, let’s hope so. She’s very young, and life can be confusing for teenagers at the best of times, can’t it? I don’t know about you, but my childhood was no bed of roses, and I expect we’ve all gone through difficult phases at some time or other in our lives.’

  He nodded, and gave her a thoughtful look. ‘I suppose that’s true enough.’ He studied her features for a moment or two, and then added, ‘Do you think you’ll have any difficulty sorting out whatever it was that went wrong between you? Perhaps I could act as an intermediary and help you to find a way to work things out?’

  Katie wavered for a moment or two. ‘That really won’t be necessary. I’m sure we’ll manage to find a solution to whatever has gone wrong.’ It wasn’t a lie, and why should she burden this stranger with the intricacies of her home life? He had stepped in and helped out, and she was grateful to him for that, but it didn’t mean that he was entitled to hear her life story. ‘Anyway, didn’t you say that you had a meeting to go to?’

  He glanced at his watch. ‘I doubt there would be any point in attempting to get there now.’ His gaze settled on her. ‘Perhaps you were delayed in setting out?’

  A guilty flush ran over her cheeks. ‘I hit some traffic on the way. I’m not quite sure what happened, but there was a tailback and I had to find another route, otherwise I would have been here quicker.’

  He nodded. ‘I dare say it couldn’t be helped.’ He glanced at Jessica. ‘How do you feel about going home with your sister? Are you going to be all right or do you want me to stay around for a while to help you out?’

  Jessica had the grace to look shamefaced. ‘I’ll be fine,’ she mumbled. ‘I’m sorry to have caused you so much trouble.’

  He was reaching for his jacket as she spoke, and now he started to shrug into it. ‘It’s no problem,’ he said. Then he added on an afterthought, ‘If you feel that you need to talk to anyone any time, you could always ring me. I’ll give you my number.’ Taking a notecase from his inside jacket pocket, he handed Jessica a card. ‘Keep it safe. You can ring me any time. If I’m not on hand right away, I’ll always get back to you.’

  Jessica glanced at the card and then slipped it into her pocket. ‘Thank you.’

  Katie wasn’t sure whether to feel grateful to him for his concern or affronted by it. This man had taken the trouble to keep her young sister out of danger, but at the same time he seemed to be implying that Katie might be the source of all the trouble in the first place. She sent him a spiky glance, her blue eyes glittering.

  ‘She’ll be fine with me,’ she murmured, keeping an even tone.

  ‘Good. I’m glad to hear it.’ He sent her an appraising look. ‘I can’t help thinking, though, that something must have gone very wrong for her to have felt the need to run away in the first place, and she was certainly very reticent in talking about it. Perhaps you’ll be able to talk things through and make a better go of things.’

  ‘We will,’ Katie answered him stiffly. ‘Thank you again for everything you’ve done. I do appreciate the way you’ve looked after her for me.’

  He nodded briefly. ‘I have her number and your address, so I’ll keep in touch,’ he said in a low voice. ‘I’d like to satisfy myself that she’s doing all right.’

  Katie’s chin lifted a notch. Was that a warning to her that he was prepared to keep an eye on things? Just how far did he mean to take his good Samaritan responsibilities?

  She gave him a humourless smile. ‘Thanks again,’ she said. ‘We won’t impose on your time any longer. I should be starting on my way home before the traffic gets any worse. I’m just hoping that whatever caused the hold-up has been cleared by now.’

  ‘Me, too. Now that attending my meeting is out of the question, I’ll be heading back in your direction. If what Jessica tells me is correct, it looks as though we both live in the same area, around Ambleside.’

  Katie groaned inwardly and tried not to let her emotions show in her face. She might have known that would be the case. With the way her luck was going today, perhaps it was only to be expected. Clearly she was not going to be free of this man for some time to come. Perhaps all she could do would be to forget that he had
ever been around. The last thing she needed was more condemnation from men who thought they had the upper hand. She turned away from him.

  ‘Goodbye, Jessica,’ he said.

  Jessica nodded to him and made a muted response before turning to follow Katie to her car.

  ‘Let’s go,’ Katie said, sliding in behind the wheel of her ancient car and waiting while Jessica strapped herself in. She was anxious to put this whole incident behind her, but as she pulled away from the kerb she was all too aware of the man following behind in a sleek, midnight-blue convertible.

  CHAPTER TWO

  KATIE turned the car on to the north road, heading towards Ambleside. She barely noticed the bracken-covered hills and heather-clad knolls, or the wide, U-shaped valleys that had been carved out by ice all those aeons ago. Her thoughts were taken up with the events of the day.

  She still carried with her the brooding, dark image of Jessica’s rescuer, and it was troubling that he seemed to have misgivings about her ability to care for her sister. She had always thought of herself as a capable, independent individual, but lately her confidence had taken a battering. How could any of this be happening to her?

  ‘You will let me stay with you, won’t you, Katie?’ Her younger sister turned earnest, pleading eyes on her and Katie felt her heart give a painful twist. ‘I promise I won’t be any trouble, but I can’t go back home, I can’t. You won’t send me back there, will you?’

  ‘But you’re only thirteen, Jess,’ Katie answered, in what she hoped was a soothing voice, ‘and you’re a long way from home. Mum and Dad will be worried about you.’

  ‘No, they won’t. They don’t care about me as long as I’m out of their hair. They’ll just go on arguing, and shouting at one another like they always do. It’s horrible. I won’t go back.’

  ‘Of course they care about you.’ Katie frowned as she glanced at the road ahead. Perhaps she shouldn’t have taken this route. She had hoped to avoid problems, but traffic was building up, and it was beginning to occur to her that whatever had delayed her earlier on the journey to Windermere had merely been the overspill from what was happening up ahead. There must have been an accident of some sort, because in the distance she could see the flashing lights from ambulances that were parked by the roadside. A couple of police vehicles were stationed nearby.

  Jessica made a face. ‘No, they don’t. They’re not going to miss me at all. They hardly ever notice I’m around, unless it’s because they think I’m getting in their way. Dad’s never had any time for me. He’s always at work or off out somewhere and as for Mum…well, she’s too busy worrying about her own problems, so she’ll be glad there’s one less person to bother about.’ She sighed. ‘You know how they are. They’re always arguing about something or other. Isn’t that why you left home and went off to medical school? You were glad to get away, weren’t you?’

  Katie’s mouth made a wry shape. ‘It was a bit different for me. After all, Mum divorced my father when I was just a bit younger than you are now, and when she married again—well, it felt a bit odd. Things were never quite the same.’ She smiled at Jessica. ‘But then you came along, and it was lovely for me to have a baby sister.’

  Jessica’s expression relaxed a little. ‘You’ve always been my very best friend,’ she said. ‘That’s why I came here to the Lake District to find you. I didn’t know what else to do, but I felt sure you would find a way to help me somehow.’

  ‘I wish it were that simple.’ Katie quickly ran her mind over all her options. ‘Whatever happens, I’ll have to ring them and let them know that you’re safe. They weren’t answering their mobiles when I tried earlier, but I’ve left a message for them on the answering machine at home.’

  ‘No, they’ve gone into town for the day. I said I was going to be at my friend’s house.’

  Katie shook her head, shooting Jessica a quick glance. ‘I’m amazed that you managed to find your way here at all without getting into trouble of some sort.’

  ‘It was easy,’ Jessica said, with an air of unconcern. ‘I emptied my money box and went to the train station and asked for a ticket to Windermere. The man in the booth gave me a funny look, and I guessed he was a bit suspicious, so I told him I was going to visit my sister in the Lake District for the summer holidays and he said, “Oh, I see.”’

  Katie frowned. ‘What did you plan on doing when you arrived at my house? I was out at work and the place is locked up.’

  Jessica appeared crestfallen, but only for a moment. ‘I would have hung around until you came home.’ She gave Katie a contrite look and said quickly, ‘I won’t get in the way, I promise, and it’ll be cool if you let me live here with you, because I’d do everything to make things easier for you. I could tidy up and help you with meals and stuff. I know how hard you have to work and how tired you used to be after being in A and E all day, but with me around, things will be much better for you, honest.’

  Katie couldn’t help but smile at her sister’s sincere expression. ‘I’m sure you would do everything you possibly could to help out, but that isn’t really what’s important right now, is it? We have to think about you, and what we can do to sort out your problems. It isn’t just a question of you coming to live here. There would be all sorts of arrangements to be made. How could I make sure that you would be properly looked after while I’m out at work?’

  Jessica pulled in a quick breath. ‘I’m old enough to look after myself.’

  Katie shook her head. ‘But you’re not, that’s the whole point. And then there’s school to think about. The holidays aren’t going to last for ever.’

  Jessica’s mouth wavered as she struggled to keep her emotions in check. ‘I could go to school here, couldn’t I? You have to let me stay, Katie. Please, say you will, please, please? Things will work out all right, I know they will.’

  ‘Maybe. I left a message to say that I’d take care of you for a few days, whatever happens. We’ll talk it through properly when we get home.’ Katie slowed the car to a halt as the traffic came to a standstill. ‘If we ever get home…I thought we would avoid this hold-up by coming this way,’ she murmured distractedly. ‘It looks as though we’re going to be stuck here for a while, though.’

  Jessica nodded and peered out of the window at the trouble up ahead. ‘It looks as though everything’s more or less sorted now. They’re closing the ambulance doors and getting ready to move away.’ She gave Katie a sideways glance. ‘You know, the man who helped me—Alex, he said his name was—took this road as well. I bet he’s wishing he’d gone another way. He’s still following us, just a few cars behind.’

  ‘Yes, I’d noticed.’ Katie glanced in her rear-view mirror and caught sight of the gleaming blue car slowing to a halt at a bend in the road. ‘Perhaps he’ll turn off before we get anywhere near Ambleside.’

  It was wishful thinking, a vaguely consoling thought that she had clung on to as the journey had progressed. There was something about him that made her flustered and set her pulses racing, and it was all very disturbing. His calm, quietly perceptive manner ought to have encouraged her to feel that everything was under control, but instead he had stirred up all kinds of doubt and confusion within her.

  She was left feeling unnerved and edgy, but of course that might have been as a result of all that had happened. All day long she had been active, rushing about, trying to resolve one problem after another, but now that she was stuck in traffic she was forced to be still, and it was an odd feeling. She tapped her fingers on the steering-wheel, beating out a restless rhythm.

  Jessica dug her in the ribs. ‘Katie, look—there are skid marks on the road, right back here. Can you see them?’

  Katie followed her sister’s pointing finger. ‘Yes, you’re right. It looks as though someone took the bend too fast, hit the barrier at the side of the road and then tried to stop further on.’

  ‘But he must have smashed into the car up front.’ Jessica’s eyes widened. ‘That must be one of the cars that they’re lo
ading on to the retrieval truck right now.’

  ‘I hope the people who were hurt manage to come through this safely in the end,’ Katie murmured. She tried to gauge what was happening in the distance, but Jessica was jabbing her in the ribs again.

  ‘Something’s not right—look over there, in the bushes. I can see something. Come on, we have to go and find out what’s going on.’ Already, Jessica had released herself from her seat belt and was pushing at the passenger door.

  ‘Jess, come back here,’ Katie called out, but her sister wasn’t listening. She had jumped down onto the verge at the side of the road and now she was headed for the trees.

  ‘I don’t believe this,’ Katie muttered under her breath. ‘Will this nightmare never end?’ She manoeuvred the car onto the grass verge so that others could pass her, and then she switched off the ignition, sliding out of the driver’s seat to go in search of Jessica.

  ‘Over here,’ Jessica shouted. ‘There’s a man—Katie, I don’t think he’s breathing.’

  Katie made her way through the thicket of brushwood that lined the hedgerow and saw that her sister was kneeling beside a man who was lying crumpled on his side on the meadow grass.

  ‘I saw his shoe through a break in the hedge,’ Jessica said, ‘so I guessed there might be someone here. Do you think he might have been thrown out of the car?’

  Katie nodded. ‘It looks that way. I suppose the car door might have been flung open if it hit a post, and perhaps he wasn’t strapped in.’ She crouched down and was busy checking the young man for signs of life. He was in his early twenties, she guessed, and from the looks of things his jaw was broken. That would make it virtually impossible for anyone to insert an airway, and that could be disastrous, because he was already struggling for air, making strange gurgling sounds.

  He wasn’t responding to Katie’s urgent attempts to talk to him and find out if he was aware of what was going on, and she knew that he was in a bad way. ‘His pulse is rapid and faint,’ Katie murmured, glancing up at Jessica, who was looking shocked and pale. ‘I need to help him to breathe. Do you think you could look in the glove compartment of my car for a pen or maybe a plastic drink straw, while I do what I can to clear the obstruction in his throat? And bring me the first-aid kit from the boot?’ She handed over the keys.