A Consultant Beyond Compare

by Joanna Neil

  ‘Because I care about you,’ he said simply. ‘I can see that you aren’t going to listen to common sense and send her back home right away, so I suppose I just have to go along with what you’re doing and try to support you the best way I can in the meantime. Sooner or later she’ll come to realise that she needs to be with her parents and her friends from school.’

  But he still wasn’t happy to have her around, was he? She looked up at him, her lips wavering a fraction as she tried to stem a small ripple of unease that washed over her. The truth was, she couldn’t see a time when Jessica would want to go back to the situation at home.

  She was Jessica’s lifeline. There had always been a strong bond between the two of them, and she had felt incredibly guilty about leaving her sister behind when she had come to the Lake District. Her one thought back then had been to put the disaster of her hospital experience behind her and make a fresh start.

  It hadn’t occurred to her that Jessica depended on her so much. She had reasoned that it would be enough to go back and visit on a regular basis, but clearly that hadn’t worked out. Perhaps she should never have come here in the first place…and maybe she would have to go back eventually.

  ‘I can manage,’ she said huskily.

  He slipped his arms around her, enclosing her in his embrace. ‘I know that,’ he murmured. ‘But together we can put it right. I’ll help to make you strong. You just need to give me the chance.’

  She was still looking up at him, but even so she wasn’t ready for his tender kiss when it came. He bent his head towards her and captured her lips, brushing them gently with his own, startling her as every fibre of her being came to vibrant life.

  That dreamy, delicate touch was enough to send her nervous system into overload, and in response her mouth softened and clung to his, her body crushed against him so that she was aware of every taut sinew. He looked into her eyes and kissed her again, more deeply this time, sweeping her away on a warm tide of sensation.

  His hands gently stroked the length of her body, gliding over her spine and coming to rest lightly on the curve of her hips. ‘Let me help you,’ he said, his voice rough around the edges. ‘We’ll sort this out and then I’ll take you home.’

  ‘Thank you,’ she said softly, giving in. ‘I think I’d appreciate that.’

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ‘DID Jessica give you any idea of what happened?’ Alex sent Katie an oblique glance as he drove along the main road towards the town.

  ‘Uh…no, not really.’ For the last few minutes Katie had been lost in a world of her own, staring out of the car window at the office buildings and the neat town square. It had all gone by in a haze because she wasn’t really conscious of what she was seeing.

  Her stomach was in knots, her mind taken up with thoughts of Jessica and what kind of mess she might have landed herself in, but even though she was worried, overriding all that was the memory of Alex’s kiss. Katie could still feel the imprint of it on her mouth. It had been so unexpected, and yet so deliciously enticing. Alex’s words, though, brought her back to reality with a start. ‘She just said that she had been accused of stealing something, but she insisted that she wasn’t guilty.’

  ‘Didn’t you say that she was in town with her friends?’

  ‘Yes, I did. She’s with Sophie and Jade. Apparently they’re all being held in a room at the store and the female store detective keeps asking them questions.’

  ‘Do you know the other girls at all?’

  ‘I’ve met them. They’ve been to the cottage for tea on a couple of occasions, and they seem like nice girls. I suppose they can be a bit silly at times but I didn’t have any problem with them. I’ve met their parents, too, and they’re good people.’

  ‘I expect they will have gone to the store as well. Perhaps between us we can find out what’s going on and put it right.’

  ‘I hope so.’ She sent him a quick glance. ‘I’m glad that you came with me. I would have coped, but it makes me feel better knowing that you’re by my side.’

  ‘That was the general idea.’ His mouth curved. ‘Besides, it might help to face the opposition in force.’

  ‘You were always one to stick up for others, weren’t you?’ She studied his features as he concentrated on the road ahead. His face was angular, with a strong jaw and a perfectly formed mouth, and even in this simple setting he took her breath away. His large fingers were curled about the steering-wheel, and it occurred to her that they were strong, capable hands. She felt safe, having him near.

  She said softly, ‘I still can’t understand how it is that you turned out to be so strong and steady in your dealings with people. What happened after you left the children’s home? I know that you had been in care several times before then, but the foster-homes didn’t really work out, did they?’

  ‘I never really fitted in,’ he said. ‘I suppose that was partly my fault because, to be honest, I resented being there. I felt that I should be at home, taking care of my mother. I didn’t feel as though I was a child.’

  ‘Did you go back to your mother?’

  ‘Yes, and we muddled through for a while, but then my aunt came back from overseas, and when she realised what a state my mother was in she decided that she needed to stay in England where she could keep an eye on her. My uncle’s work meant that he had to travel around a lot, but Aunt Jane decided to put down roots here again.’

  He slowed the car as they came to a junction. ‘I think my uncle was happy enough to accept that, and he tried to organise things so that he would be based nearer home from then onwards. In the end Mum and I moved to the Lake District as well. My mother sold the house and bought a small place not far from where my aunt and uncle were living. From my point of view it was great, because they’re both lovely people, and they have a son who was like a brother to me.’

  Katie smiled. ‘I knew there had to be a reason why you were so secure in yourself. Your aunt must have made an appearance in your life just at the crucial moment.’

  ‘I guess she did.’

  ‘Was your aunt the one who tried to get your mother into rehabilitation?’

  He nodded. ‘Yes, she did. None of the attempts worked out too well because they relied on her to keep to the programme through her own efforts, but I’ve managed to register her with a residential place that offers various forms of treatment. There’s individual counseling and group therapy, along with beautiful surroundings and good food. It’s not just short-term rehab to get her off the drugs, but a much longer programme that looks at rebuilding the way she lives her life. I think if she gets the chance to build up her strength and finds new ways of coping with stress, she’ll be on the road to recovery.’

  ‘That sounds as though it might be promising. I hope it works out for her…and for you.’

  ‘Thanks.’ He gave a brief smile. ‘One of the activities they encourage at the centre is gardening. They have greenhouses where the patients can potter about and plots of land that can be prepared for cultivation. I think my mother will enjoy that. It’s one hobby where she’s always found peace.’

  ‘Well, if she’s looking for therapy outside the residential place, she can always come and work in my garden,’ Katie said, smiling wryly. ‘I’m still trying to cut my way through the brambles.’

  He chuckled. ‘So if you don’t turn up for work one morning, I’ll know where to come looking.’

  ‘Too right.’ Her smile faded and she tensed as he began to turn the car into a parking space. ‘I hadn’t realised that we were here already.’

  ‘It doesn’t seem too long a journey when you’re busy talking, does it?’

  ‘No, it doesn’t.’ Perhaps that was the reason he had brought her out of her reverie. He must have realised that she was deep in thought and was anxious about her sister. She pulled in a shaky breath. What kind of trouble had Jessica landed herself in? Were her newfound friends leading her astray?

  He slid out of the driver’s seat and came to open the passeng
er door. ‘Don’t worry about it,’ he said as she stepped out. ‘She’s only thirteen and she hasn’t been in trouble before. Nothing terrible is going to happen.’ He locked the car and sent her a quick, assessing glance.

  ‘That’s probably true.’ The thought was cheering, and Katie brightened a little.

  ‘Of course it is.’ He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close so that for a moment or two she laid her cheek against his chest and he bent his head to gently nuzzle the silk of her curls.

  ‘Better now?’ he asked after a moment or two, and she nodded.

  ‘I’m fine.’

  She hurried with Alex into the store where Jessica was being held, and after a short consultation with one of the store personnel they were shown into an upstairs office.

  Jessica was sitting on a leather-covered bench seat to one side of the room, but she leapt to her feet and hurried over to Katie as soon as she appeared. ‘They’ve kept us here for ages,’ she said tearfully. ‘I keep telling them that we didn’t mean to do anything wrong, but they won’t believe me. I said I’m sorry and I don’t know how I came to have the necklace on me.’

  Katie frowned. Things didn’t look too good, especially if Jessica was admitting having had the property on her. But it didn’t make any sense at all. Jessica wasn’t the sort of girl to do anything that might get her into trouble with the law.

  Jessica’s face crumpled. ‘The lady phoned Mum. I told her I’m not living there just now, but she wouldn’t listen and she went to look up the number. Now I’m going to be in trouble at home as well.’

  ‘Let’s not worry about that right now.’ Katie saw that Alex had gone to speak to the stony-faced woman who stood at the far side of the room. She put a reassuring arm around her sister’s shoulders. ‘It’s all right, I’m here to look after you. Just go and sit down while I talk to the store detective.’

  Jessica did as she suggested and went to sit beside her friends once more. Katie cast a glance at Sophie and Jade, who were both white-faced. ‘Are you two in trouble as well?’ she asked.

  Both girls nodded. ‘She said we were all in on it,’ Sophie blurted out. ‘It wasn’t true. We weren’t doing anything wrong, but she keeps trying to make us say we stole the necklace.’

  ‘Do your parents know that you’re here?’

  ‘Yes,’ Sophie said. ‘I rang them, and they said they were on their way.’

  ‘That’s good. Just stay here and don’t say anything while I try to sort this out.’ Katie looked at Jade to see if she wanted to add anything to what had been said, but the girl was bending down to adjust her shoe and she decided to leave her be for the moment.

  She went to join Alex on the other side of the room.

  ‘This is Mrs Bailey,’ he said, introducing the detective. ‘She says the girls have been here for an hour. They’re accused of taking a necklace.’

  ‘It was in her pocket,’ the woman said, waving a hand in Jessica’s direction. ‘I saw the other girl remove it from the stand earlier and show it to her friend. It was never placed back on the stand. I watched them and saw that none of them went to the cash desk before they headed for the exit. As soon as I saw that they were about to leave, I stopped them. I guessed that one of them must have it.’

  She paused to pull in a breath and straighten her back in an authoritative gesture. ‘I’m waiting for the manager to return from his meeting. He’ll decide whether or not to call the police.’

  ‘Did you see my sister put the necklace into her pocket?’ Katie asked.

  ‘No.’ The woman hesitated for a moment or two. ‘I didn’t see that, but they were messing about and one of them must have slipped it in there at some point while I was talking to one of my colleagues.’

  Alex was frowning. ‘So, let me get this straight. You didn’t see Jessica put the necklace into her pocket, and you weren’t watching them the whole time?’

  ‘Not the whole time, no. I was distracted for a minute or two…but she had it on her. I made her turn out her pockets and I found it.’

  Just then there was a knock on the door and Sophie’s parents walked into the room, followed by Jade’s mother. Sophie ran over to her father and started to tug at his arm. ‘Please, get me out of here,’ she said. ‘That woman keeps asking us questions, and she doesn’t believe anything that we say.’

  Jade was struggling to get to her feet. ‘What happened?’ her mother was asking. ‘They said that something had been stolen.’

  The girl was limping as she walked over to her mother. ‘I was just looking at the necklace,’ she said. ‘It was on a stand near some stairs that led to the upper level. Jess was coming down from there and I went to show it to her, and then I twisted my foot on one of the steps. I don’t really know what happened after that because my ankle was hurting so much. Jess held on to me to stop me from falling and then Sophie came to help me.’

  She pulled in a ragged breath. ‘We decided that we would go outside and sit down on a bench so that I could rest my foot, but when we were going towards the door this lady came and stopped us. I’d forgotten all about the necklace.’

  Jade’s mother was looking concerned. ‘I think you’d better let me take a look at that ankle. Go and sit back down,’ she said. ‘I’ll help you to your seat.’

  Alex shot a look at the girl. ‘Did you tell Mrs Bailey that your ankle was hurting?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, but she didn’t believe me.’

  He turned to Jade’s mother, who was watching intently as Jade cautiously tried to take off her shoe. ‘I’m a doctor,’ he said. ‘Would you like me to take a look at the ankle?’

  ‘Would you? Oh, yes, please do.’

  Katie came to stand beside him and Jessica looked up at the mother and said, ‘My sister’s a doctor as well. They both work at the hospital.’

  ‘Shall I help you to take off your sock?’ Katie asked, bending down beside the girl.

  Jade nodded. ‘Is my foot swollen? It feels as though it is. It hurts a lot. Is it broken?’

  Alex knelt down and was gently running his fingers over the teenager’s foot. ‘I don’t think so. It’s probably a bad sprain,’ he said. ‘There’s quite a lot of swelling and I think you might have torn a ligament, but we probably need to do an X-ray to be sure that there’s no fracture.’

  Katie went over to Mrs Bailey. ‘Do you have a first-aid kit here?’ she asked. ‘We’ll need a stretch bandage and some adhesive tape.’

  The woman looked disconcerted. ‘Yes, we have one. Are you saying that she really has hurt her ankle? I thought she was making it up.’

  ‘I think you’ll be able to see for yourself that the ankle is swollen,’ Katie said. ‘If you will fetch me the first-aid kit…?’

  Mrs Bailey hurried away. When she came back a few minutes later, the manager was with her. He was a middle-aged man, slightly overweight, and he was frowning heavily.

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that the young lady has hurt herself,’ he said. ‘You have to understand that we’ve been having a lot of trouble with teenagers in the store since the holidays began. We have had to start taking a hard line with them. Shoplifters can cost us a lot of money.’

  Alex stood up. ‘Perhaps you should review your policy with regard to detaining youngsters,’ he said. ‘It’s one thing to apprehend them but quite another to deny them medical care, search them and subject them to questioning without an appropriate adult being present.’

  The manager looked uncomfortable. ‘We do have the right to detain people if we think they’re stealing. Nearly all of them deny that they were doing anything wrong and we sometimes have to take a firm stance.’

  Alex wasn’t convinced. ‘There’s a difference between taking a firm stance and being over-zealous.’

  ‘Mrs Bailey was only doing her job,’ the man said.

  Katie relieved Mrs Bailey of the first-aid kit and began to bind up Jade’s ankle. ‘This should help to ease it for you until we can get it X-rayed at the hospital,’ she said quietly to
the girl. ‘We’ll see to it that you get some painkillers.’

  Sophie’s father had clearly heard enough. He came over to the manager and said abruptly, ‘We’re going to take Jade and her mother over to the hospital so that she can get further treatment for the ankle. Sophie will be coming with us. As far as I can tell, this has all been a mistake. My daughter had nothing to do with taking the jewellery and, anyway, I think you’ve kept all of them here long enough. If you need to talk to us, you can ring us on this number.’ He scribbled down a phone number on a piece of paper and the manager looked at it and ran a finger under his collar as if to ease some slight pressure there.

  ‘Yes, well, I expect that in your daughter’s case, and her friend’s, we can forget about this unfortunate event in this instance. They didn’t have any items on them after all.’

  Sophie and Jade said goodbye to Jessica and then left the room with their parents. Just as the door was about to close behind them another man appeared in the doorway and Katie looked up to see that her neighbour had arrived.

  ‘Nathan!’ Jessica exclaimed, her face lighting up a fraction. ‘You’re here…You must have got my message after all.’

  Nathan nodded. ‘I did. I came as soon as I could.’

  The manager frowned. ‘And you are?’

  ‘Nathan Walker.’ He handed him a card. ‘I’m Jessica’s solicitor.’ He glanced across the room at Katie. ‘Do you want to tell me what’s going on?’

  He drew her to one side and she quickly filled him in on the details. Alex, in the meantime, directed a sharp look in the manager’s direction.

  ‘Are you actually considering pressing charges where Jessica is concerned?’

  The man’s expression was strained. ‘After all’s said and done,’ he murmured, ‘the necklace was found in the girl’s pocket.’

  Alex narrowed his eyes. ‘I expect that’s because it fell in there when her friend took a tumble. I imagine that they forgot all about it when Jade hurt herself.’

  ‘That’s just her version of the story.’