A Form of Justice
Page 31
‘No, of course not but it’s changed my view of what happened by the railway line.’
‘And what is your view of what happened?’
‘I think you really wanted to kill Gina. You weren’t trying to commit suicide.’
‘Well, you are entitled to your opinion,’ she replied coldly.
‘Bye Trish. I will come again. We can’t leave it like this, but I just need some time. Is that alright?’
‘Of course. Bye.’
They kissed once more. Tears were flowing from Tom’s eyes, but his wife’s were dry.
He said goodbye to the staff and wandered back to his car. At some point, but not today, he would share his discoveries with someone at the hospital and possibly also with the police. The tragic events in Trish’s life had played out over several decades and were continuing to haunt both of them. Perhaps they would never really know the truth. One thing was certain, Trish’s desire for her form of justice, had left a trail of destruction which could never be repaired or undone. Was she a victim, a perpetrator or even a psychopath? Probably all three in some measure. She had crossed the lines of what was acceptable in society, would she ever be fit to live freely amongst people again? Just at that moment, he didn’t know the answer as he drove back to the sanctuary of what was for the moment their shared marital home.
Epilogue
After Tom’s last visit, Trish realised that their marriage was over. It had been good while it lasted and she didn’t regret marrying him as they had enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle, largely due to his good salary. There would be much to organise when they did separate, but she didn’t want to think about that for the moment. Although the weather was chilly, it was dry and sunny, and she was enjoying every minute of her time outside gardening in the grounds of the hospital.
Trish paused and looked around. There was a particularly handsome yew tree, Taxus baccata, a female tree, as it bore bright red berries. She smiled. All parts of the yew tree were toxic, and although birds ate the berries, the most toxic part was the seed which passed through their bodies.
She scanned the rest of the garden. The snowdrops, Galanthus nivalis were still flowering. The bulbs of which were particularly toxic and could sometimes be mistaken for onions. That morning, Trish had been cutting back the spent blooms of Helleborus niger, whose roots when ingested caused vomiting, diarrhoea and cardiac problems.
What a wealth of poisons were all around her. Nature was so amazing and such a powerful tool, if used appropriately, she mused.
‘Everything OK, Trish?’ asked Pete, one of the occupational health assistants.
‘Yes, fine thanks. I’m just enjoying being out here.’
Trish continued pruning and weeding, all the while wondering whether it would be possible to appropriate some of nature’s marvels, in case she had need of them in the future. There was one particular patient she found intensely irritating.
THE END
Author’s note
A Form of Justice is entirely a work of fiction, any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
The book is set in Canterbury, a beautiful city which I know well. Many of the places and street names are real, but some are fictitious for the benefit of the story. There has been much in the news about the dreadful abuse in care homes, and I wished to highlight this in my novel. Fortunately, my family has no personal experience of appalling incidents which I describe at the inquiry, but from my research, I can understand just how painful this must be for those who have seen their vulnerable relatives suffer in this way.
Similarly, bullying is a huge problem in our schools, fortunately, nowadays pupils have the resources of many anti-bullying initiatives. Also, schools are much keener to stamp out this behaviour than they were in the 1980s, the decade in which I base my school scenes. Despite this, it is an ongoing problem, and now cyber-bullying is the new challenge confronting society. I was very fortunate to attend a fantastic school where discipline was good, the teaching was amazing, and bullying was rare. Sadly, not all pupils have had or will have the same experience or opportunities that I did.
I too have had my own mental health struggles which are to no degree as serious as the characters in my book but do impact on my life. Writing provides me with a means of coping with my depression and anxiety. After writing my first novel, Adverse Reaction, I became hooked on the process. This novel is my first divergence away from my Persford Series of medical suspense thrillers.
Plants have a vast range of medicinal and pharmacological properties and having worked as a research chemist for many years I find this related subject fascinating. For early civilisations, plants were their only source of treatment for illnesses and ailments. For many naturally occurring pharmacologically active substances, there is a fine line between their medicinal and toxic effects, and we should not underestimate them. Though plants may look attractive and innocuous, many contain hidden dangers.
We have a Wolf’s Bane plant, Aconitum napellus, in our garden and I have treated it with great respect since an item in a newspaper reported the death of a gardener through contact with this plant. Some people are particularly sensitive to it, and it can interfere with the regular functioning of the heart.
Psychoactive plants abound in nature, some are better known than others, namely cannabis and opium. Salvia divinorum was a new discovery during my research for this book, but I have no personal experience of its effects, nor of any other compounds previously classed as legal highs. However, reports of the temporary feelings of elation and the removal of inhibitions perfectly fitted my story. The drug is reported to cause visual disturbances, improved mood, talkativeness, a sensation of being pulled or distorted and a loss of contact with reality. There are also instances of it causing users to revisit memories and places from their childhood. Therefore, when Trish herself experimented with the salvia, it could have made her focus on her painful past, increasing her feelings of resentment towards Gina.
I needed a readily available emetic to administer to Gina and initially thought of using ipecac syrup, which used to be widely used to treat suspected poisoning, however, I found it is no longer readily available. Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis, whilst used to treat various skin problems is not recommended for oral use and when ingested does cause stomach upsets and in fact, can be fatal in high dose.
I would not have been able to write this book without input from experts in the field of mental health. Thanks go to my step-daughter Sharon for discussions on self-harm and counselling sessions. Particular thanks go to my friend Mary for invaluable advice on the organisation of mental health services in the area and on psychology and counselling. In addition, for her useful insights regarding the plot, and suggestions for changes and improvements. Once again, thanks to my sister-in-law Deborah for meticulous proofreading. As ever, thanks to my husband Jonathan for your love, support and encouragement and our frequent discussions about my fictional world. Your pragmatic approach is so helpful in spotting any flaws in my stories and keeps me grounded when I succumb to flights of fancy.
Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who has taken the time to download my books and to read them.
dawnmarsanne@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter @dawn_marsanne
Also by Dawn Marsanne
The Persford Series
Adverse Reaction
Lethal Reaction
Terminal Reaction
Captive Reaction
Radical Reaction
Heartless Reaction
Standalone
A Form of Justice
About the Author
Having worked in the pharmaceutical industry for almost twenty-five years I wanted to write a novel which explored some of the serious issues in the field. The reproducibility of scientific data is a common problem which has recently been highlighted in the news and this forms the basis of my first book Adverse Reaction. I particularly enjoy reading thrillers and suspense nov
els and I have tried to create a fast paced story which holds the reader's attention. Many of the themes of the book occur in everyday life and I have used the backdrop of research to illustrate them. There are relatively few novels which are set in the laboratory environment so I saw this as an undeveloped area but at the same time scientific details are kept to a minimum to allow the work to be accessible to readers of a non-technical background. As I finished the novel I became sufficiently interested in the characters I had created to develop them further and so have produced two further novels in the Persford Reaction series which I intend to release shortly. Follow me on twitter @dawn_marsanne
About the Publisher