Winter Falls

by Eddie Skelson

  ‘That was good of you, thanks very much.’ Joe said.

  ‘No, no, it was not a bother at all. We can’t keep the government waiting can we? I have the records waiting for you at my office. Why don’t we head over there now and get them sorted.’ Peake said, clearly keen to get on.

  ‘That would be great Doctor, thanks.’ He handed Macgregor his mug. ‘Thank you for the brew Mr Macgregor.’

  ‘Welcome.’ Macgregor grunted.

  The Doctor left the room and Joe followed behind. When he exited the police house the first thing he noticed were snowflakes falling lazily around him.

  ‘Jesus, it’s snowing already.’ Joe said.

  ‘What? Oh yes, not to worry it’s not heavy.’ The Doctor didn’t stop to look around, instead he continued on to the path moving briskly along. ‘My surgery isn’t too far,’ he called back as Joe picked up pace to keep up with him.

  ‘We could take my car?’ Joe suggested

  ‘Nonsense, by the time we have got into it we will be there.’ Peake said and gave a dismissive wave of his hand.

  They soon reached a line of buildings and stopped about midway along the street beside another worn sign. This one advised that it was the Surgery of Dr. A. Peake and that the visiting hours were 9.00-3.00 Closed on Weekends. Underneath was a handwritten note protected with polythene that stated that if there was an emergency to try at the Doctors home, No. 18 Ramsey Close.

  ‘Here we are then,’ said Peake. He flashed Joe a toothy smile and nimbly skipped up the steps to the large grey door at the top. Joe followed and upon entering the building as Peake held open the door from him he found himself in another small reception area. Like the police station there were no posters, informative or otherwise. The walls were an off white colour but it looked as though this shade was through age and not a decorative choice.

  Peake moved in front of Joe again and led him to the door across the room. At about eye level was a name plate.

  ‘My office.’ Peake said and entered. Joe noticed that the plaque read Dr Charles Roberts.

  ‘Is Doctor Roberts in today?’ Joe asked.

  Peake stopped mid stride in the doorway and turned to face Joe. ‘Excuse me?’

  Joe indicated the plaque. ‘I assume you share an office.’

  Peake looked at the plaque and looked a little startled. Joe thought he looked like a man caught in a lie.

  ‘Oh! Doctor Roberts.’ He said and gave a nervous laugh. ‘My word no. Doctor Roberts has been gone for some fifteen years now.’

  ‘Gone?’ Joe asked.

  ‘Deceased! Dr Roberts was the physician for Winter Falls before me, he put in fifty years of service to the town before he finally went to his rest.’ He tapped a knuckle on the plaque. ‘I never got around to taking this down. Everybody here knows everyone else so it seems a little pointless to have my name up there, and I don’t know, perhaps I am a little sentimental. Dr Roberts was my GP when I was a child of course.’

  ‘Right.’ said Joe. The story, made up on the spot he was sure seemed ridiculous to the point that he half expected Peake to follow it up with ‘I’m pulling your leg.’ He didn’t. Instead he eyed Joe for a moment, almost certainly gauging whether he had bought the story and then carried on into the office.

  This room was larger than the reception. A tiled floor and white walls that didn’t appear as clean as they should be for a place of medical care, and it looked eerie in the overly bright light from the two large bulbs.

  ‘Not strip lights.’ Joe thought.

  A desk, large and impressive lay almost to the back wall and at the side of it was a folding screen where patients could undress. The usual examination bed was a next to this and other than that the room was home only to a few cupboards and a set of scales. There was a large window that would look out over the front of the building but the glass was frosted, obscuring the view.

  On the desk were four boxes, open at the top, and Joe could see that each was full with paperwork. Peake walked over to them and placed his hands on either side of one.

  ‘Here we are, the records for the dates that you were enquiring about and you should find them not only in order of year but also alphabetical.’ Again Peake presented Joe with his toothy rat-like smile. ‘That should save you a great deal of time.’ He added.

  Joe’s mind was beginning to fill with questions but he wasn’t sure whether he should ask any of them. He had already been made uneasy by the strange story of the name plate and now he was in what could only be described as a filthy surgery and with a man who had somehow known that Joe was looking for paperwork from a certain set of years. He hadn’t told anyone at Roscregan about the data he required. There was a chance that the hospital had called ahead and advised him but this hadn’t been mentioned if so.

  He knew he should be over the moon that his work here might be finished soon, possibly within a couple of hours. He didn’t, he felt a little nervous and he began to wonder why the good Doctor and Officer Macgregor seemed so damn keen to have him gone as soon as possible.

  ‘Well, I’ll let you get on shall I?’ Said Peake.

  ‘Won’t you need your office? Joe asked.

  ‘Oh no, no...I just have a few house calls around the town and folks can call me up at my house if they need me urgently.’ Peake replied.

  ‘No receptionist?’

  ‘No.’ Said Peake. Joe detected a hint of annoyance creeping into the Doctors voice. ‘She’s off today, got a cold.’

  ‘What if someone comes to the surgery while you are out?

  ‘No one will come.’ Peake replied impatiently. ‘This isn’t some big town practice with a constant stream of drug addicts and hypochondriac old ladies. It’s quiet here and people know when to come and when not too.’

  ‘Ohh kay.’ Joe replied. ‘I’ll get on.’ He placed his bag on the desk and started to haul wads of documents from one of the boxes.

  Peake licked his lips and made for the door. When he reached it he turned his head back to Joe, ‘I’ll be gone for about two hours. I imagine you will be done by then. Feel free to just scoot off if you like.’ He said and repeated, ‘When you are done.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Joe replied. Peake turned and left the room. A second later the front door opened and shut.

  ‘Jesus fucking Christ.’ Joe said out loud. He took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. ‘Well Kev had the fucking creepy factor nailed.’

  He picked up one of the files. It was the record of birth of Mary Macalister, born in 1912 and without complications. There was some scribble on the page, probably by the Doctor or midwife, but it was illegible to Joe. Everything seemed in order. The sheet was well preserved considering its age, this however was not the period he was after. It was two years too early, he dug down a little and lifted an inch or so of the sheets out and checked the next one visible.

  ‘Adam Campbell, born 1914. Bingo.’

  Joe set the sheet aside and checked the pages from the bottom of the pile he held. He pulled free a further six pages that were within his time frame and placed them on top of the ‘Campbell’ sheet. He then delved deeper into the box, checking the dates until he came to records showing births in 1917. He pulled the documents up to that point out and piled them on top of the others.

  He took off the big coat, conscious of the weight of the revolver inside the pocket, and lay it onto the examination bed. Then he moved on to the other boxes and performed the same procedure for births dated between 1939 and 1941, 1966 to 1968 and 1991 to 1993. All the missing years were there, his mood lifted a little. From his bag he pulled out his iPad, removed the protective cover and turned it on.

  All he had to do now was take a snapshot of each record and he was done, ‘Adios Scotland.’

  He looked at the iPad. It looked back with a black screen. Joe held the power button down for ten seconds, nothing happened.

  ‘Fucks sake.’ He said. He reached further into the bag and pulled out the power cable and adapter. There was a power socket immed
iately behind the desk and he plugged it in. Joe then dragged a chair closer to the socket and rested his iPad onto it.

  ‘Please, please, please let it be because I’m a dick.’ His whispered.

  He plugged the power cable into the Pad and a few seconds later the low battery icon appeared in the middle of the screen indicating that the device was charging.

  ‘Oh thank fuck.’ Joe sat on the edge of the desk. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t checked the power on the iPad before he left Roscregan and as he remonstrated with himself a knock sounded at the office door.

  Joe quickly stood. ‘Och, no one will come!’ He said, quietly mocking the Doctor.

  ‘Hello?’ He called out. ‘I’m afraid the Doctor isn’t here.’ The door opened a little and Joe was a taken aback as a girl who looked to be in her early twenties popped her head around the door.

  ‘You’re alone then?’ She asked quietly. Her eyes darted around every corner of the room. Joe wasn’t sure what to say. He found himself taking a quick look around the room himself as though to confirm the fact.

  ‘Uhm, yes I suppose I am.’

  The girl cautiously entered the surgery and pushed the door shut behind her. She was average height, had a mess of auburn hair and an appreciably curvy figure. She wore a raincoat, fastened up, and a pair of faded jeans was visible beneath it. She spoke with the same accent as the Doctor and Macgregor, some words, like ‘alone’ sounding almost musical due to the intonation she applied.

  He also couldn’t help but notice that she was pretty and not at all weird looking, which was starting to be less surprising than it being the other way around if Kevin was to be believed.

  ‘You need to leave right away.’ She said.

  ‘I’m sorry, who are you.’ Joe asked.

  ‘My name is Melanie Peake.’ She replied.

  ‘Any relation to ...’ Joe started but was interrupted.

  ‘I’m his daughter.’ Melanie said. ‘You need to leave Mr Clarke, right now.’

  She walked towards him and looked at the boxes on the desk. ‘That’s all nonsense.’ she said indicating the records Joe had pulled out of them. ‘They have spent the last two days getting all of this ready, you have to go right now.’

  ‘Melanie, I’m very sorry but I’m not entirely sure what you mean.’ Joe decided to stay behind the desk so that there was a respectable distance between him and the strange girl. ‘I understand that the hospital may have called so that...your Dad could prepare these for me.’

  ‘No hospital has called.’ She said flatly. ‘No one calls this town. Billy Duggan told my dad what you were after, he heard you talking in the pub.’

  Joe began. ‘Right...well I...,’ but stopped. He was suddenly at a loss for words. His grasp on the situation was beginning to slip. A thought entered his mind that he may be in shock after the incident with the stag. He had almost crashed, and what with the stress and the weather and...

  Before he knew it Melanie was standing almost toe to toe with him. He found himself looking down into hazel brown eyes. Her hair, the auburn mess, fell back as she looked up at him. She placed the palms of her hands onto Joe’s chest at which Joe almost jumped backwards in surprise.

  ‘Please leave Mr Clarke. Go now, before the blizzard locks you in.’ She said softly.

  Joe snapped to his senses. ‘Blizzard! What are you talking about?’ Joe looked up at the frosted window. Outside of the rippled glass he could make out the rapidly moving, twisting shadow of a wall of falling snow.

  He stepped around Melanie and dashed to the front door of the surgery. As he swung the door open a blast of freezing cold air packed with snow launched into him. The cascade seemed to be falling as far as he could see, which wasn’t very far. The wind was strong enough to sweep the moving curtain in different directions and whether through primordial senses or just plain pessimism Joe knew that the wind was going to get stronger and the snowfall heavier.

  He slammed the door shut and quickly strode back to the office. Melanie had moved back to the front of the desk and stood with an expectant look on her face. ‘Do you see now, you have to leave.’

  Joe began to pace the room. He wiped at his forehead as thick flakes had melted in his hair and began to trickle down.

  ‘I cannot believe my fucking luck.’ He stopped and looked at the frosted window again ‘JESUS!’ he shouted in pure frustration. He closed his eyes and once again took a deep breath, to calm himself and to take stock of the situation. He could stay, get the job done and then attempt to drive out. He was in a 4x4, the odds were good so long as no more wildlife decided to play chicken.

  At worst, at the very fucking worst he might have to stay in the town and leave tomorrow, (deep down a small voice reminded him that blizzards can last for days) or he could leave now. Just go home and sort out this cluster fuck from London.

  It wasn’t even an option.

  He turned to Melanie. ‘Listen, thanks very much for letting me know about the blizzard. If I was a superstitious person I would think it was following me.’ He smiled to try and lift the tension he felt he had created with his outburst.

  ‘You’ll be leaving then?’ Melanie asked.

  ‘Yeah, definitely. I’ll give it a go anyway. I’ve just got to get this job finished, well started, and then I can get out of here.’

  ‘NO!’ Melanie shouted. You have to go NOW.’

  Joe moved back a step. The girl looked panic stricken, her eyes were wide and her hair waved around her face. The image of an insane gypsy women flashed thorough Joes mind as his ability to create stereotypes conjured from movies switched into gear. He felt he should say something but couldn’t. The situation was back to being almost surreal and possibly dangerous and he couldn’t get a grip on any part of it.

  Melanie stepped toward him but this time Joe didn’t step back, worried that such an obvious movement would exacerbate whatever was going on with the girl.

  You don’t know these storms like I do Mr Clarke. ‘This,’ she pointed at the frosted window and its shadow play behind it ‘hit from the sea within thirty minutes of there not being a single flake of snow in the air, and it’s going to get a lot worse and very quickly.’ She stepped closer. ‘You won’t be able to try the road because there won’t be one.’

  To Joes surprise she brushed past him, making for the front door. ‘Leave while you have the chance Mr Clarke, get your key from my Dad somehow. If I could get out of here trust me I would.’ As she opened the door and the blizzard made its way inside she pulled up her hood and turned to Joe once more.

  ‘Don’t believe a word he says, he’s insane.’ She bowed her head and walked out of the door, leaving it open. Joe Walked over and shut it quickly then returned to the desk, lifted the charging iPad and then sat, placing it on his lap. He had to do something normal to give him time to settle.

  ‘I think the weirdometer just went off the scale.’ He thought. ‘Get the key!’ Was he supposed to lock the Surgery?

  He once more considered just packing his stuff and leaving. It was going to take him at least an hour to copy every document, probably more. The girl was right of course, if the storm got worse visibility would be zero and drifting could hide the dry stone walls. With no point of reference he would be in a ditch before he had travelled a mile.

  He sat for a few minutes turning the options over in his head. He had to get this done. The job was sat right in front of him. Once it was copied all he had to do was get home, whether it was today, tomorrow or the day after was secondary to this. He stood and moved the iPad to the floor, taking care not to dislodge the cable.

  He then took a page from the top of the first pile and placed it onto the chair. It was an awkward position to work from but he had to keep the pad charging. One by one he placed the records onto the chair and took a photo of each with the pad.

  Chapter Six

  Doctor Peake appeared back at the surgery sooner than the two hours he had said he would be. He was still wearing his parker, which was
soaking wet, the shoulders still had snow clinging to them. He didn’t see Joe, who was on his knees behind the desk, using the chair to hold the documents as he snapped them with the iPad.

  ‘Are you done?’ Peake asked once before he realised where Joe was. He didn’t seem concerned that he was using a chair to work on rather than the desk.

  ‘Not even close.’ Joe replied.

  ‘Well you need to leave. There’s a blizzard.’ Peake gestured towards the surgery door.

  Joe was about to say ‘Yes, your daughter told me,’ but decided against it ‘don’t believe a word my dad says, he’s insane.’ Her words pricked at him. ‘Yes, I saw earlier, it looks pretty bad.’

  ‘Pretty bad?’ Peake looked aghast, ‘It’s bad and it’s going to be a nightmare, you need to be on your way son, right now.’

  ‘I’m afraid I can’t Doctor Peake, I need to get this finished.’ Joe didn’t stop his steady routine of moving a record to the chair and then taking a shot as he talked. Peake looked flustered.

  ‘Well how long will you be?’

  ‘I’m not sure but I think another hour, maybe slightly longer’’ Joe replied.

  Peake shook his head and puffed. ‘I don’t know, I don’t know.’ He said and paced a little.

  Joe finally stopped. ‘Look, no offence Doctor but I need to get this done and talking to you about the state of the weather really isn’t going to move things on.’

  Peake stopped his pacing and gave Joe a hard look. ‘What will you do if the roads are blocked?’

  ‘I guess I’ll have to stay the night and see what it’s like in the morning.’ Joe said. ‘You have a hotel or B&B here I guess.’

  Peake stared at him as though he were talking a foreign language.

  ‘Somewhere to stay?’ Joe said. ‘This is a port, you must have somewhere for people to stop over.’

  Peake frowned. ‘Well...I suppose there is the hotel,’ he said with a transparent degree of uncertainty.