by Sarah Morgan
‘Mary Thompson.’ Ally stared at him. ‘What about her?’
‘I may have found a clue to her problems.’ Sean tossed a newspaper onto her desk and made for the door. ‘Read the report on page four. It might shed some light.’
‘Thanks.’ Ally watched as he closed the door behind him and then reached for the paper, noticing that it was the local newspaper. Page four, he’d said hadn’t he? Her eyes scanned the different stories. PRIMARY SCHOOL WINS AWARD FOR DESIGNING P[smallcaps]OSTER[reg]. OLD LADY MUGGED WHEN SHOPPING. She frowned as her eyes focused on a small piece at the bottom of the page—MAN CHARGED WITH DRUNKEN D[smallcaps]RIVING[reg].
‘What is it?’ Lucy peered over her shoulder and gave a low whistle. ‘Ouch. Lost his licence and he’s an insurance salesman. I suppose that means he’s lost his job, too, does it?’
‘If he needs the car for work then I suppose so,’ Ally murmured, putting the paper down. She was sure that Sean was right. This probably was the key to the problem. Was Mary’s husband an alcoholic or was the driving ban just a one-off? Either way she was going to have to handle it very tactfully.
She buzzed through to Helen and asked her to check whether Mary Thompson had booked another appointment.
‘Four o’clock on Thursday’ came the reply, and Ally made a note in her diary. It could wait until then.
‘Good for Sean,’ Lucy commented, making for the door. ‘You know, you must be the envy of every woman in Britain, having that hunk living next door.’
Ally frowned impatiently. ‘He’s just my lodger.’
‘Don’t fall in love with him, Ally,’ Lucy said softly. ‘Sean’s the most gorgeous man you could ever meet but he’s not the settling-down type and you don’t need more of that type of hassle.’
As if she needed warning! ‘Are you speaking from experience?’
‘No!’ Lucy shook her head, her hand on the door. ‘I was at school with him for a while, although he was years ahead of me.’
‘What was he like?’ Ally hated herself for asking the question but somehow she couldn’t stop herself.
Lucy pulled a face. ‘The original bad boy. All the girls were crazy about him.’
Ally smiled wryly. Why didn’t that piece of information come as a surprise? ‘Including you?’
Lucy gave a wry smile. ‘Well, I can’t claim not to find him attractive, but there’s something about him that ties me in knots and makes me nervous. He’s incredibly tough and self-reliant, and I like my men a little more approachable.’
Ally frowned. ‘I know what you mean. He’s a total male chauvinist pig.’
Lucy gave a short laugh. ‘Well, he’s certainly all man if that’s what you mean.’
All man. You could say that again. ‘But you’re really fond of him…’
‘I owe him a lot.’ Lucy fiddled with the doorhandle and took a deep breath. ‘I was badly bullied for a while at school, and in the end it was Sean who sorted them out.’
Ally sat back in her chair, her eyes wide. ‘What did he do?’
Lucy gave a short laugh, her eyes shadowed. ‘Well, let’s just say they never bullied anyone again after he’d finished with them.’
The intercom buzzed and Ally answered it, glancing at her watch as Helen asked her to see an extra.
‘No problem—I haven’t got that many calls so send them in.’ She gave an apologetic smile to Lucy. ‘Back to the grindstone.’
Lucy tugged open the door and stared at Ally thoughtfully. ‘On second thoughts, ignore what I just said. You might be just what Sean needs.’
Just what Sean needs? What did he need? And what about what she needed? Ally stared after her and then blinked as the door opened and Jack entered.
‘Jack?’ She smiled in surprise and pulled herself together rapidly. ‘I wasn’t expecting you.’
He gave a rueful smile. ‘I know, and I feel really guilty bothering you with this on a Saturday…’
Ally dismissed his apologies quickly. ‘Saturday surgery is just like any other, Jack, you know that. Will was sensitive to the fact that so many people can’t get to the doctor in the week, and it certainly cuts down the number of house calls we make at a weekend, so don’t feel guilty. What’s the problem?’
Jack pulled a face. ‘Pains in my chest—awful, burning pains.’
Ally frowned and questioned him in detail about the pain, making notes as she did so.
‘And does it go when you eat?’
‘Funnily enough, yes.’ Jack nodded thoughtfully. ‘Is it an ulcer?’
‘Maybe. I need to examine you properly.’ Ally questioned him further on the exact nature of the pain and then examined him carefully.
‘I can’t feel anything abnormal, Jack,’ she said finally as she washed her hands and waited for him to get dressed. ‘And your symptoms do sound like a gastric ulcer.’
Jack dressed quickly and settled himself back in his chair. ‘So now what?’
‘Well, you need to try an antacid to start with, and you must take it four times a day. If that doesn’t help then we’ll give you something stronger. I’ve got a leaflet here on lifestyle advice.’ She rummaged in her drawer and handed it to him with a grin. ‘You won’t like it.’
Jack gave a snort and scanned the leaflet briefly. ‘You’re going to tell me not to drink, aren’t you?’
Ally laughed. ‘Well, it is an irritant so at least cut down. We’ll see how you get on. I might need to send you for a gastroscopy.’
‘Looking into my stomach?’
She nodded. ‘That’s right. I’m sure it’s straightforward, but as you’re over forty-five and this has come on suddenly it’s best to be on the safe side.’
‘OK. I put myself in your hands.’ He grinned and stood up. ‘Thanks, Ally. By the way, are you and Charlie coming to the fundraising bonfire party next Saturday?’
‘If I’m not on call.’ Ally flicked through her diary and smiled. ‘No, here it is. Mountain Rescue Team party. By the way, try and restrict your conversation in front of Charlie, would you? I’ve spent the whole week answering questions on hypothermia and people dying on mountains.’
‘Oops, sorry.’ Jack looked guilty and walked towards the door. ‘I was talking to your mum and I forgot she was there, actually. Oh, I gather Sean’s living with you.’
Ally ground her teeth. News travelled fast in a small community. ‘He’s my lodger.’
‘Right.’ Jack’s eyes gleamed slightly. ‘Well, if you see him before I do, get him to come along, too, will you?’
She forced a smile. ‘If I see him.’
She certainly wouldn’t be going out of her way to find him. And she certainly wouldn’t be going with him to a bonfire party.
* * *
Ally finished her calls fairly quickly and resisted the temptation to drop in on Mrs Thompson. There was a chance she’d make things worse by calling unannounced, and as the woman was coming to see her on Thursday she made the decision to be patient. Instead, she drove along the dual carriageway to the Infirmary to visit Pete Williams.
He was lying, immobilised, on the bed, his head buried in a book on climbing.
‘Hello, trouble.’ Ally dropped a football magazine on the bed next to him and settled herself in the chair.
‘Dr McGuire!’ His face brightened as he picked up the magazine. ‘Hey, this is great! Thanks!’
‘How are you feeling?’
‘Sore.’ Pete coloured. ‘And very stupid. Mr Morgan read me the Riot Act.’
Ally gave him a sympathetic smile. ‘You had a lucky escape.’
‘I know.’ His fingers fiddled with the sheet. ‘Mr Morgan said that if you and Dr Nicholson hadn’t been in the area I would have died.’
‘Well, we were,’ Ally said briskly, ‘so don’t let’s think about things like that now. How’s the blood sugar?’
He shrugged and pulled a face. ‘Not too bad, considering.’
‘What were you trying to prove, Pete?’ Ally’s voice was soft and Pete stared down at th
e bedcovers.
‘Dunno, really.’ He made an impatient sound. ‘Yes, I do! I’m just fed up with it all, Dr McGuire. Being different, you know?’
Ally shook her head. ‘No, I don’t know. You’re not different, Pete. You just have diabetes.’
‘But that makes me different, doesn’t it?’ He glanced at her and then sagged back against the pillows. ‘I can’t join in cross-country properly because I have to test my blood sugar, I can’t binge on food…’
Ally watched him thoughtfully. ‘Well, the bingeing probably isn’t a good idea, but I don’t see why you can’t do cross-country.’
‘Are you kidding?’ He gave her an impatient look. ‘Our school take it really seriously. Lots of the kids go on to run marathons. You can’t do that if you have to stop to test your blood sugar all the time in case you’re going hypo.’
‘But what if you didn’t have to stop?’
He stared at her. ‘Well, of course, I have to stop.’
Ally shook her head slowly. ‘They’re bringing out new blood-glucose monitors all the time, you know, and there’s one that’s no bigger than a stopwatch so you can carry it with you when you run.’
‘But I still have to stop—’
‘No, you don’t.’ Ally racked her brains for the information the company representative had given her recently. ‘You don’t need test strips—it’s all in the meter so you can test while you run.’
Pete’s eyes were fixed on her face. ‘Without even stopping?’
Ally nodded. ‘That’s right. Want me to find out more for you?’
‘You bet!’ Pete’s eyes were shining. ‘Wow, that would be great. Thanks, Dr McGuire.’
‘No problem.’ Ally glanced curiously at the pair of brand new climbing boots sitting on his locker. ‘What are those?’
Pete coloured and looked proud. ‘Oh, Dr Nicholson bought me those.’
Sean? He’d been to see Pete? Why hadn’t he said?
Ally picked up the boots and turned them over in her hands. They were top quality and from one of the local climbing shops.
‘He says if they don’t fit I can change them when I’m on my feet again, but he never wants to catch me climbing in trainers again.’ Pete’s eyes glowed. ‘And guess what? Dr Nicholson is going to give Andy and me some climbing lessons. Isn’t that cool?’
Ally stared at him. ‘Lessons?’
Pete nodded furiously. ‘He was an instructor in the army, you know, and Mr Morgan says he’s the best at climbing and abseiling and now he’s going to teach us—isn’t that brilliant?’
‘Brilliant,’ Ally echoed, fingering the boot thoughtfully. It wasn’t what she would have expected of Sean. She’d thought he was cold and unemotional and certainly he hadn’t shown any sympathy for the boys when he’d rescued them, but here he was not only buying an expensive pair of boots for Pete but also offering to give up his valuable time to give them climbing lessons. It didn’t sound like the man she’d seen so far. Had she misjudged him?
‘How many times has Dr Nicholson been in to see you?’
‘Twice.’ Pete watched as she placed the boots carefully back on the locker. ‘He gave me a right rocket the first time. Told me I would have died if you and he hadn’t been there—then he sat down and talked to me for ages. All about my diabetes and how I felt and stuff like that.’
Stuff like that. Stuff that really mattered to Pete. Ally bit her lip. Sean had done a good job by the look of it. She’d been expecting the boy to be really depressed, instead of which he was desperate to get better so that he could start his climbing lessons.
She spent a bit longer with Pete, teasing him and generally making him laugh, and then she glanced at her watch and grimaced.
‘Oops, it’s getting late.’ She stood up and pulled on her coat. ‘I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you soon.’
* * *
Ally was pulling up outside the barn when the door of the stable opened and Sean strode out. Judging from the bag in his hand, he was going out on a call, and from the look on his face it was an emergency.
She touched the button for the electric window, shivering as the cold evening air oozed into the car. ‘Problems?’
Sean glanced at his bike, hesitated and then strode towards her car, a decision made. He tugged open the passenger door and flung his bag in the footwell.
Ally immediately hit the accelerator. ‘Where am I going?’
‘Kelly Watson.’
‘Oh, no!’ Ally pulled out into the lane and drove as fast as she considered safe, her mind racing. ‘Another asthma attack, I presume?’
‘Yes, and a bad one from the sounds of it.’ Sean fastened the seat belt in a fluid movement and glanced quickly at his watch. ‘They tried to call an ambulance but there’s been a pile-up on the motorway so there was no chance of anything arriving quickly. Her mother’s in a total panic.’
Knowing Kelly’s mother, Ally could well imagine it. Thank goodness she knew exactly where they lived.
Less than five minutes later she braked outside a row of cottages and jerked her head towards the one on the end.
‘That’s the house.’
Sean was out of the car in a flash, muttering something under his breath as he saw Kelly’s mother hovering anxiously by the front door.
‘Thank goodness you’ve come!’ Mrs Watson’s face was streaked with tears and she hurried through to the sitting room. ‘She’s in here, but she can hardly breathe…’
Sean strode through the door and Ally gave Mrs Watson’s arm a squeeze. ‘Try and clam down if you can or you’ll panic Kelly.’
Mrs Watson gave a huge gulp. ‘Don’t let her die, Dr McGuire—please, don’t let her die—’
‘She won’t die,’ Ally said firmly, and gave her a gentle push in the direction of the kitchen. ‘How about putting the kettle on?’
Not that she wanted any tea, but she knew that they’d need to assess the situation without an agitated mother peering over their shoulders.
Kelly was lying on the sofa, struggling for breath, a bluish tinge colouring her lips.
Sean’s hands were already in his bag, drawing up salbutamol. ‘She needs high-flow oxygen.’
Ally was ahead of him, handing him the mask and tubing even as he finished saying the words.
‘I’m going to use aminophylline.’
Ally delved into his case and pulled out the ampoule. ‘How much does Kelly weigh, Mrs Watson?’
There was a brief silence. ‘About four stone.’
Sean pulled a face. ‘What the hell’s that in kilograms?’
Ally did a quick mental calculation even as he was drawing up the drug. ‘Say 25 kilos.’
Sean cast an eye over the little girl. ‘Sounds about right. OK, so I’ll give her 5 milligrams per kilo.’
‘One twenty-five milligrams,’ Ally agreed, taking the little girl’s hand and giving it a squeeze. ‘You’re doing fine, Kelly. You’ll soon be breathing easier, sweetheart.’
Kelly just looked at her, her eyes dull and exhausted, too short of breath to even attempt to speak.
‘Let’s give her some hydrocortisone as well,’ Ally murmured, and Sean nodded.
‘She’s got severe bronchospasm. We might need to bag and mask her.’
Ally met his eyes briefly and then delved into the case for the equipment they might need. Kelly’s breathing was more and more laboured, and Ally glanced up and caught Mrs Watson standing in the doorway, her face white and pinched.
‘She’s breathing more easily—her respirations are down slightly,’ Sean murmured suddenly, settling the mask more comfortably on the little girl’s face.
‘Thank goodness for that.’ Ally stood up, wincing as her cramped muscles protested violently.
Mrs Watson glanced out through the window. ‘The ambulance is here.’
Sean nodded briefly and adjusted the mask. ‘Right. Well, she still needs to go to hospital. She’s better, no doubt about that, but her colour and her breathing could still improve a l
ot so let’s get her loaded into that ambulance.’
Ally smiled at the paramedic who strode into the room. ‘Hi, Daniel. Things are looking a little better here but we still need your help.’
‘Will do.’ He stared down at the little girl and gave her a wink. ‘Can’t stay away from me, can you, pet? I was here last week, wasn’t I?’
Kelly managed a weak smile and Daniel sat next to her and soothed her gently while Ally gave a brief but thorough description of what had happened and the treatment they’d given.
Daniel stood up as his partner came in with a chair covered in red blankets. ‘One of you coming in the ambulance?’
Sean frowned. ‘I’m still on call…’
‘I’ll go,’ Ally said promptly, and then bit her lip. Charlie.
Sean scanned her face and held out his hand. ‘Give me your keys and I’ll be in when Charlie comes home. If I get a call, Charlie can come with me.’
Ally hesitated. ‘My mum can probably stay with her…’ But, then again, maybe not. She’d told her mother that she’d be home so she might have made plans. The farm kept her whole family busy. She didn’t have a choice. Delving into her bag, she handed Sean the keys and then followed Daniel out to the ambulance, helping to settle Kelly comfortably while Mrs Watson locked the house.
As the ambulance pulled away Ally gave the woman a comforting smile. ‘She’ll be just fine now, Mrs Watson.’
‘Until the next time.’
Ally nodded slowly. ‘Yes, well, we need to get to the bottom of this. I’ll talk to the hospital when they’ve had a chance to assess her. It is unusual that she wasn’t better controlled on that dose of steroids she’s been taking.’
Was it her imagination or was Mrs Watson avoiding looking at her? Her instincts told her that something wasn’t quite right…
‘How long will she have to stay in?’ Mrs Watson rummaged in her bag for a tissue and blew her nose hard.
‘She’ll probably be allowed home tomorrow,’ Ally told her, steadying herself as the ambulance went round a corner. ‘Do you have any idea what triggered this attack, Mrs Watson? Has she been in contact with animals or anything different that might have caused it?’