Questions of Trust A Medical Romance - By Sam Archer Page 0,34

out to be unharmed, to have wasted everyone’s time.

On the other hand, she had sounded genuinely distressed. Tom pulled on his jacket and his mind raced through the possibilities. Had she taken an overdose, cut her wrists, or something even worse? She’d always been an emotional, impulsive person, but he’d never known her to harm herself before.

Or – and panic seized him at the thought – had she taken Kelly form the nursery, genuinely done so this time? He fumbled for his phone once more, hitting the wrong button and having to try again. The deputy manager answered this time, not Megan.

‘Yes, Kelly’s fine, Dr Carlyle,’ the girl said chirpily. ‘Is anything wrong?’

‘No – no, just being an overanxious parent,’ he breathed. ‘Thanks, Charlene.’

‘Charmaine.’

‘Charmaine. Sorry.’

Tom met Ben at the reception desk and, without giving any details, asked if Ben could cover him for an hour as he had a family emergency. The older doctor nodded, his brow furrowed in concern.

‘Of course. I owe you big time, anyway, for yesterday. What’s up?’

‘Tell you later. Thanks.’ Tom waved to Tracey, indicating that Ben would explain, and walked out as calmly as he could, only starting to run as he got nearer to his car. On the way he thumbed Rebecca’s number in. Six rings, and her voicemail kicked in, her tone cool and brisk, and not at all like the distraught, choking quaver he’d heard a few minutes earlier.

Oh, Rebecca, he thought as he started the engine. What have you done now?

***

Chloe too had spent the morning immersed in work, as much to prevent her weary brain and body from succumbing to sleep as to fend off further brooding thoughts about the encounter between Tom and her the night before.

Her day began with an early call from the town council offices. Yes, the deputy leader of the council was willing to meet her to discuss the problems on the Stratwell estate – could she make Friday, the day after tomorrow? Chloe said she could. After the call ended she sat for a few moments, a small fist of elation clenched in her chest. She’d done it; she’d secured an interview with the notoriously uncommunicative and press-shy council. And with a senior representative, too.

The first thing Chloe did was telephone Mike Sellers, her editor. He erupted with delight, embarrassing but pleasing her.

‘Chloe,’ he said, ‘how up to date are you on libel law?’

‘It’s been a while since I went over it,’ she admitted. This was the first investigative journalism she’d done in a long time, and she needed to refresh her knowledge of what could be committed safely to print and what couldn’t. the residents of the Stratwell estate had told her they were considering legal action against the council for negligence and breach of contract, and every word the Pemberham Gazette published about the case would be subject to the most painstaking scrutiny by both parties. Chloe couldn’t afford to mess it up.

‘In that case,’ said Mike, ‘I’d better set up a meeting for you with our solicitor. Just to brief you on the dos and don’ts.’ He went off the line for a moment, then came back. ‘He’s coming round to the office this morning, as it happens. Is there any chance you could meet him here?’

Mrs McFarland was only too willing to help with looking after Jake, and so, a little under ninety minutes later, Chloe found herself at the Gazette’s offices, in conversation with the paper’s lawyer, an amiable, owlish man wearing a dapper bow tie.

He took her through the finer points of the law, and of current custom, and Chloe made notes, learning a few new things along the way. At the end the solicitor smiled and spread his hands.

‘Anything else I can help you with, Ms Edwards?’

‘No thanks. You’ve been very helpful.’ As he was rising, a thought struck her. ‘Actually, there is something.’

He sat back down again, waited expectantly.

Chloe said, ‘It’s probably not your specialist field, but can you tell me a bit about child custody law?’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘You’re right, it’s not my area. But I do know a little about it. What would you like to know?’

Chloe hadn’t prepared a list of questions, something she now regretted. She thought for a moment, and said: ‘How common is it for custody agreements to be changed, or challenged, more than a year after the parents have separated?’

‘Fairly common for a challenge to occur. Time changes people’s perspectives.’

‘And how often are such challenges successful?’

‘That depends on