soon as the doctor walked through the living room door.
I sat on the sofa sipping my mug of tea, while he examined Dan’s eyes, took his blood pressure, asked a series of questions, went through a number of strange tests then took me by my elbow and guided me into the kitchen.
‘Would you mind making me a cup of tea please? It’s terribly late and I am rather tired. I’ll come out to the kitchen to fetch it. Only be a couple of minutes. Need a private patient–doctor moment.’
I closed the door and put the kettle on. A little bit of solitude would be a welcome relief. I pulled two mugs from the shelf and stuck a couple of teabags in them, wondering, now I had a moment to myself, how exactly Dan had come to be up in the loft? And why my loft? My loft? Why not Mum’s? Why not his?
And that begged the question – why the loft at all? Why not simply come over and have a chat? Or a meal? Or, if he had his concerns, he was always welcome to stay.
I dunked the teabags in the mugs then tossed them into the bin as the doctor returned.
He cleared his throat. ‘Dan’s just removing his property from, er, the loft space.’
I nodded. ‘Do you take milk?’
‘Actually I don’t want a drink, Ms Asquith, thanks all the same.’ He was speaking in a whisper now.
‘Oh right.’ I picked up mine and drank it, waiting for him to speak. The doctor scratched his chin, then he put his hand to his brow and bit his lip. There was something going on in his head: a mood or a feeling I couldn’t quite ascertain.
‘Can I enquire as to the nature of your relationship with Dan Hooper, Ms Asquith?’ he asked.
I leant back against the kitchen unit, a tad confused. Not by the question itself, as such, but by the way it was asked. I got the feeling that Doctor Franklin was restraining himself in some way. A shadow had crept over his face.
‘He’s kind of like my stepfather. I thought you knew that.’
Doctor Franklin nodded but didn’t speak any more. Then he picked up the mug he’d rejected. ‘I see. Did you invite him here to live with you?’
Despite myself I laughed. Franklin’s face suggested that was not the looked-for reaction. ‘No, of course not,’ I ventured.
He gaped at the laminate floor, apparently tracing its pattern. ‘It’s just that he’s insisting he’s here because of you.’ Franklin swept his eyes upwards. He couldn’t hide the anger in his stare.
‘Yes, I know,’ I said in earnest. ‘I don’t know why he’s saying that.’
He ran his free hand over the marble of the kitchen surface. ‘Was there some kind of disagreement between you and your mother?’
I shook my head vigorously. ‘No, none at all.’
‘Between you and Dan, perhaps?’
My face had hardened now. I didn’t like this line of questioning one bit. ‘No. Never. Nothing serious. We enjoy a bit of a debate but …’
He glanced at me and put a hand on his hip. ‘I know your mother has passed away, and regarding the line of inheritance … I wondered if it was a bone of contention between you and your step … Dan.’
What? I pushed away from the kitchen top and stood up to give my pose authority. ‘I resent the implication here. Whatever Dan’s told you, you’ve got it wrong,’ I said in a half-snarl, furious at the angle he was taking. ‘Our relationship was good. I’m as clueless as you are as to how he came to be camping out in my attic. I cared deeply for my mother and was disturbed by Dan’s absence. As was she. Now, if you don’t mind me asking – what’s this about?’
Doctor Franklin leant his six-foot frame against the kitchen surface and inclined his head towards me. ‘On Friday I received a call from Doctor Jarvis, the resident doctor at Howard Acres.’
‘I know him, of course,’ I said, unable to keep the condescension out of my voice.
‘It was regarding the medication that you brought in last week.’
‘Yes. That was Dan’s. One of the nurses at Howard Acres asked me to fetch it from his flat. Given his sudden disappearance, I think she wanted to check he was taking the right dose of his meds.’
‘Yes I heard.’ Doctor Franklin looked up now, straight into my eyes. ‘He wasn’t. I’m not sure how long he’s been off. Doctor Jarvis sent off a