Trust Me - Sheryl Browne Page 0,46

him any more.

He was twisting everything, blaming her. And now she had absolutely no one to confide in. Not her best friend. Not her GP. Not her husband.

Safely ensconced in a cubicle in the toilets, Emily wondered if it was truly possible to die from a broken heart.

Seventeen

Jake

Watching Sally leave, Jake had never felt so guilty. He’d meant to mention to Emily that he and Sally had once gone out together. It seemed like aeons ago now, but they had been fairly serious, until his mother died and his life had fallen apart. He’d fallen apart, wondered what the point was: of taking his exams, doing all the normal stuff that people did; having relationships. He’d begun to see people in a different light, speculating about what they were really like under the exterior they presented to the world, what secrets they kept. Or didn’t. His father had certainly made no secret of his numerous affairs. Jake would never understand that, not until the day he died. It was some kind of ego trip, he supposed, a way of proving his masculinity.

Why hadn’t he told her? He thought back to the first time he and Emily had run into Sally when they’d moved into the village. Edward and Joyce Simpson had organised a welcome-back party. Sally had been all over him. Drinking more than was healthy, she’d been openly flirting with him. Emily had been put out, understandably, and Jake had decided not to say anything then, rightly or wrongly. When Emily and Sally had struck up a friendship despite that shaky first meeting, he could see Sally working to gain Emily’s trust after her ‘deplorable behaviour’, as she called it, and he’d again declined to say anything, so as not to destroy a potential friendship. He’d supposed Sally would mention it to Emily somewhere along the line. Apparently, she hadn’t.

Given how their marriage was at the moment, he was bloody glad now that Emily didn’t know. He was growing more worried about her state of mind. It hadn’t helped when he’d practically accused her of sending the letter to Michael out of some sense of vengeance. Now he didn’t know what to think. Who would have alerted Dean Miller to the fact that his wife had decided to terminate her pregnancy? Why would they? There was no blackmail involved, nothing to be gained as far as Jake could see, other than some twisted satisfaction from watching people’s relationships fall apart. He needed to talk to the whole team, including his father, and make sure that everyone knew that patient confidentiality was crucial. He also wanted to see their reactions when he told them he suspected one of them was accessing private medical data and using it unethically – as well as illegally. If it was someone on the team, then perhaps they would betray themselves.

Deciding to ring through to reception and ask Nicky or Emily to organise a meeting before close of play, he reached for his phone and then grabbed it up when it rang.

‘I have Dean Miller on the line,’ Nicky said, sounding wary. ‘He’s insisting on speaking to you.’

Jake drew in a breath. He guessed this wasn’t going to be an easy conversation. ‘Thanks, Nicky. Could you put him through?

‘Dean?’ He braced himself as the call connected. ‘What can I—’

‘It’s Zoe,’ Dean cut in, his voice terrified. ‘I didn’t do it, Jake. You have to believe me.’

Eighteen

Emily

Sitting in the waiting area along with the rest of the team, Emily glanced towards Jake as he emerged from his office. He’d asked her to let everyone know he needed to call an urgent meeting once all the patients had left. Emily hadn’t been surprised he would want to talk to them all, after receiving the terrible news about Dean Miller and poor Zoe. Picturing her, a petite, pretty girl who’d looked pale and drawn the last time she’d been to the surgery to see Jake, Emily’s heart broke for her. For her parents, too. What must they be going through, not knowing the extent of her injuries? If it were Millie … A cold shudder running through her, she tried to clamp her mind down on that thought, but couldn’t. Where was Millie going when she disappeared in the evenings? Emily hadn’t yet told her daughter that she’d rung Anna’s mother; that she knew it wasn’t Anna’s house she was staying at. She’d hoped that Millie might confide in her, before she was forced to confront her. Why