Laura briefly pressed her lips together. ‘What if she’d had a traumatic day? I hear she lost a baby yesterday. Might that have some bearing on her mental state?’
Patrick Ford’s eyes narrowed. ‘Her mental state! I do hope you’re not suggesting Dr Taylor is unbalanced, because I assure you she isn’t. I would know. I spend enough time with her. Do not go down that route. If there is another explanation, it will be a physical cause. Concussion, most likely. And yes, possibly from a tree branch hitting her head.’ His eyes coolly appraised the detective. ‘But until you’ve exhausted every avenue of searching for this man, I expect you to accept what she said as truth. And if that’s all we have to discuss, I’m anxious to see how she is.’
Laura smirked behind his retreating back. A bit pompous for her liking. Good looking and dressed well, though more for the city than the job he did, and bluntly confident, but not someone she would fancy. Still, the meeting had gone well, she had managed to gather a time frame of who was where and when at the time of this so-called abduction. Dr Taylor had certainly been out in the car park a long time. If her boyfriend had arrived on time then none of this would be happening. And Laura Best would not have spent the night searching the hospital. Never let it be said she hadn’t taken it seriously; she was nothing less than professional.
*
When Alex looked into Patrick’s eyes the morning after, she worried about what he was thinking. He’d been sitting beside the bed when she woke. He clasped her hand in both of his. In the deep-blue irises she saw his love, his understanding, his concern for what he knew she must be going through, and something else. Separated from all other emotion, standing alone, she saw his doubt.
He didn’t say anything when she first looked at him. He simply stared into her eyes, leaned over and kissed her mouth. A gentle pressure, a second of warmth and comfort, and then he sat straighter in his chair and waited for her to talk.
‘We didn’t have that champagne,’ she said.
He smiled briefly. ‘It’s on ice.’
‘The ice will have melted by now. And the label will have soaked off.’
‘It’ll still taste good. Or I can buy another bottle.’
She entwined her fingers with his and gently squeezed. ‘How’s my mum?’
‘Probably wondering if you and I are coming to lunch. Desperate to talk through the final arrangements for the wedding.’
Alex grimaced. This was the longest-planned wedding in history. Her sister, Pamela, had finally decided on a venue, a dress, a photographer, the flowers and her sole bridesmaid. Alex had left the choice of bridesmaid’s dress up to her sister. After trying on more than a dozen, and listening to Pamela’s oohing and aahing and indecision because each was so nice, Alex had given up. She could only use so many of her days off for shopping.
‘I meant, how is she about this?’
Patrick let go of her hands and steepled his fingers. ‘She doesn’t know. I thought it best if you talk to her about it. In the cold light of day. Well .?.?.’
Alex sat up, her eyes watching his every expression. ‘Well what, Patrick?’
He shook his head. ‘It’s just you may feel differently today. Have a different slant on things. You know, darling, you really scared me last night. When we found you I was never more relieved in my life. The weather was appalling. Someone could have driven over you. You could have died out there in the cold.’
The familiar shaking began again. Alex now recognised it for what it was. Panic. Not just because of what had happened, but because of not being believed. She dug her recently cut fingernails into her palms and willed herself to be still.
‘Where was I found?’
‘In the car park.’
‘I mean, where in the car park?’
‘Right at the back of it. The security guard and I found you lying on the grass beneath some trees. A couple of tree branches had fallen off close by, and we think one of them may have clocked you on the back of the head.’
‘Really. That’s what you think, is it?’
He was silent for a moment. ‘No. I mean, yes, it’s possible you were knocked on the head by a branch, but that doesn’t mean to say I don’t believe everything else that happened. Look, Caroline Cowan has booked you in for a CT. I think it’s a good idea. We don’t really know how hard you were hit on the head. By our reckoning you were unconscious more than three hours. It’s a long time to be out cold.’
‘What’s everyone saying, Patrick? What are the police doing?’
‘They’ve looked for him, but no sign as of yet. To be honest, darling, I’ve seen them talking more to your colleagues than actively searching for this man. I don’t think they’re giving much credibility to what you say happened. Everyone’s worried, of course. But I don’t think the police believe you.’
There he stopped, leaving Alex with no doubt of what was being said. She either had brain damage or had lost her mind.
‘And you? Do you believe me?’
He rose from his chair to perch on the edge of the mattress so that he could hug her. His words whispered in her ear: ‘Of course I do.’ He leaned back so that she could see his face, and the doubt she thought she’d seen earlier had gone from his eyes. ‘I have no reason to disbelieve you. When have you ever lied to me?’
Alex rested back in his arms. She had grown to feel safe with this man. He intrigued and challenged her in equal measure. His passion for veterinary surgery matched her own for human medicine. He was ambitious and driven, a potent combination in someone who also had the looks of a male model. They’d met because of his passion for rugby. During a game he’d ended up in A & E with a suspected fractured ankle. It wasn’t love at first sight. In fact, she’d thought him a pain in the neck. His knowledge of medicine was at the same level as hers and he had dictated the terms of his treatment at length, until she put him in his place and told him she was the doctor and she would decide if he needed crutches or not. A bunch of not overly imaginative flowers arrived in the department the next day, and he had followed it up by asking her out for a drink.