‘I found a letter,’ Bella whispered. ‘About a parole hearing.’
Connor’s jaw dropped. ‘Who was in prison?’
‘I think he still is,’ Bella said.
‘Who?’
‘My grandfather.’
‘What’s he in prison for?’
‘I have no idea.’ Bella shook her head. ‘But I think he went in there the same year that Grandma died and that’s… God, about seventeen years ago so it must have been something really bad?—’
‘What’s really bad?’
They both jumped as Kate walked in.
‘My foot,’ Bella said promptly. ‘If it’s broken it would be a really bad way to be starting a new job.’
Connor had to admire the way Bella had extricated herself from a tricky moment, but something in Kate’s face made him think that she knew there had been more to the conversation. The glance she flicked at Connor was wary. She would not be at all happy if she knew the kind of private details Bella had been sharing about her aunt, that was for sure. He shouldn’t have encouraged it. He shouldn’t even be here, come to that.
‘I’ve just spoken to the consultant,’ Kate said. ‘He’s had a good look at the X-ray and talked to the radiologist. Nothing’s broken. He’s going to come and talk to you before we go but they’re going to put a compression bandage on and give you a sick note for work for a couple of days. You’ll need to keep it elevated and rested. You might get a set of crutches if it’s too painful to put weight on.’
‘Not broken? Yay!’ Bella beamed. ‘I’ll be dancing again in no time, then.’
A nurse bustled into the cubicle with a handful of bandages. ‘Hi, I’m Gemma,’ she said. ‘I’ve come to bandage up that poor foot of yours.’ She nodded at Kate and then did a double-take as she spotted the extra person in the cubicle. ‘Connor! What are you doing here?’
‘I’m kind of… involved in the case,’ he said.
‘Of course you are.’ She grinned and turned to her patient. ‘It’s Bella, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’
‘And I hear you dropped a steriliser bucket on your foot in Theatre.’
‘Mmm.’
‘In my theatre,’ Connor put in. For some reason he felt he needed to explain his involvement. He’d never dated Gemma but he had been out with one of her friends a few times. That knowing little comment was sending a message to Kate that he didn’t like at all. He wasn’t trying to pick Bella up, here. Not at all. She was bright and bubbly and fun and everything but she was far too young. And too… open? Not mysterious enough?
Uh-oh, there was something disturbing in this line of thought. It really was time he left but Gemma was uncovering Bella’s foot now. He could just stay for a minute and make sure she did a good job of that compression bandage.
‘Ooh, nice bruise,’ Gemma said admiringly. ‘Did I hear you say something about dancing soon?’
Bella was admiring her foot as well. ‘Maybe not immediately.’
‘Shame. There’s a dance on next Saturday night that should be great fun.’ Gemma looked up at Connor. ‘I assume you’ll be going.’
‘Wasn’t planning on it.’
This was another message he wasn’t comfortable with Kate receiving. He could just imagine what she thought of him. Someone who took no notice of rules, dated everything in a skirt and couldn’t stay away from even the hint of a party. Shallow only began to describe that kind of person, didn’t it?
‘But it’s a fundraiser for Paeds. The “P” for Pool party?’ Gemma shook her head, turning to Kate. ‘The physiotherapy department is trying to raise enough money to put in a new therapeutic pool. You’ll be going, won’t you, Dr Graham?’
‘No.’
The word was final. Kate had no intention of going to this party. Or any other party judging by the echo of the word that hung over Bella’s bed.
A determined gleam came into Bella’s eyes. ‘Why not?’ she demanded. ‘Sounds fun. Except that I have no idea what a “P” party actually is. Sounds a bit dodgy to me.’
