‘Had enough?’ Kate asked briskly. She stood up and whipped Bella’s plate away before she had time to do more than start nodding her head. And then she stood with her back to the table, rinsing the plates to go into the dishwasher.
Bella stared at the plait hanging down Kate’s back. It bounced occasionally, as if the body it belonged to was very tense and its movements were jerky.
Sothatwas what it was all about.
It wasn’t anything to do with her grandfather.
Or was it?
Bella stroked Bib thoughtfully, her mind going back over what was now a well-worn track. How could you move on into a peaceful future if there were things in the past you hadn’t sorted out?
She thought about the scrap of paper she was using as a bookmark. It was in her room, marking the point she’d reached in her latest romance novel. A mobile phone number that she could text rather than ring, which would be good because it could be secret.
It would have to be somewhere neutral, she decided. She knew it would be totally the wrong thing to do to invite her grandfather to visit Kate’s house. The frisson of something like fear that trickled down her spine at the very idea was a warning bell. Kate would never forgive her if that turned to custard.
But somewhere neutral. Public, even? Like a coffee shop?
No. Bella suddenly knew the answer. What was needed was a place where Kate could feel in control. That was the key. And there was only one place other than her home where Kate wielded real power.
The pathology department.
‘Want some help?’ she asked Kate casually.
‘No. There’s not much to do.’
‘I might have an early night then. I’ve got a book I really want to finish.’
* * *
Work was the answer.
Normal life had resumed.
The clock had been wound right back to before Kate had noticed those tyre marks on the lino of the hospital corridor.
People had noticed how focused she was and her whole department seemed to be suddenly more professional. The pace was brisker. Okay, maybe she was a bit less tolerant and that was making her junior staff members wary, but they were working harder as well. Mark, in particular, was trying extremely hard to stay in favour.
And he was succeeding. So much so he deserved a reward.
‘How would you like to be involved in the new theatre laboratory?’
‘That would be great. I didn’t know it was up and running yet.’
‘It’s not, quite. The new equipment’s arrived, though. You could go and get things set up and I’ll come and check later.’
‘Don’t you want to do it? It’s your baby.’
‘It’s a departmental project,’ Kate said dismissively. ‘That’s all.’
It was harder than she’d expected to get past this particular wrench of the clock being turned back. Estelle had been discharged from hospital now, well on the way to recovery, but that whole incident had been the start of getting close to Connor, hadn’t it? And then the planning for the mini laboratory had kept the wheels turning long enough to go way too far down that track.
Well, it was over now. She hadn’t even seen Connor for the last couple of days but Kate didn’t want to risk an encounter too soon and she needed to stay away from Theatre. Which was a shame because she’d really looked forward to taking her turn in staffing that laboratory space. Being right there, literally at the cutting edge, of what a good part of her job was all about, instead of being shut away in the bowels of the hospital.
It took a great deal of courage to go up and check that Mark had set up the microscope and other equipment correctly, but Kate needn’t have worried. Connor wasn’t there. Bella was, however.
‘What time are you finishing work?’ she asked.
‘No idea. I’ve got a bucket of stuff to get finished, including a write-up on that research trial I’m involved in. I might be late so don’t wait for me.’
