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‘Yeah, well, you’ve been in Australia for five years. Maybe the Jack you used to know is getting older …’ He ran a hand through his hair. ‘I’ve just sat through a case meeting with the most annoying social worker …’ Jack rolled his eyes. ‘You know the type.’

‘Holistic approach?’ Alex said, and Jack gave a reluctant smile. ‘With the right services in place …’ Alex put on his best social worker voice and Jack actually laughed. ‘They’re the same the world over. Still, can you imagine this job without them?’

‘No,’ Jack admitted. ‘Anyway, right now I’ve got to go and do some sweet-talking—there’s a VIP waiting for a private tour of Emergency.’ Jack’s words dripped sarcasm. ‘I can’t wait.’

Maybe it wasn’t Social Services that was getting to him, maybe it was this place, or maybe, Jack thought as he saw a pair of red-stockinged, black-booted legs walking very briskly along the corridor, her pager trilling, with Security by her side, it was one social worker in particular.

‘Problem?’ Jack checked as she dashed past him, but she just gave him a very strange look at his question. Nina didn’t generally get fast-paged because things were going well in the world.

And she had really hoped for Tommy and his father, Mike, that things were finally starting to go well.

‘Just stay back,’ Nina said to the security guards as they took the lift to the psychology wing. ‘Mike gets very angry at times, but it’s all hot air. I’ll tell you if I need you to intervene.’

She was met by Linda, one of the most senior child psychologists. ‘I’ve got another worker in with them at the moment,’ Linda said, and then explained what had happened that morning. ‘Basically, I noticed Tommy had a nasty cut on his hand. It was covered by a bandage but it came off during play therapy and it looks infected. I think it should have had stitches, but when I suggested we bring Tommy down to Emergency to have it looked at, Mike refused. He got extremely angry and now he’s insisting on taking Tommy straight home.’

‘How’s Tommy?’

‘Pale …’ Linda said. ‘Listless. He’s lost weight too. I saw him just last month and everything seemed fine. Things have been going so well between them …’

‘I was hoping to close the case this week,’ Nina admitted. ‘Obviously with ongoing support for Tommy …’ She bit back on the expletive that was rising in her throat. She had been sure that things were so much better, had been sure there wasn’t a protective issue, and then she heard Mike shouting.

‘We’re going home.’ He had Tommy in his arms and was striding down the corridor. ‘Oh, not you!’ he shouted when he saw Nina. ‘Got your bodyguards with you?’

‘Mike.’ Nina was calm but firm. ‘Tommy needs to have that cut seen. If it’s infected, he will need—’

‘I’ll stop at the drug store on the way home.’ Mike didn’t let her finish, just marched on towards the lifts.

‘Mike …’ She walked alongside him, and as he jumped into a lift that was going up, Nina darted in and the doors closed before Security could get in too.

Mike continued his angry rant, not caring that there was a family with a child in a wheelchair, not noticing Alex Rodriguez, who was in the lift and about to intervene. Nina glanced at his ID and realising he worked at Angel’s gave a brief shake of her head. In a confined space it might only make things worse.

‘We can talk properly down in Emergency,’ Nina said to Mike, because the last thing she wanted was Mike walking off in this mood with his son.

‘I’m sick of your talking!’ Mike shouted.

‘You’re scaring Tommy.’ She watched as Mike screwed up his face, watched as he tried to contain himself for his son, and thankfully Alex made sure everyone but himself got out at the next floor.

She was grateful to Alex for sticking around while staying back as they walked briskly to Emergency, Security catching up just as they got to the entrance doors.

It was a busy Monday morning in Emergency, Jack noted. He actually wanted to take off his suit jacket and pitch in, but instead he was stuck showing Elspeth Hillier around and telling her what her huge donation, in memory of her late husband, was earmarked for.

‘We’re hoping to have a supervised play area …’ Jack explained. ‘It would be used for the siblings of the patient or any child in the care of their guardian. Often the parent or carer arrives with two or three children in tow—naturally they want to be with their child throughout procedures and interviews, instead of having to take care of the other children until help arrives. The patient misses out on the comfort of the carer or, more often than not, the nurses end up babysitting.’

‘And it would be called …’ Elspeth asked.

‘We haven’t decided on a name yet,’ Jack said. ‘But certainly it would be something that honours the Hillier name.’

‘Not for me, of course,’ Elspeth said. ‘I just want Edgar to be remembered.’

‘Of course,’ Jack duly replied, though he was quite sure it wouldn’t be called the Edgar child-care centre or the Edgar Hillier child-care centre … He knew the routine only too well; he’d been raised on it after all.

‘So when will building commence?’ Elspeth asked, but Jack didn’t answer. He was distracted for a moment, not because of a new outbreak of commotion—that was commonplace here—but more at the sight of those red stockings again. Nina was walking through the department alongside a gentleman who was holding a pale-looking child. They were flanked by two security guards and Alex Rodriguez was present too.

Jack tried to answer Elspeth’s question but his eyes kept wandering to the group and he watched as a nurse approached to take the child.

‘Excuse me for a moment, Elspeth …’

Security were bracing themselves, Alex was hovering, nurses were looking over, and any second now the button would be pressed for the police to be called as the father was becoming more and more agitated. Only Nina stood resolute and calm. He could see her speaking to the gentleman and, as Jack approached, he saw that whatever she had said had worked, for without further demur he handed the child over to a nurse.

Jack was about to head back to Elspeth and even Alex had turned to go when the explosion hit. ‘Who the hell do you think you are, bitch?’ The man was right in Nina’s face, cursing her and, despite the presence of Security, backing Nina into a cubicle. But even then her voice was, to Jack’s ears, annoyingly calm, telling the security officers to step back.

‘I can handle this, thank you.’

Er, actually, no, she couldn’t, Jack was quite sure. There was well over six feet of angry male yelling at her, telling her that he had trusted her, that she should know him better, that he would never harm his child.

‘Take a seat, Mike.’ She just stood in the middle of the cubicle as he ranted. ‘No one is accusing you of anything, but Tommy looks unwell and needs to be examined. He has a cut that appears infected. No one has said anything about you harming your son.’

‘You’re nothing but a—’

‘Enough.’ Jack stepped in between them. ‘I’m Jack Carter, Head of Paediatrics. Can I ask what is going on?’

‘I’ve got this, thanks, Jack.’ He heard her bristling with anger and held back the slight incredulous shake of his head, because her anger was aimed at him! Still, he happily ignored Nina and looked at the man.

‘Sir?’ Jack stood patiently, his eyes warning the other man to calm down, and slowly he seemed to a little, but his words were still angry when he answered.

‘Tommy had an appointment today with the child psychologist and everything seemed fine but then they decide that the cut on his hand needs to be seen. I just want to take him home, he’s tired, and then she arrives with security guards in tow and I’m hauled down here just because a four-year-old has a cut hand.’

‘It looks infected,’ Nina stated. ‘It needs to be checked, it’s that simple, Mike.’

‘How did he get the cut?’ Jack asked.

‘I don’t know.’ Mike’s temper reared again. ‘He’s four years old, they fall over all the time.’

‘Sure they do.’ Jack nodded. ‘I’ll go and take a look at him myself right now. The thing I want you to do is to calm down before you go in to see him. You’ve scared your son—he doesn’t need to see his father angry and upset.’ He gave a brief nod to Nina, who stepped outside with him.

‘It’s a very complicated history—’ she started.

‘I’m sure that it is,’ Jack interrupted, ‘but right now my concern is the child’s medical status.’

‘The father can be explosive at times, but he’s never been that way with his child …’

Jack didn’t want to hear her findings at this stage. His only thought was for the safety of the child—well, there was one other thing he would address later. ‘I’m going to speak to you afterwards about your own safety. I don’t want staff taking risks.’

‘I know the family. I knew what I was doing—’

‘I’m not arguing about this right now,’ Jack broke in. ‘I’ll speak to you later.’

‘If I can just explain about Tommy …’