Ash (53 page)

He stopped to inspect Ash and Delphine again, neither of whom had uttered a word since they’d entered the medical unit.

‘Oh, I very nearly forgot,’ said Pritchard to Delphine. ‘Your migraine. I’ll give you something strong, chase the pain away before it gets a grip.’

‘It
is
getting worse,’ Delphine admitted.

‘Nurse Krantz,’ said Dr Pritchard, swinging round. ‘Will you give our psychologist some ergotamine tablets she can dissolve under the tongue? I don’t think we need an aerosol inhaler, because hopefully this will be a one-off. Not quite like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but we want to stop the migraine before it worsens.’ He passed this last remark on to Delphine, who was frowning, from either pain or anxiety.

Dr Pritchard delicately touched her scratched cheek. ‘I’m aware of how you feel about addiction, but I assure you I only want you to use the ergotamine once, twice at most, just to see if it’s suitable for your present problem.’

Ash flinched at this. ‘You’re using her as a guinea pig?’

Dr Pritchard bridled at Ash’s censure. ‘Not at all, Mr Ash,’ he said quickly. ‘We’ve enough patients here to conduct trials from time to time if we so wish.’

Yeah
, thought Ash,
but do
they
so wish
?

Krantz had returned with the pills and, still scowling at Ash, she handed one to Delphine. The psychologist slipped it under her tongue. Ash couldn’t help noticing how shaky her hand was.

Dr Pritchard had apparently noticed the same. ‘Before you shower, I’d like each of you to take a sedative.’

Ash raised his free hand to ward off the doctor’s offer. He didn’t fancy being medicated by Pritchard, no matter how eminent he might be among his peers. ‘Sorry, I’ve a lot to do this afternoon. I can’t afford to be half-asleep.’

‘You won’t be,’ Dr Pritchard insisted. ‘I only intend to give you a low dose of clonazepam. Oh, you might feel somewhat tired for an hour or so, but you should rest for a while anyway, after what you’ve been through. And I’m only asking you to take one, just to relax you a bit. Surely you can’t object to that?’

Ash looked at Delphine, who immediately reassured him. ‘Dr Pritchard is right, David. We both need something if we’re to get through the day.’

‘Well, if you’re sure,’ Ash said doubtfully.

‘That’s settled, then,’ said Pritchard quickly. ‘I also want to take a look at the bruising around your neck, Mr Ash, to make sure there’s no permanent damage from your unfortunate lift journey last night.’

The investigator thought he could detect weariness in the senior physician’s voice, and realized that the past twenty-four hours must have been tough for him, too.

Ash put his fingers to his throat. It did feel sore, he had to admit. But considering the size of the hands that had endeavoured to choke the life out of him, that was hardly surprising.

‘Now, a good warm, relaxing shower and then I’ll see you individually in my consultation room. All right? Good. I’ll see you both a little later.’

Dr Pritchard walked off, an affable man, but obviously a stern professional if needs be, thought Ash. The hospital staff almost stood at attention as he strolled by.

‘I’ll show you to the showers,’ said Krantz brusquely. Her damaged nose made her sound as though she had a bad cold and Ash had to stop himself chuckling.

She glared at Ash as if she knew what he was thinking, then turned on her heels.

Ash and Delphine exchanged a conspiratorial grin, then rose to follow her.

Later, lying on the soft-quilted bed in Delphine’s room, both of them still wearing spotless white bathrobes, they began to relax. The clonazepam they’d taken, together with the refreshingly warm shower, had induced a wonderful languidness, despite the morning’s ordeal.

The cuts, wounds and lacerations they’d suffered when fighting off the wildcats had been cleaned thoroughly with antiseptic, which, Ash had to admit, had stung almost as much as the claws that had caused them. Maybe Senior Nurse Krantz had been a little too . . . enthusiastic. It was understandable, he supposed. Dr Pritchard had asked another nurse to deal with Delphine’s treatment and Ash wondered if the senior doctor was aware of their little love triangle, mischievously enjoying the awkwardness of the situation.

After their showers, they’d followed the senior nurse to Pritchard’s comfortable and surprisingly unpretentious office, where Ash and Delphine had settled themselves on a cushioned sofa. Curiously, no awards or certificates of achievement decorated the walls. Ash had been forced to reappraise the stylishly attired doctor whose skills were apparent without with the need of framed certificates. He was sure the doctor was genuinely qualified; Kate’s research would have uncovered any deceit in that area. Maybe the absence of diplomas had something to do with Comraich’s secrecy? His greeting was friendly, although he was strictly the professional physician this time.

He took Dr Wyatt into his examination room, closing the door behind him. Krantz, left alone with Ash, had decided her services were no longer required. With a sneer that only worsened the effects of her broken nose, she left the office, glaring back at the investigator before shutting the door completely.

She was one to look out for, thought Ash reflectively. With the dark mood he could clearly sense descending upon the castle, he knew anything could happen in the next few hours. The atmosphere, both inside and out, was growing steadily more oppressive. Before long, he sensed, all hell was going to break loose. He felt no remorse for his assault on Krantz, and that was not like him, whatever the circumstances. He’d yesterday also killed a man. Okay, he’d been defending himself, but even so, something had touched him in this place, something malign and savage; something he had no control over.

Dr Pritchard was soon finished with Delphine and wore a benign smile as they returned from his examination room.

‘All done,’ he announced, ‘with no lasting damage. There will be some discomfort for you to endure, Delphine, but the wounds are superficial.’ He turned to face the investigator. ‘I’ve given her a foil of Triptans that might help if the ergotamine has little effect; with luck, they will ward off a migraine cluster. If not, we’ll try some nerve-block injections. Now, then, it’s your turn, Mr Ash.’ He indicated the open examination room door. ‘After you. I want a good look at those hands and the bruising you took last night.’

The examination was brief but thorough. ‘You’ll live,’ said Pritchard when it was over, grunting his satisfaction. ‘I’ll give you some painkillers with the sedatives.’ He held up a finely manicured hand to block any objection. ‘Just some more clonazepam, which will settle your nerves, and some dihydrocodeine, which is a strong painkiller. They might make you drowsy for a while, but that will soon wear off. Dr Wyatt has agreed to them; usually, getting her to take an aspirin is hard to do. But she trusts me, and I hope you will too.’

Now, relaxing on Delphine’s bed, they’d finally found a little time for each other.

‘Thank you, David,’ she said eventually.

‘For what?’ he asked, running a finger down the long lapel of her bathrobe.

‘For saving me from the wildcats.’

‘When I could’ve fed you to them as a diversion, you mean?’

She smiled and he pulled her lapel open a little further, just enough to expose one breast.

‘But you’re frightened of this place, Comraich, aren’t you?’ Her expression was serious despite the internal glow she felt just being close to him.

At that moment he was more concerned with her soft, even subtle, curvaceousness. Her body was pleasingly rounded, but not voluptuous – Delphine was too slim and small-boned for that.

Incongruously, a thought occurred to him. ‘What will happen to the twins?’

She frowned and looked away from him.

‘Why did you ask me that?’

He hesitated before speaking. ‘Sorry, but I’m just intrigued. They’re too young to stay here for ever.’

She sighed, as if already defeated by the actions of her incorrigible patients. ‘Probably chemical castration for Peter,’ she answered despondently.

‘What?’ Ash was shocked. ‘Surely there’s a better way. A vasectomy, the pill for Petra?’

‘That wouldn’t stop them having sex, and that’s the underlying problem. It isn’t simple lust. Both of them are attractive; they could find any number of partners. No, there’s a reason they behave as they do, and I intend to try my best to find out what it is. The twins’ parents are very wealthy and famous. They could never live with the scandal.’

‘What sort of parents are more worried about their own reputation than their children?’ Ash said scornfully.

‘I can’t name names, you know that, but the public outrage would be immense. Comraich is their children’s last hope. Both Petra and Peter have attempted suicide when they were separated.’

‘So, unless you can cure the twins, a more drastic approach will have to be taken? Is that legal?’

‘The letter of the law isn’t always followed at Comraich. Peter will be told the tablets and injections are to relieve some other condition.’

‘I’m sorry, Delphine, but that just can’t be right.’

‘You don’t understand the full power of the Inner Court. But that’s why I want to get to the root of the twins’ problem before such a drastic step is taken.’

‘And if you fail – what then? A lifetime of chemically enforced celibacy in Comraich?’

‘God, I hope not! They’re too young for that. I’ll try to change them by redrawing their moral boundaries. Try to make them forget what’s made them feel this way.’

‘Brainwash them, you mean?’ Ash was aghast.

‘It’s complicated. Comraich’s medical unit has treatments that can bring about precise but benign memory loss. They’ve discovered that particular proteins can be removed from certain sections of the brain where memories are stored. The Americans, who first introduced the theory, call it “targeted memory erasure”. The technique uses drugs to wipe out specific memories permanently. Of course, I’ve simplified the explanation, but that’s the basic principle. Counselling and other methods are used to locate the problematic memories so that the drugs can be used to eradicate them. Although it’s a relatively new procedure, the results here have proved positive. If they used that on the twins they would completely forget their time here and perhaps, eventually, even the loss of their birth mother – or at least their devotion to her – which I believe is the root of their problems. But, frankly, I don’t want that to happen, David. I want to cure them purely psychologically, no matter how long it takes.’

His attitude softened: he could see she only wanted the best for Petra and Peter, for all her patients. She was the good side of the IC.

‘Delphine,’ he asked with real concern, ‘I realize that we spoke about it before, but could I ever persuade you to leave Comraich?’

She caught her breath. ‘There are reasons I have to stay. For a start, I have a binding contract with Simon Maseby Associates.’

‘No such contract would be valid in the eyes of the law. They are doing things here which I’m sure are illegal.’

She smiled thinly. ‘Whether the contract is valid or not, if I were to break it, the punishment would be harsh. And I do mean harsh. I’d be treated as some kind of pariah – no, worse: a traitor – by the Inner Court. I’d never work as a psychologist again. Also, I promised my father. I had to. He was dying and wanted me to be under the protection of the Inner Court. He made me promise to stay at Comraich because of the security it would give me.’

She looked so contrite, so close to him on the bed, that he wanted to enfold her in his arms and take her anxiety away. Instead, he said, ‘I still can’t understand why you would make yourself a prisoner for life to the Inner Court.’

‘Oh, but I’m not. I can travel to wherever the mood takes me. I could explore the world with no financial limitations. All Comraich asks of me is that I’ll always return, and never speak of the castle or the Inner Court to the outside world.’

He realized now with certainty that, when she’d spoken previously of all the admirable and innovative work the hospital unit was involved in, she’d been partly justifying her actions to herself. The thought made him uneasy.

‘David, please, I’m not a prisoner,’ she insisted. ‘But if I did decide to leave, they’d use that same targeted memory erasure to make me forget I was ever here.’

‘That’s what you’ve agreed?’ he asked, even more concerned for her. ‘Surely such precision can’t be possible.’

‘You’d be surprised how advanced our medical techniques are.’

‘And you’d let them do that to you?’ he asked incredulously.

‘If necessary, yes. I’d wait until the treatment is more advanced, even routine, but as I said, it’s already been shown to work.’

A single thought occurred to him, but he left it unsaid. Instead he said, ‘You mentioned before that you could never leave Lewis.’

She looked down and played with the cloth belt of her bathrobe. ‘I’m the only one who really cares for him. And he depends on me for so much. I couldn’t leave him here alone.’

‘But he has carers, surely?’

‘I’m the only one he trusts. From the moment I arrived there was an affinity between us. And, of course, I have other patients who need my help.’

Ash winced as he moved on the bed.

‘Are you still in pain, David? I can prescribe a stronger painkiller for you.’

He didn’t bother to tell her he’d taken only two of the eight dihydrocodeine tablets that Dr Pritchard had pressed on him, the other six still in the silver-foil pack tucked into his bathrobe pocket. The two tablets had blunted the edge of the stinging, but he would take more only if absolutely necessary.

Delphine raised her hand tenderly to his cheek, studying the scores across his face. ‘Poor David,’ she said quietly. ‘The cuts will soon heal, though, and your bruises will fade with time.’ Her gentle touch stopped roving, her fingertips lingering at an old scar on his left cheek. ‘How did this happen?’

Maybe the pills had loosened his tongue, for he found himself telling Delphine something that he’d only ever explained to Kate when the wounds had been fresh. Now something made him want to relate the story to Delphine, a woman he’d come to love so swiftly that his emotions were in turmoil.