The Australian's Proposal. Alison Roberts

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       CHAPTER FOUR

      A TALL POLICEMAN with cool grey eyes and floppy black hair was leaning against the wall in the ED when Kate entered it, looking for someone to give her directions to Recovery. He smiled at her and she found herself returning the smile, though this probably wasn’t an occasion to ask a policeman for directions.

      A nurse with a badge that said her name was Grace appeared from inside a cubicle, and flashed another smile in Kate’s direction.

      ‘Recovery is through that door, down the corridor, turn left and it’s the first door on your right,’ she said.

      ‘Am I the only stranger in town, that everyone seems to know who I am?’ Kate asked.

      ‘The only small, dark curly-haired stranger at the hospital,’ Grace told her, then she introduced herself. ‘Actually, Harry here is waiting to see Jack as well. You could take him with you if you like.’

      Kate looked up at the policeman. He was no longer smiling but neither was she.

      ‘You want to see him right now? He’ll be in terrible shape, just out of an op. Is that fair, talking to him when he’ll be woozy as all get out?’

      ‘Probably not,’ the policeman called Harry said. ‘But there’s someone out there with a gun and, as far as we can tell, he’s not too fussy about where, when or at whom he points and fires it. The sooner we have information about him, the safer it will be for anyone in his vicinity.’

      Kate couldn’t argue with the theory, but in practice, if this man tried to badger Jack …

      She followed Grace’s directions, very aware of the man walking beside her. A local policeman—if he was a local—could be very useful in her search for information about her birth parents, so perhaps she shouldn’t antagonise him.

      Like hell she shouldn’t. Jack was her patient—kind of—and she wasn’t about to allow this policeman to bother him.

      ‘Are you a local?’ she asked, as they turned the corner and she saw the recovery room in front of them.

      ‘Born and bred,’ he said, pushing open the door and holding it for her. ‘My family have owned the sugar mill here for generations.’

      So he would be useful.

      But Jack wasn’t only physically unwell, he was emotionally upset. He was also awake, and looking around. A pretty woman with honey blonde hair and grey-blue eyes was on the other side of the bed, studying the monitors to which Jack was still attached.

      ‘Hi, I’m Emily,’ she said, barely turning her attention from the screen in front of her.

      Kate nodded in response then hurried forward, taking Jack’s hand and holding it in both of hers.

      ‘I thought you weren’t coming,’ he said, and Kate saw the tears in his eyes.

      ‘You came out of that anaesthetic far faster than I thought you would,’ she told him. ‘You are one tough guy.’

      The tears were blinked away and he smiled, then must have noticed Harry standing right behind her, for he paled and closed his eyes.

      But before Harry could ask questions, the cavalry arrived. Charles wheeled himself into the room, Jill and Cal not far behind.

      ‘Sorry, Harry, but we need you out of here.’ There was no mistaking the authority in Charles’s voice. ‘The surgery’s shown up an unexpected complication. We need scans and more blood tests and some expert advice on what to do next. I’m expecting he’ll need to go back into Theatre today, or tomorrow at the latest. Kate, Cal will fill you in on what’s happening—Cal, take Kate through to the dining room for a coffee. Jill and I will stay with Jack until you get back.’

      Harry left without an argument, but what surprised Kate even more was Jack’s acceptance of the orders. Here she was, being hustled down the corridor by Cal, and Jack hadn’t even protested.

      ‘Did Charles do that to prevent the policeman questioning Jack just yet, or is there a problem?’ she asked Cal.

      ‘Big problem,’ Cal said gloomily. ‘Big, big problem. Here.’

      He directed her in through a door into a reasonably sized dining room, where the smell of coffee and the enticing aroma of a hot meal reminded Kate it had been a long time since she’d eaten the dreadful dry biscuits.

      ‘Do you want food? There’s always something hot in the bains-marie along that side, and cold sandwiches and salads in the fridge.’

      It was closer to dinnertime than lunch, but Kate chose a pack of salad sandwiches while Cal fixed their coffee. They were heading for a table at one side of the room when Hamish appeared.

      ‘Problems?’ he said, raising his eyebrows at Cal this time.

      ‘And then some. Did you find out about it through osmosis?’

      Hamish grinned and slipped into a chair between Cal and Kate.

      ‘Much the same thing. Mrs Grubb. She came over to make sure there was food in the house for me and Kate and told me Harry Blake had been turned away from questioning Jack in Recovery because of some complication.’

      Cal sighed.

      ‘The bullet is lodged in bone. The X-ray wasn’t clear because there was a lot of blood pooled around the actual site, and when I went in I could see the bullet had scored down along the periosteum.’ Cal turned to Kate. ‘That’s the fibrous vascular membrane that covers bones. Then it entered the greater trochanter.’

      ‘The ball-shaped head of the femur that fits into the hip bone?’ Kate checked.

      ‘A job for an orthopod?’ Hamish asked.

      Cal nodded.

      ‘Which means flying Jack out to Townsville,’ Hamish said.

      Cal shook his head. ‘Charles doesn’t want to do that. He says we have all we need here, and the flight could further weaken the lad. He is very sick—the infection is still causing fever—but I think that’s just an excuse. Damn, but it’s complicated!’

      Cal stirred sugar into his coffee then tapped the teaspoon fretfully on the side of the cup.

      ‘I suppose Charles is worried that if Jack goes to Townsville and the police there become involved, Jack could be placed under arrest,’ Hamish suggested, taking the teaspoon out of Cal’s hand and setting it on the table.

      ‘Placed under arrest? Why?’ Kate demanded. ‘He hasn’t confessed to anything. All we know is that he’s been shot. The rest is just guesswork.’

      ‘No, Hamish is right. That’s a definite possibility. Apparently there’s been a special federal police squad working on organised cattle thefts in this area,’ Cal explained. ‘One of their officers went under cover some СКАЧАТЬ