Page 33 of A Helpin g Hand for the Village Nurse

‘If you pass it on to me, I’ll see what I can do,’ Lavender said.

Fliss gave a grateful nod.

‘If all else fails and she has no transport, I’ll drive her to the hospital,’ Ottilie said.

‘Oh, she’d love that,’ Lavender said drily. ‘Chauffer service! Careful, you might have her thinking she’s someone special.’

‘That’s not such a bad thing. I don’t think she’s feeling very special these days. I think she’s lonely more than anything.’

Ottilie was silent for a moment. Despite Flo’s tendency to be abrasive and her moods a little unpredictable, she liked her. She hated the idea of her being so lonely that it might be affecting her physical health. Perhaps she needed to speak to the grandson again, see if she could get to the bottom of the family situation and see if anyone there could spare more time to pop in on a more regular basis. And she could see about them getting her to the hospital for tests too, saving her the need to fight for a spot in the community ambulance.

A muffled ringtone interrupted her train of thought.

‘I think that’s mine,’ she said, rifling through the handbag at her feet. ‘Sorry…’ Frowning at the screen, she barely looked up as she rose from her chair. ‘I think I should take this…’

Hurrying from the kitchen, she answered the call. ‘Faith, hi.’

‘Hi. How have you been? Sorry I haven’t been in touch for a while but?—’

‘God, no, don’t apologise; it’s fine. I get you’re busy. How are you? How’s everything at the station?’

‘Still weird without Josh really. I mean, we have a new guy, as you can imagine…Well, not new really, is he? Been with us a few months. And he’s good but, you know, Josh…he had a way. Well, you’d know that. He made the working day a whole lot better just because he was there.’

Ottilie gave a tight smile. She’d had plenty of these conversations with Faith and other colleagues of Josh since his death, but they never got any easier. ‘He used to say the same about you. So…not that I mind you calling, but is there anything in particular you wanted to talk about? Of course, I appreciate you checking in on me like you do, but it’s kind of awkward as I’m at work. I can call you back later if you want to chat.’

‘I wanted to see how you were, but I also wanted to tell you something before it got to you through the official channels. Those guys aren’t always blessed with tact.’

Ottilie’s forehead creased into a frown. ‘Tell me what?’

There was a pause, barely a second long, and yet so loaded it could have been an hour’s worth. ‘We’ve arrested someone.’

Ottilie didn’t need to ask who they’d arrested or what for. Specifically who, she didn’t know, but the mere fact that Faith was phoning her at all with this information told her all she needed to know. There was no other arrest that would mean anything to her.

Taking the phone outside, she perched against a low wall in the tiny garden at the back of the surgery. Thimblebury’s surgery building had once been a house, and still retained many of the original features, including the garden, which Fliss tended herself despite not living there. A snowy butterfly with delicate green markings landed close by, and Ottilie watched its wings tick-tock open and closed with a detached sort of fascination as she tried to absorb fully what Faith was telling her.

‘Is it—’ She cleared her throat and started again. ‘Is it who we thought it might be?’

‘Yes. I don’t want you to get your hopes up because they’re a slippery bunch, but between you and me, it’s a promising development.’

‘So we might finally get our justice?’

‘We can hope so. But be prepared: it could go either way – and often does.’

‘Hmm.’ Ottilie watched as the butterfly took off and landed again on the next shrub along. ‘You don’t need anything from me, do you? I don’t have to come and give a statement or anything?’

‘Not yet. Perhaps an impact statement if it gets that far. Don’t worry – I’ll keep you posted. As soon as I hear anything, I’ll let you know.’

‘Thanks.’

‘Don’t mention it.’

‘No, really, I mean thanks for everything. I know you all want to catch Josh’s killer as much as I want you to. I appreciate all that you’re doing.’

‘It’s our job.’ There was another brief but loaded pause. ‘Are you OK?’

Faith sounded concerned, and Ottilie could imagine the uncertainty in her own voice that might have triggered such concern. But she wasn’t OK and she didn’t suppose she could hide it. How was she meant to feel about these new developments?

On the one hand, justice might finally be served, but that wouldn’t bring Josh back. What it would do was rake up all the emotions Ottilie had battled so hard to move past during the six months since his death, reopen wounds that had been healing, sharpen pain that had dulled with time. And what if this wasn’t the justice she’d craved? What if it was a false hope, another dead end? She wasn’t sure she could take being flung back to the beginning of the nightmare. She wasn’t sure she had the strength to walk that path again to get back to where she was now.

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