Page 40 of Lessons in Love at the Cornish Country Hospital

‘Me too, because I’m really scared about what might happen if she thinks she’s lost us too.’ Alice was every bit as resolute as Zara, their maturity and empathy taking Wendy’s breath away yet again. Mike might well have wreaked havoc and made one hell of a mess of so many people’s lives, but his daughters had grown up to be extraordinary young women despite everything he’d done.

‘Right then, if we’re all going, we’d better do it.’ Gary grabbed his car keys off the kitchen counter. ‘I just hope we can make it before high tide cuts off the access road.’

As Wendy and the girls followed him towards the front door, it wasn’t just a low tide she was praying for.

Danni jumped every time she heard a footstep in the corridor outside her room. The police had suggested they leave the maternity department, but she couldn’t bear to walk out of the room where she’d last seen her son. Every noise around them seemed heightened, and the sound of talking and even laughing from other families felt so alien. It was impossible to believe that the world could still be turning when her baby was missing. When the police had established that the kidnapper was no longer within the hospital, the lockdown had beenpartially lifted, although increased security meant only essential access was permitted. But women were still giving birth, and they needed their loved ones with them at the most important moment of their lives. She couldn’t begrudge them that, but the distant sound of a baby crying had hit her like a truck, physically and emotionally. Her body had responded all by itself to the cry, making her breasts heavy, despite the fact that she couldn’t feed her son and that she didn’t know if she’d ever be able to do it again. Her emotional reaction to the sound was every bit as visceral, and it made her feel as if she was drowning on the inside.

‘I want my baby, I just want him back.’ The effects of the medication had long since worn off completely and she was sobbing so hard her breath was coming in gasps, as Charlie pulled her towards him.

‘I know, darling, I know, and I’m so sorry, but we’ll get him back. You’ve got to keep believing that.’

‘I can’t stand it any more. I can’t just hang around, waiting for them to tell us if there’s any news. I’ve got to go and look for him.’ There was an almost overpowering feeling of fight or flight building up inside of Danni. The unwillingness to leave the room where she’d last seen her baby was suddenly replaced by an overwhelming desire to just run and run, until she found her little boy, but Charlie was still holding her tightly.

‘I want to do that too, but we’ll just get in the way, and you’re not well enough. The baby’s going to need you here, and for you to be okay, when he comes back.’

‘I just feel so helpless.’

‘So do I.’ He still didn’t let her go, the shaking of his shoulders making it obvious that he was crying too. Charlie was the only person who understood the depth of her pain, and deep down she knew he was right about them being in the way if they tried to find Chloe. She just hoped Charlie was right about thepolice being able to bring their baby back to them too, because she couldn’t imagine wanting her life to go on if they didn’t.

Wendy could have cried with relief when they got to the slip road and the tide was still low enough to drive to the Sisters of Agnes Island. They’d discussed calling the police on the journey over, to alert them to their suspicions, but they’d decided against it, reasoning that Chloe was most likely to remain calm if they spoke to her first.

‘What are we going to say when we get inside? It’s going to look odd, four of us turning up and asking if they’ve got a woman and a baby staying with them. Although I’m guessing she’ll probably have kept the baby hidden away somehow, knowing the police will be looking for him.’ Gary turned to Wendy, as he brought the car to a stop in the hotel car park. She’d been running through scenarios in her head all the way over.

‘If she’s trying to relive the experiences she shared with her mum, I’ll think she’ll have checked in using her mother’s name.’ Wendy turned to look at her daughters in the back of the car. ‘It was Josephine, wasn’t it?’

‘Yes.’ Alice nodded. ‘And Chloe already has her mother’s maiden name as her surname. She changed it when she was eighteen and things got even worse with her dad.’

‘Okay, I’m going to go in there and say I’ve come to see Josephine Adlington.’

‘They won’t just tell you her room number.’ Zara pulled a face. ‘We’ll have to be more inventive than that.’

‘How about if I come with you, show my ID card, and we ask them to call her because she said she was staying at the hotel, but discharged herself after coming into A&E. I’ll tell themthat her test results have shown up something she needs urgent treatment for and it could have catastrophic consequences if we don’t persuade her to come back with us.’ Gary frowned. ‘I know it sounds like something off the TV, but maybe when they call and she doesn’t answer, which I’m guessing she won’t, they’ll be worried enough to give us access to her room.’

‘That might work.’ Alice leant forward in the chair. ‘And if it doesn’t, we’ll just have to tell them the truth and they can call the police.’

‘But then we won’t get to speak to her first.’ Zara sounded distraught and Alice put her arm around her.

‘I know and I want that as much as you do, but the most important thing is to get the baby back to his mum and dad.’

‘Alice is right and maybe we should just call the police.’ Wendy glanced up at the windows of the old convent and shuddered, trying to work out if they’d open wide enough for someone to try getting out that way. It was the level of desperation Chloe might feel, if she was backed into a corner, that Wendy was most scared of now.

‘Let’s give it one go like this and, if it doesn’t work, we’ll tell them everything. I still think this is our best shot of keeping Chloe as calm as possible.’ Gary seemed to have read her mind and Wendy nodded. It was time to go.

Some small element of fate must have been on their side, because the receptionist on duty seemed to accept Gary’s story without questioning any of it, as soon as he confirmed they had a Josephine Adlington staying with them. Just as Gary had predicted, she didn’t respond to the phone call the receptionist put through to the room. His age meant he was probably quite new to the role and the drama of Gary’s story might have appealed to him too. Either way he got another colleague to cover the desk for him, and took them straight up to Chloe’s room. Gary had explained on the way that it might be best if hedidn’t tell ‘Josephine’ why they were there, as she might have the same reaction she’d had in the hospital and that it was probably best if he and Wendy, who was posing as another nurse, spoke to ‘Josephine’ alone once she’d let them in.

Rapping on the door, the receptionist announced his arrival loudly enough for guests in the neighbouring rooms to have heard too. ‘Miss Adlington, if you’re there can you come to the door? It’s Oliver from the hotel reception.’

‘Is there any chance she could have collapsed?’ Oliver looked horrified at the idea, and Wendy watched as Gary nodded.

‘I’m afraid it is possible.’

‘I think I should just let you in then.’ Swiping a pass key over the sensor, Oliver tentatively opened the door. ‘Miss Adlington, I’m coming in. We’ve got a concern for your welfare and I just want to check that you’re?—’

‘Don’t come in!’ Chloe called out, but it was too late, Oliver had already pushed open the door. When Chloe spotted Wendy and Gary, she clapped a hand over her mouth as if she was trying to stop herself from screaming.

‘It’s okay, Josephine, it’s Gary from the hospital, remember we met earlier when you came in?’ He was speaking really slowly, as if he was explaining something to a very young child, and Chloe eventually nodded, seeming to cotton on to the fact that Oliver had no idea who she was, or what she’d done. ‘I need to speak to you about the results of some of the tests we ran for you.’

‘Okay.’ Chloe’s eyes darted towards a large black holdall on the sofa under the window, which had two of the bathroom towels draped on top. She turned towards Oliver, her voice shaking as she spoke. ‘Thank you so much for bringing them up. I had a migraine, which is why I didn’t answer.’

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