Chapter 49
Nel woke feeling drained before the day had even begun.
She’d slept poorly, tossing and turning.
She’d dreamed that she found a body on Jacksons Beach.
She’d reached down to turn the corpse over, expecting to see Maddie’s pale face, but it was the blank stare of Sophie Warner that met her terrified gaze.
When her alarm went off she’d hit snooze, relieved she had no patients until ten, then she went for a surf to clear her head.
She arrived at the clinic at nine thirty surprised to find patients waiting.
‘Sorry, doll,’ Viv whispered. ‘You must have missed my message. We’ve had a couple of walk-ins.
Suzie Hart, she’s the one with the newborn.
’ Viv tipped her head subtly in the direction of a young woman with a tiny baby in a sling and a toddler playing with an abacus at her feet.
‘The baby has a temperature.’ Her eyes then moved to an older man.
‘And Perry Maguire has an infected sore on his hand. I suggested making an appointment to come back later, but they both wanted to wait. And your ten o’clock will be here any minute. ’
Nel nodded. ‘Okay, thanks.’
‘Oh, I nearly forgot.’ Viv passed her an envelope. ‘Sophie Warner dropped this in for you.’
Nel frowned. ‘What is it?’ The nondescript envelope gave no clues about its contents.
‘No idea. She just asked me to pass it on to you. I told her you’d be here in a jiffy if she wanted to wait, but she said she was double-parked.’
There was a sudden piercing wail. Suzie Hart stood and started jiggling, trying to settle the baby.
‘Suzie, let’s take a look at your little one,’ Nel said, putting the letter in her bag.
Curiosity gnawed at Nel all morning as she saw one patient after another. Why would Sophie write to her? She counted the minutes until her lunch break, then she closed the door, took the envelope from her bag and ripped it open.
It was a single page, handwritten in blue biro.
Nel,
I’m saying goodbye. I’ve stayed too long already.
Thanks for being a friend to me, even just briefly.
Somehow knowing you has given me the strength to leave.
Sophie
Nel felt a smile unfold on her face.
PS There’s a ring hidden in Ryan’s things. I stumbled across it a while back.
It might be the one that went missing all those years ago.
Nel’s heart raced. She reached for her phone. Her hands shook as she typed a message to Jimmy.
I need to talk to you asap. I’m coming to the station. See you in 5.