it tonight …’
‘No!’ Janey begged, her hand moving to open the door.
‘Don’t run off, Janey.’ Jack was stern and she shrank back in the seat. He would have spoken some more but all too soon Nina was coming out of the house, doing her best not to cry, waving to a tearful Blake, and somehow Jack had to sort this, would sort this, but he wondered how best to go about it. Nina was going to freak, he knew that, which meant Janey was likely to run again …
‘Please don’t say anything,’ Janey begged as Nina got into the car, all falsely bright and cheerful.
‘Right.’ She smiled at Janey. ‘Let’s get back to the flat.’
Except there was no way Jack was going to drop the two of them off at Nina’s flat.
‘We could go back to my place,’ he suggested.
‘No.’ Nina was adamant. ‘I want to have some time with Janey before we go to the social worker in the morning.’
Jack drove through the wet streets, his mind working overtime, but as they drove past Central Park he knew what to do and Jack indicated and turned into the hospital.
‘Do you need to check on someone?’ Nina asked as Jack slid into his reserved parking spot.
‘No,’ Jack said. ‘I want to get Janey’s elbow examined.’
‘It’s just a bruise,’ Nina said. ‘I know I made a fuss, but I was just worried about having to face the social worker tomorrow with Janey covered in bruises. I was being ridiculous. She’s fifteen, she fell, ice skating …’
‘Still, it’s better to get it all documented,’ Jack said, getting out of the car and holding the door open for Janey.
Nina frowned, surprised that Jack thought it necessary, but more surprised that Janey so willingly got out of the car.
They walked into Emergency and Jack had a word with one of the nurses to ask which doctors were on.
‘She doesn’t need to see the Head of Emergency,’ Nina said, when she heard Jack asking for Lewis to examine Janey.
‘He’s a great guy,’ Jack said. ‘I trust him implicitly.’ He gave Janey a thin smile. ‘I’ll just go and have a word with him. Nina, why don’t you get Janey into a gown? He’ll need to examine her for range of movement …’
He wanted Lewis to see Janey, and with good reason. Not only was Lewis an excellent doctor and trusted colleague, but he would understand more than most the complexities of dealing with a very troubled young girl.
‘I’d rather you hear it from Janey.’ Jack spoke briefly with Lewis. ‘Assuming, that is, that she talks, but basically we’re not here about her elbow.’
‘Right.’ Lewis nodded.
‘And if she doesn’t talk to you,’ Jack said, ‘then maybe she might need a night of observation waiting for the orthos to have a look.’
‘Let’s just see how it goes,’ Lewis suggested. ‘She’s here with her sister?’
‘Nina Wilson, the social worker.’ Jack nodded. ‘She thinks that I’ve brought Janey here just to get her arm examined, but whatever happens I’m going to have to step in. I’m just hoping that Janey will talk to you.’
‘Sure.’ Lewis nodded. ‘How about you introduce me?’ Lewis called for one of the senior nurses to go in with him and smiled and introduced himself to an anxious-looking Janey.
‘Okay,’ Jack said. ‘Nina and I are going to go and get a coffee. As I said, Lewis is a friend of mine, you’re in very good hands.’
It was only then that it dawned on Nina what was happening, or maybe it had started to a couple of moments before. She was about to say no, to insist she was staying with Janey, but she realised then that there was another reason that Jack had brought them here.
She had seen scenarios like this on endless occasions. She was being removed from Janey to give her sister a chance to talk.
‘Sure!’ Nina choked back the sudden tears that were threatening. ‘I could use a coffee.’
Nina waited till they were well away from the cubicle before she spoke. ‘Jack, what’s going on?’
‘Just come in here and have a seat, Nina.’
‘You think I did it.’
‘Nina.’ He shook his head. ‘Not for a second did it enter my head that you’d hurt your sister.’ Then he was honest. ‘I did wonder why she didn’t want to spend a night with you, but I think we both know that I don’t jump to conclusions.’
He didn’t know whether to tell her just yet, but at that moment a nurse popped her head out. ‘Jack, Janey wants you to be in there when she speaks to Lewis.’
Nina stood.
‘She wants me,’ Jack said.
‘Why not me?’ Nina demanded. ‘Why can’t she speak to me?’
‘Because she’s been trying to spare your feelings,’ Jack said. ‘Because she doesn’t love me and she knows I’m not going to get upset or angry or do anything rash, so just have a seat, Nina, and I’ll be back to you as soon as I can.’
‘Have you any idea how hard this is?’ she demanded. ‘You gave me no clue. All weekend you never gave a hint you were going to do this.’
‘I didn’t know then,’ Jack said, and he was just so matter-of-fact and calm about everything. ‘Nina, she said something in the car that I can’t ignore but, please, you just have to trust that I am doing the very best I can for both you and Janey, and right now that means that I’ve got to go.’
It killed Nina to sit there not knowing what was going on. What on earth had Janey said in the car? Had she threatened to self-harm or was she doing drugs? She’d certainly been withdrawn at times. Or maybe she was pregnant? Nina sat there for what felt like an eternity before Jack finally returned, his face grim. He gave her a thin smile and then took a seat next to her.
‘She’s fine.’
Nina blew out her breath. ‘But?’
Jack looked at her tense face and the bundle of passion that was Nina and didn’t blame Janey a bit for not wanting to be the one to tell her.
‘Barbara, her foster-mother, has got a new boyfriend, Vince …’
‘Oh, God!’ Nina stood. She just wanted to dash out there, to be with Janey, but again Jack was stern.
‘Sit down, Nina, you need to hear this. First of all, nothing has happened, well, not what you’re dreading, at least I don’t think so, but you need to listen and then calm down and then you can go in and speak to Janey.’
‘So he hasn’t touched her?’
‘He’s tried to.’
Jack
