the doorway was someone she’d never forgotten even though she no longer resembled the grief-ridden fury she’d last encountered.
She saw the moment that the bereaved woman recognised her and braced herself for another tirade.
‘Dr Lowell!’ she gasped and stared at her open-mouthed for several startled seconds before hurrying into the room. To Callie’s utter amazement the woman bent to throw her arms around her for a fervent hug. ‘Oh, Dr Lowell, I’m so glad to see you. I tried to contact you at the hospital but they said you weren’t on Maternity any more and I’ve felt so guilty…so guilty for what I said to you that day…And it wasn’t your fault…I knew it wasn’t your fault…That you’d done your best to save Lisa…That it was my fault if it was anyone’s that she’d gone off like that, and—’
‘Hey, Marian, slow down,’ said Jenny, clearly stunned by the woman’s unexpected reaction to her visitor. ‘What’s going on here? Callie said she was one of your volunteers.’
‘Actually, I didn’t…’ Callie began, unhappy with the implication that she’d lied, even though she knew she hadn’t corrected the midwife’s mistaken assumption. Marian’s voice overrode hers easily.
‘I should be so lucky!’ she exclaimed with a dramatic roll of her eyes as she slumped into the nearest chair, clearly well at home in the room. ‘Jenny, I don’t know whether she’s said anything, but this is the doctor I was telling you about a little while ago. She was there when my Lisa died. She and her husband were the ones who saved my granddaughter’s life.’
CHAPTER THREE
‘I’M SORRY, sir, but there’s nothing I can do,’ said the policeman in a world-weary tone totally at odds with his youthful appearance. ‘From what you’ve told me, your wife left home of her own accord and—’
‘But you don’t understand,’ Con interrupted, on the verge of screaming with frustration at yet another example of bureaucratic stonewalling. ‘She suffered a traumatic loss not many weeks ago. Our baby was stillborn. This is totally uncharacteristic for her. She would never walk out on our marriage or her job like this. Never.’
‘I’m sorry, sir, but…’
The polite half-smile was so infuriating, making him feel as if the man was patronising him for being concerned. ‘Don’t you care that something dreadful may have happened to her? That she might even try to commit suicide or—?’
‘That would be more in your line, Doctor,’ he interrupted flatly. ‘Depression isn’t a legal matter so much as a medical one. Legally, if your wife decides to walk away, there’s absolutely nothing we can do about it other than to list her as a missing person after forty-eight hours.’
Con stabbed his fingers through his hair, tempted to pull it out in handfuls. He knew how fragile Callie was at the moment. He’d been devastated when they’d been told their precious baby’s heart wasn’t beating any more; he could only imagine how much worse it must have felt to her, knowing that the child she’d sheltered inside her own body had died before it could be born.
He’d been tiptoeing around on eggshells while he’d waited for her to sort things out in her head…waited for her to be ready to come and talk to him about her feelings the way she always had…at least, the way she always had until now.
Being patient had been a struggle for him. It was an intrinsic part of his character that he’d always gone after what he wanted…the way he had when he’d met Callie for the first time. He’d known the moment he’d seen her that he was attracted to her and within minutes of speaking to her had started a determined campaign to persuade her that they were perfect for each other.
And they had been, in spite of everything that life had thrown at them…at least, that was what he’d believed.
Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that she would just walk away from him…from their marriage.
‘Sir?’ prompted the duty constable in a slightly more conciliatory tone. ‘Sometimes people feel they just have to go away when they need some time to themselves…time to think. Often they’ll get in contact with another member of the family or a friend. It might be worthwhile making a list of your wife’s family and close friends and giving them all a call.’
Callie would hate that, Con thought as he trudged wearily out of the police station. She was an intensely private person and if she found out that he’d been telling all and sundry that she’d…what? Blown a fuse? Gone crazy? Well, she really would go crazy then.
As for that note she’d left him…Why on earth would he want to divorce the only woman he’d ever loved? The whole idea was completely…crazy.
There was only one person that he could go to and that was Martin Nimmo. Not only had he known the man since they’d been at school together, but his old friend had gone into law and had handled any legal matters that he and Callie had needed from time to time. He had absolutely no intention of following her instructions, but if Callie’s depression had her confused enough to think of such a thing, then at some stage she would be getting in contact with Martin.
‘Hi, Martin, it’s Callie,’ she said, her heart a lead weight in her chest as she contemplated the irrevocable step she was taking. Would Con have already been in contact with his old friend to set things in motion?
‘Hey, beautiful!’ he exclaimed. ‘I haven’t heard from the two of you in ages. I hope you’re ringing to invite me for another of your delicious home-cooked meals.’
‘N-not exactly,’ she stammered, surprised just how hard one simple phone call could be. ‘I—I wondered if Con has been in contact with you yet?’
‘No…As I said, I haven’t heard from either of you in…’ He stopped suddenly. ‘Callie? What’s the matter? You sound strange. Has something happened? Is Con all right? Are you?’
‘W-we’re all right…sort of,’ she said with a hitch in her voice as tears threatened. Martin was one of the few people who knew just how long the two of them had been trying to start their family. ‘I—I mean, we haven’t had any accidents or anything. It’s just…Con’ll be contacting you soon to do whatever you need to do to sort out about the divorce.’
‘Divorce?’ he echoed in disbelief, then burst out laughing. ‘Oh, very funny, Callie. You had me going there for a minute. If there’s any couple not likely to divorce it’s you and Con. So, why did you ring? Is it that invitation for a poor bachelor otherwise condemned to a diet of junk food?’
‘Martin, I’m not joking,’ Callie said as the tears started slipping down her cheeks. ‘I’ve moved out of the house…moved away completely so I won’t be an embarrassment to him when he—’
‘Callie, what the hell’s going on?’ he interrupted sharply, no laughter in his voice now. ‘You’re crazy about the guy and he loves you, too. What—?’
‘Not any m-more,’ she hiccuped, fighting the gathering flood of tears. ‘I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be in touch again as soon as I’m settled somewhere, so you’ll know where to send the papers.’
‘Damn the papers!’ he snapped, clearly rattled. ‘Callie, talk to me. Tell me what’s been going on. Something must have been, to get the two of you in such a state. And it
