arm.’
‘I...I tripped, Dr Saunders. Over...ahem...one of Alice’s toys.’
The young woman ran a trembling hand over her daughter’s wispy blonde hair. Although both mother and child were neatly dressed in expensive outfits, there was something not quite right about their appearance. The little girl’s hair looked as if it hadn’t been brushed and yet Madeleine Walsh had taken the time to apply a heavy layer of make-up. Daniel leant across the desk, using the excuse of reaching for Mrs Walsh’s file while he examined her face more closely. Was that a bruise he could see on her cheek? And another on her neck?
‘I see,’ he said, sitting back in his seat. He smiled at her, although he had a bad feeling about this. It wasn’t the first time that Madeleine Walsh had come to see him after a supposed fall; this was her third visit in the last six months. Although he hadn’t noticed any sign of bruising then, it could be because he hadn’t been looking for it. He needed to get to the bottom of this situation and soon. ‘Did you hurt yourself anywhere else apart from your arm? Your face looks bruised to me—did you bang it?’
‘Oh...erm...yes, I must have done.’ The woman put her hand to her cheek and Daniel could see the fear in her eyes. ‘I’m ever so clumsy,’ she muttered. ‘Always tripping up and banging into things.’
‘Easily done,’ Daniel said evenly. ‘As long as you’re sure that it was an accident. Anything you tell me won’t go any further, Mrs Walsh, I assure you.’
‘Of course it was an accident!’ the woman declared, flushing. ‘I tripped over one of Alice’s toys—one of her dolls, actually—and fell down the stairs. I...I must have put out my hand to save myself and that’s how I hurt my arm.’
‘Let me take a look.’ Daniel got up and came around the desk. Crouching down, he went to examine her arm, stopping when little Alice shrank away from him. ‘It’s all right, poppet,’ he said softly. ‘I just want to look at Mummy’s arm so I can make it better.’
‘She’s not good with strangers,’ Madeleine Walsh said hurriedly, cuddling the trembling child to her.
‘Does she attend the nursery school?’ Daniel asked levelly, although the bad feeling he had was growing worse by the second. Alice was four years old and in his experience most children her age had got over their shyness and were happy to socialise with people outside the family unit.
‘No. I decided not to send her.’ Madeleine Walsh bit her lip then rushed on. ‘She’s very shy and it didn’t seem right to send her to a place where I know she’ll be unhappy.’
‘She’ll have to go to school next year, though, won’t she?’ Daniel pointed out, gently examining the woman’s arm. The wrist was swollen and heavily discoloured. It was obviously painful because Mrs Walsh gasped when he touched it. ‘Sorry. I can tell how painful it is, although I can’t say if it’s broken or badly sprained. Can you move your fingers?’
‘Yes.’ Madeleine grimaced as she wriggled her fingers the tiniest bit. ‘It’s really painful, though.’
‘It will be.’ Daniel sat down again. ‘I’m afraid it really needs X-raying to establish if it’s broken or not. Is there anyone who can drive you to the hospital, your husband perhaps?’
‘No, Nigel’s in court this morning and I don’t want to bother him,’ Madeleine Walsh said quickly. ‘Can’t you put a bandage on it, Dr Saunders? I’m sure it’s not broken and just needs some support while it heals. I wouldn’t have bothered you if I could have done it myself.’
‘I really think it needs to be X-rayed,’ Daniel insisted. ‘If it is broken then the last thing you want is for it to set badly and end up with a deformed wrist. If you don’t want to contact your husband then I can arrange for someone to drive you to the hospital. We have a team of volunteers who very kindly ferry people there and back in situations like this.’
‘Oh, I don’t know...I’ve no idea what Nigel would say about that.’ She looked so stricken that Daniel almost wished he hadn’t suggested it. However, it was vital that she have her wrist X-rayed to avoid any future problems.
‘I’m sure he will take the sensible view and be pleased that you got it attended to. I’ll phone Mrs Goodison and see if she’s free. She used to be a teacher at the junior school and she’s very nice,’ he added encouragingly as he reached for the phone.
‘But what about Alice?’ Madeleine Walsh protested. ‘There’s no one to look after her and I can’t leave her.’
‘You can take Alice with you. I know for a fact that Mrs Goodison has a child seat in her car—she has grandchildren, you see. She’ll be more than happy to look after Alice while you have the X-ray done too.’
Daniel made the call, not wanting to give Madeleine Walsh any more opportunities to wriggle out of the hospital visit. Fortunately, Barbara Goodison immediately agreed to run Mrs Walsh to the hospital and bring her back again afterwards. Once he had explained to Madeleine that she would be collected from home, he saw her out. He intended to follow up the case and find out if he was right to suspect that the woman was being abused by her husband. He didn’t know Nigel Walsh personally as the man had never been to the surgery since the family had moved to Beesdale just over a year ago. However, from what he had heard Walsh was very high up in legal circles.
Daniel sighed as he went to ask Marie if she would wait a few minutes before sending in his next patient. Sadly, social standing had no bearing on that type of behaviour. It crossed all boundaries. Had Eleanor been a victim of abuse? It was obvious that something awful must have happened to her, something so bad that she had left her job and relocated to a different part of the country. His hands clenched. The thought of Eleanor suffering such treatment was more than he could bear.
* * *
‘You’re doing great,’ Ellie said encouragingly as Beth breathed her way through another contraction. She checked her watch, frowning when she realised how close together the contractions were coming. It was obvious that the baby was going to be born very soon and she couldn’t help feeling anxious. It was several years since she had delivered a baby during her rotations and it had been in the safety of a modern maternity unit with a couple of experienced midwives standing by. The thought of delivering Beth’s baby by herself was decidedly scary. According to Marie, Polly was on her way back from one of the local farms and would get there as soon as she could; however, it seemed to be taking her an awfully long time. Ellie looked round when the door opened, hoping it would be her, but her hopes were dashed when Daniel came into the room. Even though she could do with some support, she wasn’t sure if she was glad to see him after their run-in earlier.
‘How are we doing in here?’ he asked as he came over to the couch. He smiled at Beth. ‘Not quite how you planned it, I imagine.’
Beth laughed then grimaced as another contraction began. Daniel turned to Ellie, his mouth still curved into a smile, and she felt some of her unease dissipate. Surely he wouldn’t smile at her like that if he was still annoyed with her?
‘I’m sorry about before. I didn’t mean to snap at you. Suffice to say that I was worried about the patient who was with me, not that it’s any excuse.’
‘It’s all right,’ Ellie said quickly, not wanting him to suspect how thankful she felt. She hated being in the wrong and had always done so ever since she was a child. Oh, she knew what lay behind it—she had worked that out a long time ago. Learning that she was adopted had made her aware of how different she was
