Cold, Cold Heart: Snowbound with a stone-cold killer by Christine Poulson

Author:Christine Poulson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781782642176
Publisher: Lion Hudson
Published: 2017-11-09T00:00:00+00:00

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The rush hour was beginning and it was a slow drive home. Daniel couldn’t get “Cold, Cold Heart” out of his head. It seemed so dreadfully apposite, so mournful and despairing, with its reference to doubtful minds and being shackled to a memory. In a way it described Kieran and he knew that he would always associate it with that room and the poor young man and his ruined mind. “Mad” wasn’t a word used much these days, but it somehow seemed the right one. What a tragic waste: all that intellect and energy directed into something so futile. Was there a chance of Kieran recovering sufficiently to go back to scientific work? It didn’t seem likely, but even if he did, the scientific world is highly competitive and moves on very quickly. It was probably already too late for Kieran to get back on board.

Crawling along the M11 he thought of what Deirdre had said. “He’s my son and I love him.” Is there any greater love than that of a parent for a child? No wonder the idea of the father and the mother was so important to Christian faith. His thoughts turned to Chloe whom he loved more than anything in the world. One thing about having a sick child: it sorts out your priorities. He and Rachel knew now what really mattered. They didn’t care about her being academic or anything like that. All they wanted was that she should be a happy person, a decent person – and healthy. He thought again about how they could make that happen. He was right about surrogacy being much more common these days. A browse on the internet had confirmed that. There were sites advertising surrogates in the Ukraine. He didn’t like the sound of that and he knew Rachel wouldn’t either. It smacked of exploitation, of poor women renting out their uteruses. But there were also UK sites which specialized in introducing prospective parents to women who were prepared to act as surrogates for largely altruistic motives. His thoughts wandered to a possible future. He saw Rachel’s face as she received a newborn baby into her arms… then later a laughing toddler with arms outstretched… and Chloe, cured, radiant with health…

He found himself pulling up outside his office with no memory of driving the last few miles.

His secretary was putting on her coat as he went in. She said, “Lyle rang. He’s booked a table for two at the Old Fire Engine House for seven. And there’s a message on your desk from a Mrs Langstaffe. She wants you to ring her.”

Had Kieran already said something about the research? He rang her straightaway.

She said, “I don’t know why I didn’t think to ask you while you were here. Have you spoken to Alistair?”

“Alistair? No. Who –”

“Alistair Johnson-Marsh. He used to work with Kieran. He’ll know about the research. He’s been ever so loyal, such a good friend, coming to see him all the time when he was in hospital.

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