Death Comes Knocking by Graham Bartlett

Author:Graham Bartlett [Bartlett, Graham with James, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan

10: BLINDED IN THE NIGHT

That couple of months between Christmas and the first daffodils of spring can be a great time for the police. Less partying means fewer people inflicting unspeakable evil on each other; a welcome breather for beleaguered cops. The year of 1998 was the exception that proves the rule. We’d had the calm, now followed the storm.

This was a time of new beginnings for me. Fifteen months previously, after five years of trying, Julie had finally fallen pregnant – with triplets. Going from the despair of childlessness to hitting the triple jackpot on our first IVF attempt was as wondrous as it was exhausting. We had never predicted that we would have a complete family delivered in one go.

Julie had selflessly taken voluntary redundancy from her career at Gatwick Airport to fund and prepare for the fertility treatment. She put heart and soul into trying everything to conceive, including some incredibly painful and intrusive operations. We were both heading towards our mid-thirties and were worrying whether we would ever have the family we so craved.

The IVF had gone as well as such a physically and emotionally draining procedure could. The first pregnancy test in mid-December 1996 had us leaping, gently, around the Christmas tree – Julie would not get to use the new squash racket I had bought her as a present that day for some years.

A very nervous and edgy few weeks of the New Year ended with a scan in early February, which diagnosed twins, but the hesitancy in the obstetrician’s poorly hidden reaction scared us.

Four weeks later, this time at a different hospital, the crowd of doctors and midwives that the sonographer called in again did nothing to relieve our fears.

A hushed pow-wow around the screen ended with the announcement, ‘Mr and Mrs Bartlett, you are pregnant with triplets.’

Our reflex was just to burst into laughter and query, ‘Are you sure there are no more?’

‘No, just the three. Congratulations.’

Our euphoria was short-lived, however. As soon as we left the ultrasound room the consultant obstetrician called us in.

‘You do realize we don’t advise that triplet pregnancies are viable. You run a huge risk to all the babies if you continue with it. I strongly recommend that you reduce the pregnancy.’

‘What do you mean?’ I asked.

‘You should only look to carry two of the babies.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘A simple injection into one of the babies will terminate it, leaving you with a more optimistic prognosis.’

‘So kill a healthy baby. That’s what you’re saying?’ Julie asked through her tears.

‘Well, that’s a harsh way to put it.’

‘But that’s what it boils down to,’ she wailed.

She and I looked at each other for no more than a second. Words between us were not necessary.

‘No way,’ insisted Julie. ‘If this pregnancy is meant to be then we will give all our babies a chance. How can you suggest killing one?’

‘Well,’ the pompous cold doctor continued, ‘they will be premature and we won’t have room for them here so they will be farmed out to other hospitals.

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