The Silence Before Thunder by Kathy Shuker

Author:Kathy Shuker [Shuker, Kathy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kathy Shuker
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

The following Monday, one of the ward doctors spoke to Jo. He was the registrar, a serious, edgy man with a long face and eyebrows that nearly met. They were looking to get Eleanor home, he said. Eleanor didn’t need much medical care now, just rehabilitation, and she would benefit from being in a more normal environment. Outpatient physiotherapy and speech therapy could be arranged for her.

Jo was shocked. She was also scared. She didn’t want Eleanor home yet; she didn’t know whom she could trust and, at home, Eleanor could be vulnerable to the person who had attacked her. Jo wanted more time: time for Eleanor to get her memory back and time to find out what had happened that night and to take it to the police.

‘Aren’t there specialised places where people go to get rehab?’ she asked him. ‘You know, as in residential?’

He looked surprised. ‘Yes, some. I was talking to someone about this yesterday oddly. There aren’t many NHS facilities and they all have waiting lists. But there’s a private place up on Dartmoor which I was told is very good. They might have room if that’s the way you want to go.’

‘I’d need to look into it.’

‘We’re not talking immediately. But soon.’ He smiled and turned away to speak to another doctor. It was a first warning.

On the Tuesday, Eleanor started with a head cold. By the Wednesday, it had developed; she was streaming and coughing and slept a lot. Jo’s sympathy was tempered by relief. They wouldn’t discharge her while she was like this. On the Thursday she decided not to visit and spent much of the afternoon on the internet, looking into the possibilities of rehabilitation for Eleanor and checking out what she could learn about the unit up on Dartmoor. The Moorhill Centre, it was called. It offered comfortable private rooms and a range of therapies and, to judge from the photographs, had an amazing setting. It also asked some eye-watering fees.

By four o’clock, with information overload, she went for a walk through the village and up onto the cliff path. It was a bright, dry day and the path was popular. She got caught up in a stream of holidaymakers beating the same route along the clifftop. Coming back and descending the final steps to the village, she noticed Louisa go into the convenience store. It was the opportunity she had hoped for to speak to her alone. Jo stopped to look over the wall at the sea then idled along until she was a stone’s throw from the shop. A few minutes later, Louisa exited the store carrying a plastic carrier bag and turned for home. Jo hurried to catch up with her and smiled a greeting. Louisa’s expression was friendly if guarded.

‘Hello,’ said Louisa, glancing round. ‘By yourself?’

‘Yes. I’ve been for a walk. Eleanor’s laid up with a bad cold so I decided to stay away and let her rest.’

‘Poor Eleanor. She is in the wars.’ Louisa carried on walking and Jo fell into step.

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