Drowning in Honey by Kate Hatfield

Author:Kate Hatfield [Hatfield, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan UK

Chapter Twelve

‘Dr Patley, will you tell the court how you first came to know Michael Beechen?’ said Gina Mayford when her first witness had sworn to tell the truth at half past ten on Friday morning.

‘Certainly. He has been my patient for the past four years.’

‘Has he consulted you frequently?’

‘No. He came once with a broken arm, once with a bad burn on his back, and three times, I think, with cuts that needed stitching.’

‘Do you know for certain what caused the injuries?’

‘Not the cuts nor the broken arm. They could have been the result of accidents or even mugging. Unfortunately people do get mugged in Bristol sometimes. But the cause of the burn was obvious. It was in the shape of an iron. Someone had undoubtedly held a hot iron in the small of his back.’

‘What action did you take?’

‘I dressed the burn and gave him a prescription for painkillers.’

‘Did you take any action to find out who had burned him or to prevent a recurrence of such a wound?’

‘I asked him who had done it and advised him to call the police if it should ever happen again.’

‘Did you yourself inform anyone else of what had happened?’

‘No.’

‘Why not?’

‘Social Services are short of time, staff and money,’ said the doctor firmly. He sounded regretful but not ashamed. ‘There are too many more urgent problems than those of an educated man of six-foot-two who may or may not be being deliberately hurt.

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