A Consultant Beyond Compare. Joanna Neil

have resulted in him not being around any longer to tell the tale.

      Katie had rushed over to him, picking her way through the debris of wood and broken glass, and had immediately started to attend to his injuries, while Mandy had phoned for the ambulance. All Katie’s A and E skills had come back to her in that moment as she’d applied pressure to his wounds to stem the bleeding. It had only been afterwards that she had broken out into a cold sweat.

      Mandy frowned as the phone continued to ring. ‘Aren’t you going to get that?’

      ‘Yes, I suppose I must.’ Katie pressed a button and the noise stopped instantly. For a moment or two she sat and simply absorbed the silence, a sense of relief washing over her.

      ‘I’m glad he’s not in too bad a way.’ It had been fairly obvious to her from the outset that the builder must have had some kind of heart attack, and she had concentrated all her efforts on doing what she could to stabilise his condition until the ambulance had arrived. It had only been after she had seen him safely handed over to the care of the paramedics that she had been able to take full stock of what had happened, and shortly after that shock had begun to set in.

      Her whole body had been racked by tremors and she had made her way outside to this bench where she felt that at least for a while she would be safe from prying eyes.

      Mandy nodded. ‘Me, too. I just wanted to let you know that all the arrangements are in place. We’re officially closed down for the foreseeable future.’

      ‘I’m sorry. I know how much effort you’ve put into the centre.’

      Mandy nodded. ‘I’ll go and make a pot of tea.’ A faint smile crossed her mouth. ‘When in doubt, go and put the kettle on. At least there was some water left in it when the supply was cut off. I’ll leave you to take your call in peace,’ she added when Katie’s mobile started ringing yet again.

      ‘Thanks.’ Katie lifted the phone to her ear as she watched her go.

      A man was saying urgently, ‘Hello? Hello…?’ A note of impatience threaded his words. ‘Are you there? Is that Miss Sorenson…Katie Sorenson?’

      Katie frowned at the unfamiliar male voice. She didn’t recognise the number that showed up on her display screen, and if this was someone who was about to try to sell her something, he would very soon find himself listening to a disconnection tone.

      ‘Yes, I’m Katie Sorenson.’

      ‘Ah, at last…that’s good.’ The man paused, giving her time to contemplate the deep, beautifully modulated quality of his voice. He sounded as though he was youngish, in his thirties maybe, but she still didn’t have any idea who he might be.

      ‘Is it?’ she murmured, at a loss. ‘Perhaps you could enlighten me? Do I know you?’

      ‘No, I don’t believe so, but I think perhaps we should meet. I’m at a café near the railway station in Windermere and I have your sister here with me—she tells me her name is Jessica, and that she’s thirteen years old. Is that right?’

      ‘My sister?’ Katie’s blue eyes widened in shock. ‘You can’t be serious? What is she doing in Windermere?’ She checked his phone number on her mobile’s screen once more, and a shiver ran through her as she tried to work out what exactly was happening. Something was definitely wrong. What was Jessica doing some ten miles away, sitting in a café with a strange man?

      Then she pulled herself together. Surely she was letting her imagination run away with her? Anyone who was trying to abduct Jessica would hardly take the trouble to phone her, would he? Even so, she said with a hint of suspicion in her tone, ‘How is it that you’re with my sister?’

      She caught the wry inflection in his voice as he answered that. ‘I’ve just come across her, trying to hitch a lift at the roadside, and I have a strong feeling that she isn’t going to be safe, left to her own devices. She said that she was trying to get home to you, but she was lost. If that’s the case, and you are who you say you are, I would very much prefer to hand her over to you in person.’

      Katie pulled in a deep breath. ‘I don’t believe this is happening. Is this a joke?’

      ‘Far from it, I’m afraid.’ There was a note of censure in his voice as he added, ‘I can’t imagine why you would allow a 13-year-old to wander about on her own so far from home, but she assures me that you are the one who is supposed to be looking after her.’ He was silent for a moment, as though he was leaving time for his comments to sink in.

      Katie frowned. Why would Jessica have told him that? Her sister lived with their parents, a hundred or so miles away from the Lake District, in a town near the mouth of the Humber. What on earth was going on?

      The man was speaking once more, his tone a little brisk now. ‘I’d come over to you, but I really don’t think that would be appropriate. I’m a stranger to your sister and I don’t want my actions to be misconstrued, so I’d appreciate it if you would come and fetch her.’

      Katie’s mouth firmed. ‘Let me speak to her, please.’ She still had to be convinced that this wasn’t some kind of elaborate prank.

      There was a momentary pause, and then Jessica’s voice sounded in her ear. ‘Katie, please, don’t be cross with me. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble. I got a bit lost, that’s all.’

      Katie pulled in a sharp breath. ‘More than a bit, I’d say. What are you doing this far from home, and what are you doing with a strange man?’

      Jessica made a faint gulping sound. ‘He asked me for your number and said he would get in touch with you. I didn’t have any credit left on my phone, you see, and then the battery went flat and I’d used up all my money, and anyway I’d already tried to reach you on your home phone and you weren’t there.’

      ‘No, that’s because I’m at work. That still doesn’t tell me what you’re doing out at Windermere.’

      ‘No, I…I know it doesn’t…but I promise I’ll explain everything when I see you.’ Jessica’s voice trailed off awkwardly, and Katie guessed she hadn’t told this man the full truth of the situation. ‘Will you come and fetch me?’

      ‘Yes, of course I will. Let me speak to this man.’

      Jessica handed the phone back to her rescuer, and Katie forced herself to take a slow, calming breath. ‘Perhaps you could tell me exactly where you are and I’ll come over to you,’ she said briskly.

      He gave her directions, and added on a cool note, ‘I hope you’ll drop everything and come straight away. I was on my way to a meeting and I’d still like to be able to get there some time before it ends if it’s at all possible.’

      He didn’t sound as though he had very much faith in her, and Katie stifled a sharp response. ‘I’m sorry about your meeting,’ she told him in a strained tone. ‘I have a twenty-minute or so drive ahead of me, but I’ll be there as soon as possible.’

      Clearly the man had a busy schedule. So had she, up until now, but from what Mandy had been saying that had all come to an abrupt end. There was little doubt that she was going to be out of work from today.

      In the staff kitchen, Mandy had already poured the tea, but Katie hurriedly swallowed it down and went to find her bag. ‘I have to go,’ she said. ‘An emergency just cropped up and I need to go and pick up my young sister.’

      ‘Your sister?’ Mandy raised a brow. ‘I didn’t know you had any family around here.’

      Katie’s expression was rueful. ‘Neither did I.’ She glanced across the table at her friend. ‘Will you be all right here?’

      Mandy nodded. ‘We’ve done about as much as we can with the clearing-up operations, so I’ll probably just send the rest of the staff home.’ She made a wry face. ‘I don’t think there’ll be much point in any of us coming in for the next few months. I’m sorry.’

      ‘I know.’ Katie