Undercover At City Hospital. Carol Marinelli

Just because he’s got a heart condition it doesn’t exclude him from having a healthy sex life.’

      ‘Of course not,’ Bella agreed, ‘but you’ve seen the medication he’s on at home. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was having some difficulties with…’ Clearing her throat, Bella attempted to squash her embarrassment. ‘Maintaining an erection.’

      ‘I’m not with you, Bella.’ He gave her a rather wide-eyed look and made to go back to the room, but Bella stilled him with a sentence. ‘She’s an internet junkie!’ Heath was frowning now, two vertical lines appearing on the bridge of a very nice nose as Bella continued. ‘I’d suggest that Celia’s guilt has nothing to do with the eggs she put into his soufflé or the wine she served, but more to do with the little blue pill she served up instead of after-dinner mints.’

      ‘No!’

      ‘Yes.’ Bella nodded, her smile widening as Heath blushed to his impossibly blond roots. ‘If you ask me, there’s a very good reason Celia’s feeling guilty, and you insisting that it wasn’t her fault isn’t exactly helping matters.’

      ‘Do you think she drugged him?’

      ‘Oh, please.’ Bella laughed. ‘I’d say she just nagged him to death more likely!’ As Heath opened his mouth, Bella got there first. ‘Pun entirely intended. Look, it’s just a hunch, but if I am right, maybe you need to alter your line of questioning a bit.’

      ‘Line of questioning!’ Heath gave her a slightly startled look. ‘We’re in Emergency, Bella, not down at the local police station!’

      ‘Of course,’ Bella responded quickly. ‘I meant—’

      ‘I know what you meant.’ Heath gave a grateful nod. ‘And you’re right, if Celia’s been ordering drugs from the internet, then my line of questioning was way off track. How the hell am I supposed to broach this with her?’

      It was more a statement than a question, and Bella watched as he raked his hand through his superbly cut hair.

      Danny was blond.

      At a totally inappropriate moment the thought popped into her head.

      There was absolutely no comparing the two.

      Danny had been the surfy, sporty type, with shaggy blond hair that had always been in desperate need of a cut, living his life in bathers and board shorts, whereas Heath was the epitome of cool sophistication. No doubt his wardrobe was full with variations on the superbly cut suit he was wearing now, just an occasional glimpse of subtle but expensive jewellery but wearing enough aftershave to asphyxiate from fifty metres.

      There was no comparison, Bella concluded, except for the fact they were both blond.

      ‘Hell, they never prepare you for this type of thing in medical school,’ Heath moaned, staring directly at her.

      And except for the fact they both had beautiful eyes.

      ‘Or nursing school,’ Bella agreed, heading back towards the interview room, frantically trying to clear these ridiculous thoughts from her head.

      ‘How did you work it out?’ Heath asked, catching her arm lightly and pulling her back. ‘I mean, how did you guess what was going on?’

      ‘Just incurably nosy, I guess.’ Bella shrugged but she lost her audience as a red-eyed Hannah brushed past, clearly in tears.

      ‘Hey!’ Heath called her back. ‘Jayne didn’t make you stay and write that report?’

      ‘No!’ Though visibly upset, Hannah forced a smile. ‘Just another stupid mistake I made last night—I left my car lights on.’

      Heath gave a groan of sympathy.

      ‘I’ve called the roadside assistance number but it would appear I’m not the only one. There’s a two-hour wait.’

      ‘Get a taxi,’ Heath suggested, ‘and then pick your car up when you come in for Ken’s outpatient appointment. Shirley on Reception can tell roadside assistance where your car’s parked.’

      Raking her hand through her hair, Hannah gave a nervous nod. ‘I guess. It’s just…’ Her voice trailed off, but Heath picked up the silence with efficient calmness.

      ‘You’re probably entitled to a cab charge. Why don’t you check with Jayne?’

      ‘I was just about to.’ Hannah gave a pale smile and started to go, and only then did Bella really understand. A cab charge might get her home but she’d have to pay for a taxi back, and if funds were short perhaps the twenty or fifty dollars it would take hadn’t been factored into this week’s budget, let alone a new car battery and callout fee. But it wasn’t Bella’s place to say anything. She was the very new girl here, so instead she stood in polite silence, pretending not to watch this exchange.

      ‘Hannah?’ Heath called her back. Maybe he had understood, Bella realized as he dug in his jacket pocket and pulled out a very flash-looking keyring. ‘Take my car.’

      ‘Sorry?’ Hannah looked completely dumbfounded as her weary face turned around.

      ‘You’re over twenty-five, I assume?’

      ‘Way over.’

      ‘Then take it.’ Heath shrugged. ‘Jayne’s pretty tied up, you’ll have to wait for ever for her to go into the office and find the forms. Just take my car.’

      ‘Heath—’

      ‘I’m not going anywhere,’ Heath groaned. ‘Just don’t smoke in it.’

      ‘I’ve run out.’ Hannah grinned, the first real smile Bella had seen from her breaking over her exhausted face.

      ‘Then there’s no problem.’

      And except for the fact that under all the bravado, both Danny and Heath were as soft as butter.

      As Hannah happily made her way off, jangling Heath’s car keys in her hand, Heath rolled his eyes heavenwards. ‘Why me?’ he groaned.

      ‘I’m sure she’ll look after it,’ Bella ventured, referring to his car, but that, it would seem, was the least of his problems.

      ‘I couldn’t give a damn about the car. Why, out of all the doctors in the building, do I get the geriatric nymphomaniac to deal with?’

      And except for the fact that they both made her laugh!

      ‘Is everything OK, Doctor?’ Celia jumped up as they entered, terrified eyes dragging between the two. ‘Nothing has happened to my Charlie, has it?’

      ‘No.’ Heath gestured to the chair and waited patiently as Celia sat down, clearing his throat and staring at the floor for an endearing moment before assuming a bland expression and looking down at the woman. ‘Now, Celia, for Charles’s sake, I really need to know what happened last night. I need to know about any medications he might have taken, anything unusual that’s happened recently…’

      ‘There’s nothing!’ Celia said quickly, too quickly Bella thought, and clearly so did Heath.

      ‘Celia, this is an emergency room. No one’s here to judge either you or Charles. We just want to give your husband the best treatment possible and to do that we need all the facts. So if there’s anything you can think of that might help, anything you’re holding back, now might be a good time to tell me about it.’

      ‘What about…?’ Celia gave a nervous swallow. ‘I mean, if I’d done something wrong…’

      ‘I’m a doctor, Celia. My only concern is to see Charles gets the appropriate treatment.’

      ‘And I won’t get into trouble?’

      Heath shook his head. ‘I just need the truth, Celia.’