The Secret Doctor. Joanna Neil

a pretty girl, with clear hazel eyes and long, chestnut-coloured hair tied back in a ponytail. She was good at her job, confident, and a fountain of knowledge about the set up in the busy emergency room. Lacey worked with her throughout what was left of the morning, and on into the afternoon.

      Around teatime, when Dr Mayfield was preparing to go off duty, he came to find Lacey. He was a young man, fair haired, and, from what she had gathered, conscientious in the way he did his job.

      He studied her, a wave of fair hair falling across his brow. ‘How’s it going today? Have you managed to find your way around our system?’

      ‘More or less.’ She smiled. ‘Everyone’s been great, pointing me in the right direction when I was lost, or, best of all, showing me where you stash the pasties and cakes.’

      ‘Well, we have to get our priorities right, don’t we?’ He chuckled and then turned his attention to business, outlining the details of patients he had admitted for observation that day. He handed over the files. ‘Anyway, best of luck with these,’ he told her. ‘They’re mostly respiratory problems or cardiac queries.’

      He made brief comments as she checked each patient’s file, but Lacey hesitated at one in particular. The name and profile of the patient jumped out at her and alarm bells started to ring inside her head.

      ‘This man—Mr Callaghan,’ she murmured, scanning the text. ‘It says here that he was brought in suffering from dehydration and that he appeared to be in a confused state.’ She looked at the intern. ‘What happened to him?’

      ‘Apparently he was filming some alligators in the marshes and came unstuck. From what I can piece together, one of the alligators started to head towards him and he retreated, but twisted his ankle and then went off in the wrong direction instead of returning to his base. His ankle’s fine, just sprained, so I’ve applied a compress and put on a support bandage.’

      Rick ran his gaze fleetingly over the file. ‘It’s his general condition that’s giving us cause for concern. He passed out a couple of times, and he’s suffering from palpitations. According to his notes, he’s been receiving treatment for cardiac arrhythmia over the past year, so that probably needs more investigation. Anyway, he has been given fluids, and he’s had a bath and generally been made to feel more comfortable, but his vital signs are not too good at the moment.’

      ‘I’ll go and take a look at him straight away,’ Lacey said. ‘I’m sure I know him—he’s a friend. He went out to the Everglades recently and didn’t return.’

      ‘Sounds as though he’s had a lucky escape, then.’

      She nodded, and then glanced through her list of patients once more. There was no particular urgency to any of them that she could see, so went to seek out Rob Callaghan straight away.

      It was exactly as she had suspected. Rob was lying in bed, his light brown hair tousled against his pillows. He appeared to be dozing, but as she approached the bedside his eyelids flickered and he blinked, acknowledging her presence with a few mumbled words.

      ‘Lacey,’ he said in a low, cracked voice, ‘it’s good to see you. You’re a sight for sore eyes.’

      ‘I think I’ll take that literally,’ she murmured, noting the grey circles round his eyes and the general sunken appearance of his skin. ‘What have you been doing to yourself?’ She could see from the monitors that his blood pressure was high, and his heart rate was a lot faster than it ought to be.

      ‘I got lost,’ he said. ‘There was no water, and my phone battery failed. I feel so stupid.’ There was a breathless, weary quality to his voice, and she knew that she shouldn’t tire him by asking too many questions.

      ‘Well, at least you’re safe now,’ she murmured. ‘I’m a little concerned about some of your symptoms, though. You told me some time ago that you had been having palpitations, and your ECG shows that your heart is going at full tilt right now, even after the medication Dr Mayfield gave you. I think we need to find out what’s going on, so I’d like to run some tests.’

      After resting in bed for the last hour or so, his symptoms should have begun to subside by now, but that clearly wasn’t happening. She gave him a thoughtful, assessing glance. ‘Perhaps I ought to leave you to rest. You don’t look as though you’re in any fit state to be talking.’

      He frowned. ‘Stay awhile. Do you have time to sit with me for a bit? I know you must have other patients to see.’

      ‘Of course I can stay. There’s nothing urgent to drag me away for a while.’ She pulled up a chair beside his bed and placed her hand over his. ‘Do your parents know that you’re here? Do you want me to get in touch with anyone?’

      ‘They’re coming over. I think it took a while to contact them because they were out of town.’ He studied her fleetingly. ‘Florida suits you,’ he said. ‘I always thought you would do well out here.’ He took a deep breath in order to gather strength and then added, ‘How are you getting on with Jake? I’m assuming you’ve met?’

      ‘Oh, yes, we’ve met.’ Her lips made an odd shape. ‘I can’t quite make him out. He seems to enjoy a very relaxed way of life, and even though he talks about business meetings, I’ve no idea what he does for a living.’

      ‘Nothing, right now, I guess.’ Rob’s mouth made a cynical line. ‘He likes to party…and I mean parties…every month or so…big affairs, with his wealthy friends. He spends the rest of his time snorkelling, scubadiving, or sunbathing on board his yacht.’

      Lacey’s eyes widened. ‘All the time?’

      He nodded. ‘There are maybe one or two business meetings thrown in from time to time. Perhaps he just feels he doesn’t need to do anything more.’

      Lacey shook her head. ‘I imagine that could be fun for a while, but I’m not sure I could live like that all the time. My work’s important to me. I’d need to do something more fulfilling with my life than sit around endlessly soaking up the sun.’

      ‘I’m with you on that. Though, right now, lazing around sounds like the ideal occupation for me.’ He made an attempt to smile, and she knew he was battling extreme fatigue.

      She looked at him with concern. ‘I’ve tired you out…I knew I shouldn’t have sat down here and let you talk.’

      ‘No.’ Rob’s breathing was ragged. ‘I’m glad you agreed to stay. I’m only telling you these things because I know he’ll make a play for you—it’s the way he is—and I don’t want you to get hurt. He was asking a lot of questions about you even before you came down here.’

      ‘Thanks, Rob, but I’m all grown up now,’ she said with a smile. ‘And I’m more than cautious where men are concerned. You don’t need to worry about me.’

      He reached for her arm and gave her a cautionary squeeze. ‘Even so…you take care, Lacey. You’re a gentle soul, and you’ve been through the mill lately. You deserve better.’ His breathing became increasingly ragged, and Lacey saw that the heart monitor showed a rising, thundering rhythm.

      ‘Perhaps you shouldn’t talk any more,’ she told him, getting to her feet. ‘I’m going to give you an injection of something to slow your heart rate down, and then I’ll go and organise the tests. The consultant will come along and see you once we have the results.’

      ‘Okay.’ Rob closed his eyes momentarily, clearly worn out by sharing those revelations with her.

      Lacey went to prepare the injection, and once she had administered it she waited a while to gauge its effect. When Rob’s heart and blood pressure rate began to drop, she felt able to leave him in the care of the nurse.

      ‘I’ll go and order an echocardiograph,’ she told Emma. ‘I’ve a feeling we might need to implant a device to regulate his heartbeat, so I’ll ask the consultant to come and take a look at him.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘It’s probably too late to bring him here now, but first