Sam’s voice interrupted his thoughts. ‘You do realise that Kate would have to stay here voluntarily, don’t you? He can’t make her stay without sectioning her.’
‘Er, yes, you said yesterday, but I’m sure she won’t want to spend even one night away from her precious house. Do you?’
‘I agree, but Lawrence can be very persuasive. He has a way of suggesting something to a patient that makes them think it was their idea. I have seen him calm some very frightening people in that manner. I think his secret lies in his disability. He too is damaged, just like them, so he doesn’t represent a threat. People can relate to him.’
‘Has he always been in a wheelchair?’
‘Since childhood.’
Will mulled over the options that were available to Kate. She could be admitted as an in-patient for a full assessment and treatment. She could stay for a single day’s observation, then be given follow-up outpatient care. Or she could leave on a wing and a prayer with a bagful of drugs that she would probably flush down the toilet. Once upon a time, she would have discussed these options with him, and they would have decided together. Now, well, he had no idea what she would choose to do. In a calmer moment before they had left for the clinic, he had managed to make her understand that he had been angry and upset about Sophie when he said he wanted to leave the fen, but he could not forget the look she had given him. There had been nothing in it but pure malice.
An hour later, Kate came out of the office, alone. She sat next to Will and calmly stated that she would be staying with Dr Hassel for a couple of days. She had decided that she owed herself a rest, she had been working too hard lately. She hoped he would understand. Without waiting for an answer, she stood, turned to Sam Page and said, ‘Perhaps you would stay with Will. He is under rather a lot of strain at present, and I think you owe me that, don’t you?’
Sam nodded equably, and said he would be happy to stay for as long as she liked.
She turned to leave. ‘Sweetheart?’ Will said.
She stopped but did not turn back.
‘Please. I love you, Kate.’
Slowly, she swung round and looked at his face. She seemed to be searching it for something. ‘No more talk of selling up?’
‘Just get better, baby.’
‘You didn’t answer my question.’
‘Just come home to me, Kate. You won’t see any “For Sale” boards in the front garden.’ He knew he was being evasive.
She kissed him coolly on the cheek and said she would ring him when she was ready to go home. ‘The doctor wants a word with you before you leave.’
Will returned to the office.
‘Mr Stonebridge, I am delighted that your wife is going to join us for a while. Perhaps you would be kind enough to fetch some clothes and toiletries for her. I am going to suggest that you leave her things at reception and do not visit Mrs Stonebridge. Oh, and no phone calls unless there is an emergency. We will get her comfortable in her room and start assessment immediately. Outside contact is discouraged during that time, it can be unsettling. I hope you understand.’
Will nodded, suppressing the urge to snatch Kate up and run away with her.
‘Please don’t worry,’ the doctor continued. ‘She will be fine here, and I see no reason why she shouldn’t be home very soon. I will prescribe a drug regime that is tailored to her specific problem. I assure you that I can help her, Mr Stonebridge, and she seems willing for me to try. Good news, is it not?’
Will nodded, though he didn’t trust Kate’s sudden compliance one bit.
Sam drove them back to Fenchester. Will was silent, his thoughts running all over the place.
After some time, Sam glanced at him. ‘It’s for the best, old fellow. I know it’s a dreadful thing to do, leaving someone you love in a clinic, but the care she will receive there is second to none. Lawrence is the best psychiatrist I know of, and I would be very surprised if Kate didn’t respond to his treatment.’
Will drew in a deep breath. ‘I feel much more relieved having listened to him. Now I’m worried about Sophie. The trouble is, Sam, I’ve seen so many cases like this. I keep thinking of Naomi Jones, and little Josh Wilkins.’
Sam nodded gravely. ‘I remember them. I was actually consulted in the Jones investigation. Did you work on both cases?’
‘Yes, I did. Poor little kids. I just cannot understand how these animals can do such terrible things to children. You know that the full details of what happened to the Wilkins boy were never released to the public?’
‘I recall that there were a lot of rumours doing the rounds,’ Sam said.
‘I don’t know what you heard, but they were probably all true. I was still a rookie copper then, and a PC James was on the case with me. A nice chap, real family man who had three youngsters himself. He left the force not long after it went to court.’
‘Too much for him?’ Sam said.
Will nodded. ‘Totally. After the Wilkins case, every time he got a shout, he thought it was going to be another butchered child. Poor sod.’
‘Do you have any thoughts about what might have happened to Sophie?’ Sam asked.
They overtook a tractor towing a trailer piled high with freshly dug potatoes. Will stared at it, unseeing. ‘For some reason, I can’t look at things in the way I used to. Back then, I was able to distance myself from a problem and look at it clearly. Kate’s wild imaginings must have infected my thought processes. I’m constantly coming up with different theories, but they all seem slightly mad.’
‘It’s no wonder you can’t think straight. It’s impossible to remain detached when it’s your own family that’s involved. And remember, you are still grieving for your sister. At least with Kate away for a while, you won’t have one eye on the fen all day, trying to look out for her, or wonder what dark image she is creating behind that locked door.’
‘That’s true. Except that now I’ll be scanning that damn marsh for a sign of Sophie.’
After another silence, Sam said, ‘Maybe Matt or I should take Kate’s things back to the clinic for you. It’s probably a good idea if you don’t go back there just yet.’
‘Thanks, Sam, I won’t argue. I appreciate your thoughtfulness.’
They fell once more into silence.
As they turned into the track down to Holland House, Will noticed two police cars outside Gerald Grove’s cottage at the bottom of Tylers Lane.
‘I wonder what is going on down there.’
‘We’ll soon find out,’ Sam said. ‘And look at that! The press, if I’m not mistaken.’
At the end of the lane a group of men and woman with cameras and microphones were standing around.
They were met by a couple of uniforms and a small gaggle of people in anoraks and boots, obviously members of the search party.
‘Any progress?’ Will asked.
‘Not sure, Will.’ A windblown sergeant was standing on one leg, endeavouring to get a piece of grit out of his boot. ‘We had an anonymous call telling us to search old Berridge’s place.’
Will frowned. ‘We saw the cars there on the way in. Did the caller specifically say “Berridge’s place”? That was what the cottage was called back in the old days.’