Chameleon's Shadow

Acland dropped his hands to his sides abruptly, as if he realized how much they were revealing about him. ‘Only anger,’ he said with apparent calm. ‘First, that she came at all . . . second, that she took no notice when I asked her to leave . . . and third, that she thought she could change my mind if she stayed long enough.’

‘Has she behaved like that before? Is that why you described her as manipulative?’

‘Yes.’

‘What were the other occasions?’ He sighed at the lieutenant’s expression. ‘I’m not trying to catch you out, Charles. I’m trying to work out if you’re safe to send to London. At the moment I’m deeply confused about the relationship you had with Jen. On the one hand, you describe her rather crudely as “a damn good fuck” . . . On the other, you react violently the minute she tries to touch you. Was your pride hurt when she ended the engagement? Is that what we’re dealing with here?’

Silence.

‘Why pretend indifference when you clearly don’t feel it?’

Acland leaned more heavily into the wall, as if his legs weren’t strong enough to support him. ‘It’s not a pretence. I am indifferent. If she’d left when I asked we wouldn’t be having this conversation.’

‘Why do you think she didn’t?’

‘She won’t accept “no”. It isn’t a word she hears very often. I’ll put money on you giving her permission to sit in your office so that you can go back and pat her hand. Everyone falls for the act.’

‘You’re right about the office, but not about the hand-patting,’ said Willis mildly. ‘Therapists tend to avoid physical contact for fear their actions will be misconstrued.’

‘You’d better be careful, then. She’ll probably sit in your lap if she thinks she can persuade you to repeat what I’ve said.’

‘Why would I do that?’

‘You’ve repeated what she’s been saying.’

‘But she isn’t my patient, Charles, and I have no duty of confidentiality towards her. She’s a virtual stranger who was brought to my office in tears, claiming she’d left her bag in your room and was too frightened to ask for it back. Without her train ticket and money for taxi fares she can’t get home. What did you expect me to do? Throw her out on her ear and tell her it was her fault for coming without an invitation?’

The sardonic gleam reappeared in Acland’s eye. ‘You really do need to be careful, Doc. If you’ve already bought into the fear and the vulnerability, the next thing you know you’ll be driving her home like a proper little gentleman.’

‘Is that what happened to you the first time you met?’

Acland nodded.

‘And you wouldn’t recommend it?’

‘It depends how willing you are to be exploited.’

*

 Willis cursed fluently under his breath as he returned to his office. He’d had to work hard to persuade Charles to accept a room with Susan Campbell between operations and he was extremely reluctant to see the arrangement fall apart. To date, the lieutenant’s two recuperation periods had been spent in a hotel in Birmingham, where he’d appeared to neglect himself. On both occasions, he’d returned to the hospital showing signs of early malnourishment, but any suggestion that he stay with his parents was met with a brick wall. As an old friend and psychiatric colleague who ran a bed and breakfast in London, Susan had offered an alternative, but whether she’d be willing to take Charles now was anyone’s guess. With little difficulty, Willis transferred his irritation to Jen. Rather than tell a lie, Charles would avoid a question or say nothing, signalling his unwillingness through a variety of physical tics, but Willis had no such faith in Jen’s honesty.

She said you told her to come...

Five

WILLIS FOUND THE HOSPITAL’S head of security, Gareth Blades, waiting in the corridor outside his office. The man, a burly ex-policeman, took him by the arm and led him away from the door. ‘Ms Morley’s inside with your secretary. I thought I’d catch you before you went in. What’s been going on between these two, Bob?’

‘It seems to be a case of who you want to believe. Has Ms Morley changed her mind about reporting it to the police?’

‘No. She’s worried about making things worse for the lieutenant . . . Says she’ll retract what she’s already told us if we take it any further.’ He gave a sour smile. ‘I don’t think there’s any doubt he attacked her. She’s holding herself together at the moment, but she was shaking like a leaf at the beginning.’

‘Does she have any bruising?’

‘Not that I can see. I asked her to let a nurse check her neck for marks, but Ms Morley refused. She’s wearing a buttoned-up collar and there’s nothing visible above it. I’m betting there’s plenty underneath, though. She’s very slender . . . It wouldn’t take much to bruise her.’

‘What about her hands and wrists? The lieutenant said he caught them to stop her touching him.’

‘I didn’t notice anything, but she’s wearing long sleeves. Maybe you could take a look when you go back in.’

‘If she doesn’t want to report him, we can’t force her, Gareth.’

‘I know, but I’m not happy about it. There’s other people’s safety to consider.’

‘He’s going to London tomorrow for a couple of weeks. Does that solve your problem?’