“Okay, Rommie, I’ll see you tonight. Don’t fret. The automatic feeder is primed to open for your tea, and I’ve left you plenty of biscuits in the meantime. If you feel you can bring yourself to use the cat flap, please do, because I don’t want any little accidents before I return.”
Libby reached down and gave Rommie a final stroke, thinking the cat had the right idea. The morning so far looked awful. She had a quick look round her flat, mentally going through what she would need for the day: wet weather gear, life jacket, and sailing gloves. She noticed the framed degree certificate upon the living room wall. ‘
Olivia Hunter, registered nurse
.’ It was a long time since she’d been called Olivia; not since her parents had been killed. With a shrug, she picked up her bag and locked the door behind her.
Despite the foul weather, she was excited. Being chosen as part of the crew on a fast yacht for the Isle of Wight’s prestigious ‘Round the Island Race’ had a certain cachet, and she had been delighted when Nigel had chosen her. It was Libby’s first major sailing event, and Nigel’s reputation as a first-class skipper was well known in the yachting fraternity.
Libby unlocked the door to her Mini and threw her bag down onto the passenger seat as the rain splattered against the hood of her jacket. She had promised to pick up Jem, another crew member, before going to the marina where
‘Tourbillon’
was moored. Jem, like her, was in his late thirties and worked in the Southampton General Hospital and loved sailing.
Jem was a good friend to Libby and had been instrumental in helping her get the post of junior sister on the general surgery ward. He had been there ever since he had first qualified, whereas Libby had come down from London, looking for a place nearer the sea to work. She had met him on a course in London some years back, and on their first introduction, they had hit it off. Over the past few years, six-foot-four Jem, muscle-bound and fun-loving, had become her biggest friend and confidant.
Libby parked her mini outside the house Jem shared with his partner, and not wishing to antagonise the neighbours by hooting at an early hour, she ran the short distance up the flooded garden path to his door. The door opened at Libby’s knock, and Jem ushered her inside.
“I’ll be ready in a jiffy. I’ve just been listening to the national news on the telly. Hang on, I’ll turn it off.” Jem walked into the living room and crossed over to the television. “It sounds like there really is a dangerous weirdo stalking nurses in London. Another nurse was assaulted during the night at St Thomas’s Hospital. Very few details have been released by the police though: only that she’s being treated for shock.” Shrugging on his waterproof jacket, he picked up a bag lying near the door and gestured to Libby to precede him.
She paused in the doorway. “That’s awful. Isn’t that the third one now?”
He nodded. “Fourth, if you include that girl who was raped after accepting a drink from a stranger in that Southwark pub. What was it called? I think it was the Golden Ram or something like that. Of course as that was a sexual attack it might have come from an entirely different person. But all these assaults are now really serious.”
“They’re awful. I’d forgotten that girl. She wasn’t a nurse though, was she?”
“No, but she’s a radiographer from the same hospital. The police haven’t said for certain whether they think it’s the same attacker. And if you add these girls to the two who went missing in the last year or so, then London has a big problem on its hands. Come on, we’d better run for it.”
Libby led the way as she pelted back down the path, aiming her remote ignition key at her Mini with Jem close on her heels.
“Blimey! What a day,” he said, squeezing his long legs into her car. “Makes you wonder if it’ll be worth it.”
“It’ll be worth it just to see the look on Sebastian Carr’s face when we overtake him at the Needles.”
Jem gave a chortle of laughter. “You really don’t like him, do you?”
“No. He’s too self-centred and full of it for my liking.”
“And what about our mysterious skipper, Nigel, then? He’s from the same mould, same university and medical school. I noticed he’s been paying you lots of furtive attention lately when he thinks no one’s watching.”
Something in his dry tone of voice caused Libby to take her attention off the road to look at him. She knew she had given herself away when she felt her cheeks flame.
“I am right, am I not?” he said gently, giving her a little pat on the knee.
“Yes.” She sighed. Jem always guessed when she was seeing someone new, and she had hoped to keep Nigel secret for a tad longer. Nigel had been quite adamant over that. How on earth did Jem do it?
“So what’s he like? I know most people think he’s the proverbial enigmatic, tall, dark-haired, and good-looking male with wads of cash, but what’s he really like under all that expensive designer gear? I bet he’s married.”
Libby gave a smile, as she remembered the times they had been together recently. Nigel had been very attentive. She thought work and pleasure rarely mixed and despite her best intentions not to get too involved, she eventually succumbed to going out with him.
“He’s nice. I know he’s a brilliant gynaecological surgeon and apparently can be a bit overbearing in theatre. But outside work he has a good sense of humour, and he treats me well.”
“Aha. And?”
“And nothing. Stop it, Jem. That’s all you’re getting out of me.” She swerved to avoid a cyclist wobbling dangerously in the nearside gutter. “We’ve been out together a few times during the last month, that’s all, and for God’s sake please don’t tell anyone.”
“Why ever not? Is Mr St John married then? He’s a bit of a dark horse, if you ask me, I’m not sure I trust him.”
“No one is asking you to, Jem. But as you asked, and I know you’ll never give me any peace, I’ll tell you. He was married and is now separated. He and his wife live apart. And as for keeping it quiet, just honour his request, okay?”
There was a short silence as Jem digested this titbit of news, giving her the briefest of nods. “I was right then.” He eventually spoke.
“Right about what?”
‘Him being married. They’re all the same, these big-shot surgeons. He’s been here…what, less than a year, and all the single female staff are dying to get their hands on him and about half the married ones too. I wonder what attracts them. He’s certainly not my type.”
She gave a laugh. “Jem, he’s a nice man. Underneath his obvious good connections and money, he wants a normal life just like you and me.”
Jem gave her a hurt look as if to say, “Are you being funny?” and turned on the radio. They listened in silence as the newscaster finished his report and changed topics to the weather.
“Well, that sounds a bit more hopeful.
‘Becoming sunny and drier before mid-morning, with fresh south-westerly winds up to 20 knots’.
We should have a cracking sail once we get out south of the island.” He rubbed his hands with glee. “Can’t wait.”
Libby returned his smile, glad to be off the topic of Nigel. She knew Jem would try keeping her secret safe, but at the same time, she realised he was only human and could easily forget. Juicy gossip sped like wildfire around the hospital, and
she
didn’t want to be the subject.
He was right though. Nigel was everything he had said and more. Libby knew about his marriage to Stella. He had been quite open during their second date together, telling her they had married when they were still at medical school and how they had been far too young.
~~~~~
“We should have listened to our parents,” he had said. “They urged us to wait until we’d qualified, but like most students we knew best. After we left med school and channelled our time and attention into our chosen career paths, we found we had no time left for each other. Of course, we still had the common ground of medicine to share, but apart from that, there was nothing else. We’d grown up and grown apart from each other. I’m surprised we stayed together as long as we did. It was most probably a mix of things: money, not upsetting our families, apathy, and I suppose convenience. It is often easier to do nothing. We’re still on remarkably good terms and see each other whenever she comes over from the States.”
Libby nodded, playing with the stem of her wine glass as he explained. If anything, she was a bit surprised at his openness.
“Were there…did you have any children together?”
“Thankfully, no. Children would have made everything much more complicated. Stella wasn’t keen once we’d passed our final exams. She was eager to make her name as a psychiatrist, and she’s doing just that in New York and London. Children were way down the list,” he said, giving her a grin which made him look younger, boyish even. “No ties there either.”
Libby smiled. “She’s very clever and a wonderful speaker. I attended a few of her lectures when I was working in London. She certainly knows how to hold an audience, and her voice is captivating with an almost hypnotic effect on the listener.”
Pushing back his shirtsleeve, Nigel glanced at his watch, and Libby caught sight of a tattoo on his wrist. She recognised it as Caduceus, the medical symbol or the Physician's Staff tattoo. Nigel caught her look and smiled. “I know. I abhor tattoos too, but Stella made me have it done while we were still students. It was bloody painful too. Do you know the Caduceus derives from the Greek 'karykeion', meaning 'staff of the herald’? It was the symbol of the power to harm or to heal. It appears in images of the ancient Egyptian god of wisdom, Thoth, as a magic rod with twin snakes. I’ve seen other variations showing a staff entwined with twin serpents, topped with a pair of wings or a winged sun and no snakes. Originally, those twin snakes may have been ribbons attached to the wings, eventually evolving into serpents. Interesting, eh?”
“I know what it represents, but not the full explanation.”
“Have you finished? Would you like to come back to my place for a nightcap?”
Libby weighed the pros and cons of spending more time in his company. It was a tempting thought to go and see where he lived and how he spent his free time. It
was
only their second date, and she
did
have to work tomorrow. Spending time back at his place could well lead to things being misunderstood or getting out of control, and that was the last thing she wanted. She considered herself fairly broad-minded. She wasn’t a prude but neither was she ‘easy’.
She shook her head and gave him a smile, replying. “No thanks. Not tonight, if you don’t mind. I have an early start tomorrow. Lisa, Sister Williams, is off, and I’m in charge. We have a full theatre list, so it’s bound to be frantic.”
Nigel gave her a rueful look as he handed the waiter his credit card. “We’ll make it next time then. My apartment has a splendid view of Southampton Water. It looks very romantic lit up at night.”
Nigel drove her home and didn’t put pressure on her to let him in. He escorted her to her door and, after a chaste kiss, asked to see her again over the weekend. He suggested going for a sail on his yacht, just the two of them, and thrilled with the idea of being on a sailing boat once more, Libby happily agreed.
Libby smiled as she remembered that day. There had been little wind for any real sailing, and they ended up anchoring in a tranquil inlet bay, north of the Isle of Wight. It was far too cold for a swim, but they were content to laze around in the sun, sampling a delicious lunch hamper Nigel had picked up from a ship’s caterers before leaving the marina.