CN 14 Constable On Call, page 20
part #14 of Constable Nick Mystery Series
‘He did, Sarge. Maybe his father thinks he really did steal the cash.’
‘Or perhaps his father wants to minimise the fuss if the kid goes to court for helping to procure an abortion. That makes two victims of crime not wanting to prosecute - first Lord Ashfordly and then Claude Jeremiah Greengrass. I wouldn’t have thought there was any collusion there, Rowan, but stranger things have happened.’
‘A conspiracy of silence, Sergeant.’
‘A worrying trend, Rowan. How can we perform our duty without the co-operation of the public? It puts us in an impossible situation. Now, what about your interview with that suspected abortionist? Anything positive resulted from that?’
Nick told Sergeant Blaketon how his visit had gone and Blaketon shrugged. It was a recurrence of many a similar report - in lots of cases of abortion, the identity of the abortionist was usually known, but a lack of evidence prevented any prosecution.
‘OK, get away home, Rowan, let’s see if there’s any other way of proving a case against Mrs Gillet. And how is that girl?’
‘Still very poorly, Sergeant.’
‘You realise that if she dies, we’ve got a case of homicide on our hands? The abortionist would be charged with murder.’
‘Yes, Sergeant.’
‘Then let’s hope the girl recovers. We don’t want an unsolved murder on our patch, do we, Rowan?’
‘No, Sergeant.’
Nick drove home in a reflective mood. As he travelled the picturesque route between Ashfordly and Aidensfield, it seemed that a lot of answers had been provided. Richard Francis had got Susan Rawlings pregnant; the kids had been too afraid to tell their parents and had decided on an abortion. Without the necessary funds, they had resorted to theft in order to raise the money, with Susan, or someone on her behalf, stealing a bottle of gin in the hope it would help in bringing on a miscarriage. This seemed to be the situation, and yet Nick realised it was all speculation. There was no proof for any of his theories.
At home, he took off his boots and sat before the fire toasting his toes while Kate made a pot of tea. She’d bought some fruit cake in the shop and they were looking forward to a cosy break together.
‘I saw Susan again at the hospital,’ Kate said. ‘She’s far from well but refuses to say anything about her condition. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you with questioning her. It’s really not my job.’
Nick shook his head, it was wrong of me to ask. I shouldn’t take advantage of your profession and our relationship. Forgive me.’
‘I know you want to find the abortionist, and so do I, Nick, believe me. But you know the Rawlings have decided not to prosecute if anyone is arrested? I saw them at the hospital today too. They just want to forget the whole thing. Matt will be ringing you. All they want is for Susan to recover, and I can understand that desire.’
‘But if we stop our enquiries,’ Nick protested, ‘it means Mrs Gillet will be free to do it again. And next time, the mother could die … Susan nearly did, didn’t she?’
‘If we hadn’t found her in time, yes, it could have been far more serious.’
He could not understand modern society, Nick grumbled. The law was there to protect its vulnerable members, but it needed the co-operation of all its members if the system was to function for the benefit of everyone.
‘Nick,’ said Kate when he’d finished. ‘You mentioned Mrs Gillet, the retired midwife?’
‘Yes, it was her, but we’ll never prove it. The timings of Susan’s movements are almost evidence enough, but Mrs Gillet is crafty: she knows we can never prove it was her without Susan’s evidence. And now her folks want us to drop our enquiries. So where do we go from here?’
‘You have a nice relaxing night off,’ Kate smiled, ‘and stop trying to rectify all of society’s ills!’
Next morning, Kate had a long discussion with Dr Ferrenby before surgery. Ferrenby said he’d known Edith Gillet for years! She’d been a midwife in the district for decades and had always given excellent service with total reliability. The news that Kate imparted, that she had probably aborted Susan Rawlings, was a terrible shock to him.
‘Kate, I am going to see that woman, and I want you to come too. If I only do one more thing before I retire…’
‘You’re definitely retiring?’ she asked.
‘Well, I’m seriously thinking about it!’ he said with just a hint of deviousness in his smile. ‘But before I do, I want to do my best to stop people aborting babies! It’s murder, Kate, it’s inhuman. Women talk about having control over their bodies, but it’s not their body they are destroying, it’s the body and the life of their unborn child … They should exercise more self-control, keep sex within the state of marriage, and there’d be no problems.’
‘Alex, you are old-fashioned,’ Kate smiled. ‘Look, girls have been getting pregnant before marriage right through history and nothing’s going to stop them. Abortion will be made legal. You know there are moves already to do that, and it serves no purpose prosecuting somebody like Susan Rawlings just to prove that society objects to what girls and boys do naturally. I’ll come with you to see Mrs Gillet, but I won’t condemn abortion - although I do condemn the injuries she inflicted on that poor girl.’
Later that day, Kate stood beside Alex Ferrenby as he knocked on the door of Number 15, Acacia Avenue. Mrs Gillet’s expression when she saw Ferrenby told Kate everything. Her face showed a mixture of horror and fear, and foreboding too.
‘Dr Ferrenby! Is it about Susan Rawlings?’
‘It is, Edie.’
Kate, in an attempt to ease the woman’s obviously deep concern, said, ‘She is improving, Mrs Gillet. She’s getting better and there’s no longer any concern for her life. I’m her doctor, I’m in regular contact with the hospital.’
‘You’d better come in, both of you.’
Over a cup of tea, Ferrenby said, ‘Edie, this must stop.’
Mrs Gillet opened her mouth to object, but Ferrenby stemmed her flow of words. ‘Don’t treat us as fools. I know you did that abortion, but the police can never prove it, and Susan won’t reveal your name. Without her evidence, you can’t be prosecuted. But I don’t understand your actions. After years of helping me, years of delivering babies on these moors, you’ve turned to abortion. I can’t understand that, Edie.’
Edie was silent a moment, gazing into her tea cup. ‘I lost my own daughter when a back-street abortion went wrong,’ she said eventually, I vowed I would never let other girls take that risk. I knew what I was doing, I wanted to help girls in desperate trouble.’
‘But it’s a crime, Mrs Gillet,’ said Kate. ‘Taking money for carrying out abortions …’
‘I could never take their money, I always gave it back. I saw myself doing a service, being able to help. Word gets around. I’ve done lots of them since I retired, Dr Ferrenby, got a lot of girls out of trouble, saved their lives even.’
‘Susan may never be able to have children,’ said Kate quietly. ‘You’ve punctured the uterine wall, she may be sterile, and she nearly died through loss of blood.’
‘We’re talking about my patients and Kate’s patients, Edie,’ said Alex. ‘Now, I’m almost on the point of retiring too, but I want this to stop. It’s gone too far. That is why we are here, to tell you to stop. Either you agree, or we inform the police of your activities. I’m sure, from the records in my surgery, that we could provide a dossier for the police. It would be circumstantial evidence, Edie, enough to back the circumstantial evidence of Susan’s injuries.’
Mrs Gillet was weeping quietly by this time. ‘I’ll get my bag of equipment, Dr Ferrenby. You must take it away with you. I’ll never do it again, never. I swear.’
Several days later, while Nick was out on his motorcycle working an early patrol and Kate was in the kitchen
preparing breakfast, there was a knock on the door. When Kate opened it, Susan Rawlings was standing there. Smartly dressed, she was holding three envelopes, a bottle of gin and a suitcase.
‘Oh, hello, Susan. You’re up and about early.’
‘I’m much better now, Dr Rowan. I want to thank you for all you did.’
‘I’m pleased you’re better. You’re young and you’ll make a full recovery. So what brings you here at this hour?’
‘I’m going to catch a train to stay with an aunt in Harrogate, but before I go, I want to give your husband these.’
‘Well, he’s out on an early patrol just now.’
‘Maybe you’d do it for me? In this envelope is the money I stole from Mr Greengrass, in this one the money I got from the garage and in this one the money I stole from Mr Francis’s van. I want Mr Rowan to return it all, please, and this bottle of gin is to replace the one I took from the pub.’
‘You stole all those things? But I thought it was Richard…’
‘Richard Francis had nothing to do with it, Dr Rowan, nothing to do with anything.’
‘But he had the tin, Mr Greengrass’s tin which had had his money in.’
‘Yes, it was in my satchel. I was going to throw it away but he saw it, he said it would be useful for keeping bits of his model aircraft in, and I hadn’t the heart to tell him where I’d got it from. He follows me around, you know, like a little dog. He’s a bit of a nuisance, but harmless. He never touched me, Dr Rowan, I swear.’
‘But the abortion, I thought the money would have gone on that?’
‘The lady never took anything, she said she was doing me a favour, so I want to return it all.’
‘All right, I’ll pass these to my husband. How long will you be away, Susan?’
‘I’m not coming back. Dad doesn’t know yet, it would kill him. He just thinks I’m going to my aunt’s. Well, I am, but only till I’m really fit. Chris has run me down here to the village, he’s waiting to take me to the station. Mum knows I’m leaving for good, she’ll tell Dad eventually.’
‘But why, Susan? Your parents love you, you’ve got over the worst and now it’s time to rebuild your life, to look to your future. You’re a bright girl, good at school I’m told. You go could to university.’
‘It’s not over, Doctor, it never can be while I’m here.’
‘Susan, I don’t understand.’
‘Doctors keep secrets, don’t they? If I told you something, and asked you never to tell anyone, you’d keep that secret, as a doctor?’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘And not even tell your husband?’ ‘Not even my policeman husband; he keeps his professional secrets and I keep mine.’ ‘It was Chris,’ she said, lowering her gaze. ‘Chris?’ puzzled Kate.
‘My brother, Chris. He was the father of that child,’ and tears came into Susan’s eyes. ‘My dad worships me, but never gives Chris the time of day. Yet he’s so much better than me, so much more capable.’
‘Oh, my God …’ breathed Kate.
Susan continued, ‘if only Dad would give him a chance, he could do really well. So with me out of the way, maybe Dad will appreciate Chris’s good points.’
‘But Chris … and you…’
‘Yes, I know. Awful, isn’t it? He stole those pheasants, you know, to help raise more money. He sold them all … Dad must never know, he’d kill Chris, he really would. We’ve left an envelope for Lord Ashfordly, with the money in it, anonymous.’
‘Susan, how awful!’
‘So you see, I can’t stay, can I? Chris loves me, his own sister … I must go, and never come back.’
‘Oh, Susan,’ and Kate flung her arms around the child and held her tight. ‘You are so brave.’
Susan was weeping but, wiping her eyes, she said, ‘I must leave now. The train goes soon.’
And then she was gone.
When Nick returned for his breakfast, Kate told him of Susan’s visit. He listened carefully.
‘So Richard was innocent after all?’ he said, ‘I must go and apologise to him. He was the father, though?’
‘No, I can tell you that, but I’m sworn to professional secrecy about some aspects of this case,’ said Kate.
‘I’ve just seen Susan and her brother saying goodbye at the railway station,’ said Nick. ‘They didn’t see me, they were kissing like a pair of lovers, then she rushed down to the platform in tears.’
‘Just regard the whole matter as closed, Nick,’ advised Kate.
‘There’s only one man who’s come out of this with any profit!’ said Nick. ‘And that’s Claude Jeremiah Greengrass. He was given fifty pounds by Bill Francis who still thinks Richard stole the money, and now he’s got back the actual money that Susan took. So he’s fifty quid in pocket!’
‘That’s until Bill Francis discovers the truth too,’ smiled Kate, if Claude doesn’t return the cash to him, I reckon his sausages and bacon will be a bit on the expensive side over the coming months!
‘So now that the excitement’s over, you can settle down to a quiet day just pottering around Aidensfield?’ said Kate. ‘Oh, one thing. Alex Ferrenby has invited us for dinner this evening.’
‘Well, that’s nice. What’s on the menu?’ asked Nick.
‘Pheasant!’
page 259
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Following their excellent dinner, at which the pheasant had been cooked to perfection, Alex Ferrenby took them into his comfortable lounge and offered them each a liqueur. Kate settled for a Cointreau while Nick opted for a brandy, then, with a brandy for himself, Alex threw a log on the fire and settled down with them.
‘I did invite you here for a reason.’ He spoke softly and with some emotion, ‘I’m sure you guessed that anyway, from what I let slip after dealing with Susan Rawlings so I expect you know what I’m going to say. It’s something which affects you both, but especially Kate. Kate, you more than anyone know the state of my health, you’ve seen my behaviour over recent weeks - my forgetfulness, my uncertainties, my unreliability. I know the attack on me didn’t help, nor did my experience in that train crash, but you know and I know that I would have reached this state anyway. I am growing too old, it’s as simple as that. I know that I’ve become something of a liability to this practice and so I thought I would call it a day. In other words, I’m going to retire.’
‘Alex!’ She tried to sound surprised, but in her heart of hearts she had known this was inevitable.
‘I could have soldiered on, I know,’ he continued. ‘You are far too polite to force me into making that decision. ‘I have done my work for the community and now it’s your turn.’
‘You’ve given me wonderful guidance in the time I’ve been with you,’ she smiled.
‘But you know that I’m old-fashioned, Kate. I find it more and more difficult to keep abreast of new developments, new medicines, new methods of treatment. Things are moving ahead at a very fast rate and I know I cannot keep pace. Quite simply, it’s time for me to pack it in and hand over to a younger person of my choice - to you.’
Kate’s eyes sparkled. ‘Oh, Alex, I’m so pleased for you. You’ve worked hard for the village and you really deserve a long and happy retirement. And I couldn’t be prouder about stepping into your shoes. If I need guidance, I know you’ll always be around to help me.’
Alex smiled fondly. ‘When you arrived at Aidensfield you looked so young and, well, vulnerable in a way, nothing more than a slip of a girl.’ Ferrenby’s eyes were moist, ‘I felt I could never pass on to you my years of experience on these rather inhospitable moors, and I felt you’d be unable to cope with the farmers and villagers, and the weather, and the terrain itself - but you’ve adapted so well I’m really proud of you. Your medical knowledge is sound, your attitude towards your patients is ideal, the support you get from Nick is so welcome …. well, it’s everything I could have hoped for. I’ve no hesitation in recommending that you assume responsibility for this practice. Whether you take on a partner is a matter for you to decide, of course; it’s not my job to influence you in any way.’
Nick smiled. He felt a glow of happiness at hearing those words from Alex Ferrenby. ‘Alex, thanks. I know how much you’ve meant to Kate over the past months, a shoulder to lean on, wisdom there for the asking, that sort of thing. I wish you well too.’
‘There is just one problem,’ added Ferrenby. ‘And that is the surgery. It’s in my private house, as you know, and when I retire I shall be moving to something smaller, more manageable, perhaps in Aidensfield but perhaps elsewhere, like Strensford. Since my wife died, I do find it hard coping with such a big home, even with help from my daily. But when I move away, it means I shall have to sell the house, which in turn means you will have to find other premises. I’m sorry about that - unless you and Nick bought my house, of course!’
Kate shook her head. ‘Oh, we couldn’t afford it, even on our joint pay, and besides, Nick is tied to the police house while he’s the village constable. But thanks for the advance warning. So what timescale are we thinking about, Alex?’
‘Well, I’ll have to inform the relevant authorities of my impending retirement and give due notice to various statutory bodies. So we’re thinking in terms of six months. When I give my formal notice of retirement, I’ll let you know, but I’d say that I’ll be gone before Christmas. I’ll probably finish in the autumn, Kate, October or
November. That gives you time to find a surgery and to make your own plans.’
Kate went over and kissed the old doctor on the cheek. Nick followed, shook his hand and said, ‘Oh, Alex, it is such a difficult decision to have to make. I think you have done the right thing, I really do. You deserve a long and happy retirement.’
‘I’ve been offered a cottage beside the River Esk for a few days fishing if I want to make use of it,’ he said. ‘Before I retire, I mean.’
‘I think you should accept,’ said Kate, ‘I can cope and you’re still not really fit. Why not take a nice long holiday to get properly on form before you retire? You don’t want to finish work feeling tired and unwell, do you?’
‘No, you’re right of course. I’ll have words with the owners and fix a date. And Kate, I’m so pleased you are to be my successor, it does mean a lot to me. I can end my working life confident in the knowledge that my patients will be receiving the very best of care.’
