convenient.’
‘I don’t know whose convenience we’re talking about, but Finn ought to be in familiar surroundings with people she knows and trusts.’
‘The people she knows and trusts are dead. Apart from that, she has absolutely refused to see anybody she knows. Except for Dr Daley, of course.’
‘As I’m sure you’ve been told, Rupert, that is a standard response to what she’s been through, and it’s not in itself a justification for projecting her into an entirely new environment.’
‘And we have some reason to believe that her life could be in danger.’
‘All right, we’re not arguing about that. I just wanted to give you my objective medical opinion.’ I looked down at my envelope. ‘Secondly, do you see me as playing some sort of informal part in your investigation, because if you do…’
‘Not at all, Dr Laschen,’ Baird said in a soothing tone that enraged me. ‘Quite the contrary. As you know, Miss Mackenzie has said nothing about the murders. But there’s no question of you being expected to poke around trying to stir up memories and find out clues. This would do more harm than good. Anyway, I understand that this is not your therapeutic style.’
‘That’s right.’
‘If Miss Mackenzie should wish to make a statement, she is no different from any other citizen. Just contact me and we will be glad to hear what she has to say. We in our turn may occasionally visit her here as part of our inquiries.’
‘What makes you think she’s under threat?’
Baird did a mock double take.
‘Have you seen her throat?’
‘Do murderers normally come back if they’ve failed the first time?’
‘This is an unusual case. They wanted to kill the entire family.’
‘Rupert, I’m not interested in the details of your investigation. But if you’re trusting me to look after Finn, you must trust me with any relevant information.’
‘Fair enough. Chris?’
Angeloglou, caught with a mouthful of tea, choked and spluttered.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘It’s possible that there is an animal rights connection. It’s a line of inquiry.’
‘Why would they want to kill Finn?’
‘To save little pigs from having lotions and potions administered to wounds deliberately fostered in their flesh. She is guilty by family association.’
A sudden thought occurred to me.
‘When I was at university I was part of a group of hunt saboteurs. For a bit. I was arrested and cautioned.’
‘Yes, we know.’
‘Well, how do you know she’s safe with me ?’
‘You’ve taken the Hippocratic oath, haven’t you?’
‘Doctors don’t take the Hippocratic oath any more. That’s a myth.’
‘Oh,’ said Baird, disconcerted. ‘Well, please don’t kill her, Dr Laschen. The investigation’s going slowly enough as it is.’
I looked at my envelope once more.
‘I have friends, a child, people coming to the house. What am I supposed to tell them? I’ve already told Danny – my, uh, boyfriend – who she is.’
‘It’s best to keep it simple. Complicated stories have a way of going wrong. Couldn’t she be some sort of student, staying with you? What about that?’
I was silent for a long time. I couldn’t deal with this.
‘I’m not interested in all these cloak-and-dagger games. I can’t manage it and it’s not going to be much help to Finn.’
‘That’s why we’re making it as simple as we possibly can. Dr Laschen, I know this isn’t ideal. Other arrangements would probably be worse.’
‘All right, I suppose I’ve already agreed.’
‘She could be helping you.’
‘I wish.’
‘And you don’t have to change her name much. Call her Fiona Jones. That should be easy for us all to remember.’
‘All right. But listen to me, Rupert, I reserve the right at any time to terminate this arrangement. If you don’t agree to that, you can take her away with you now. If, at any time, I feel this charade is bad for me, bad for my daughter or, for God’s sake, bad for Finn, then
‘I don’t know whose convenience we’re talking about, but Finn ought to be in familiar surroundings with people she knows and trusts.’
‘The people she knows and trusts are dead. Apart from that, she has absolutely refused to see anybody she knows. Except for Dr Daley, of course.’
‘As I’m sure you’ve been told, Rupert, that is a standard response to what she’s been through, and it’s not in itself a justification for projecting her into an entirely new environment.’
‘And we have some reason to believe that her life could be in danger.’
‘All right, we’re not arguing about that. I just wanted to give you my objective medical opinion.’ I looked down at my envelope. ‘Secondly, do you see me as playing some sort of informal part in your investigation, because if you do…’
‘Not at all, Dr Laschen,’ Baird said in a soothing tone that enraged me. ‘Quite the contrary. As you know, Miss Mackenzie has said nothing about the murders. But there’s no question of you being expected to poke around trying to stir up memories and find out clues. This would do more harm than good. Anyway, I understand that this is not your therapeutic style.’
‘That’s right.’
‘If Miss Mackenzie should wish to make a statement, she is no different from any other citizen. Just contact me and we will be glad to hear what she has to say. We in our turn may occasionally visit her here as part of our inquiries.’
‘What makes you think she’s under threat?’
Baird did a mock double take.
‘Have you seen her throat?’
‘Do murderers normally come back if they’ve failed the first time?’
‘This is an unusual case. They wanted to kill the entire family.’
‘Rupert, I’m not interested in the details of your investigation. But if you’re trusting me to look after Finn, you must trust me with any relevant information.’
‘Fair enough. Chris?’
Angeloglou, caught with a mouthful of tea, choked and spluttered.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘It’s possible that there is an animal rights connection. It’s a line of inquiry.’
‘Why would they want to kill Finn?’
‘To save little pigs from having lotions and potions administered to wounds deliberately fostered in their flesh. She is guilty by family association.’
A sudden thought occurred to me.
‘When I was at university I was part of a group of hunt saboteurs. For a bit. I was arrested and cautioned.’
‘Yes, we know.’
‘Well, how do you know she’s safe with me ?’
‘You’ve taken the Hippocratic oath, haven’t you?’
‘Doctors don’t take the Hippocratic oath any more. That’s a myth.’
‘Oh,’ said Baird, disconcerted. ‘Well, please don’t kill her, Dr Laschen. The investigation’s going slowly enough as it is.’
I looked at my envelope once more.
‘I have friends, a child, people coming to the house. What am I supposed to tell them? I’ve already told Danny – my, uh, boyfriend – who she is.’
‘It’s best to keep it simple. Complicated stories have a way of going wrong. Couldn’t she be some sort of student, staying with you? What about that?’
I was silent for a long time. I couldn’t deal with this.
‘I’m not interested in all these cloak-and-dagger games. I can’t manage it and it’s not going to be much help to Finn.’
‘That’s why we’re making it as simple as we possibly can. Dr Laschen, I know this isn’t ideal. Other arrangements would probably be worse.’
‘All right, I suppose I’ve already agreed.’
‘She could be helping you.’
‘I wish.’
‘And you don’t have to change her name much. Call her Fiona Jones. That should be easy for us all to remember.’
‘All right. But listen to me, Rupert, I reserve the right at any time to terminate this arrangement. If you don’t agree to that, you can take her away with you now. If, at any time, I feel this charade is bad for me, bad for my daughter or, for God’s sake, bad for Finn, then
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