Chameleon by Ken McClure Read Free Book Online

months.'
    Jamieson smiled. He was pleased to have found someone outside of the hospital hierarchy to talk to. 'You must be very much involved in the investigation of the infection problem then?' he asked.
    Evans nodded. 'We're doing everything we can but we're not having any success and we're getting the blame for not finding out the cause.'
    'Any ideas of your own?' asked Jamieson.
    'It's a complete mystery,' said Evans. 'All the swabs we've taken from the surgical wards and theatres - and we've done hundreds - have been negative but Mr Thelwell won't accept this. He thinks we are incompetent and doesn't try to hide it.'
    'And what do you think?'
    'Dr Richardson is one of the best.'
    'And Mr Thelwell?'
    'It's not for me to pass comment on a surgeon, not my field I'm afraid.'
    Jamieson nodded, pleased at the loyalty and common sense of his visitor.
    'When do you think you will be up and about then?' asked Evans.
    'Tomorrow,' said Jamieson firmly. 'I'll get the dressings changed in the morning and then I'll get started.'
    'Then I'll probably be seeing you tomorrow,' said Evans. He held out his hand to shake Jamieson's and suddenly realised that it still might not be a very good idea. Both men laughed and Jamieson noticed that Evans had what looked like a red burn mark on the back of his right wrist. 'You must have got that from the heater in the bathroom,' he said with concern.'
    'It's nothing,' Evans assured him, pulling down his sleeve and getting up from the chair.
    'But you should have it seen to,' insisted Jamieson. 'Burns get infected so easily. You must ask one of the nurses to dress it properly.
    'Really, it's nothing to worry about,' Evans assured him. It hardly broke the skin.'
    Jamieson looked at him doubtfully and said, 'I'm very grateful to you for your help.'
    'Don't mention it,' said Evans. 'I'd best be going. I'm on call tonight.'
    As the door closed behind Evans, Jamieson lay back on the pillow and looked at his bandaged hands. He reflected on the day. 'What a start,' he murmured. 'What a bloody awful start.'

THREE
     
     
     
    Outside in the courtyard between the block where Jamieson was sleeping and the old stone building that housed the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department the rain continued to fall. Sally Jenkins heard it pattering down on the cobble stones. She had been unable to get to sleep for the pain in her stomach. 'Perfectly natural after any operation, the nurse had assured her. They would give her a pill and she would feel much better in the morning.
    Keith, her husband had been equally reassuring. He had spoken to Mr Thelwell and everything had gone well in theatre. The surgeon had located a blockage in her fallopian tubes that had been preventing her from falling pregnant. The big fear that her tubes might have been too damaged to be repaired had been shown to be groundless. Mr Thelwell had successfully cleared away the obstruction and now there was no reason why she should not have children.
    She would have a son for Keith, a boy he could take fishing on the canal on Saturdays while she and their daughter - yes she would like a daughter too - while she and Alice would have a nice day at home. They would call her Alice after Keith's mother. Keith's mother would like that. There had always been a frostiness between them, nothing serious, but Sally knew that old Alice blamed her for the fact that she still did not have any grand children after five years of marriage.
    Alice would have preferred Keith to have married Stella Gorman, the girl he had been going out with when Sally had first met him. Stella Gorman's father owned a garage business in Trafalgar Street and Alice had already started to pencil in plans for Keith's future when it had all gone wrong for her. As it turned out, Keith had married her and as her father did not own a garage business, or any other kind for that matter, Keith was consequently still working as a mechanic in the council bus depot.
     
    Sally managed a smile in the