to talk to him urgently?”
“You’ll have to work out something: Dr Callan , can we discuss this patient a moment , please ?”
Marcus said, “And you’ll both have your mobiles.”
They tossed the logistics around for a while longer, then Marcus took them out to lunch.
The restaurant was crowded but he’d reserved a table, so they were served quite quickly. Jo and Marcus had fish while Tom and Fraser had rack of lamb and Fraser found himself wondering why this was exactly what he’d have expected them to choose. His lamb was excellent. Jo asked him about Helen and the other staff she’d be likely to meet and he did his best to give her a balanced view.
As soon as they’d finished, Jo got up to go, saying she had a train to catch. Fraser would have liked to have gone with her, but Tom had said he wanted him to come back to his office with him, so he couldn’t.
They left not long afterwards.
“So d’you think you can work with Jo?” Tom asked him as they walked back along the wide pavement with its rustling Plane trees.
“Sure. D’you think she can work with me?”
Tom said softly, “I think you’ll find she can.”
In his office (which was a lot more basic than Marcus’) Tom rummaged in a drawer and handed him a set of keys, both mortise and yale.
“Skeleton keys?” he asked in surprise.
“We call them universal keys. You never know when they’re going to come in handy, so keep them on you.”
He showed him how to use them and gave him a pencil torch to go with them.
“Doesn’t Jo get to get the toys as well?” Fraser asked.
“She’s still got hers from last time. I forgot to ask for them back. Remiss of me.” He showed him out.
In the train back to Bristol, Fraser wasn’t feeling anything like so confident as he’d tried to make out – it was obvious the others were all used to working together and he felt completely out of his depth … think ten grand , he told himself.
*
On the ward round on Monday, he spotted a patient that seemed to fit Tom’s “at risk” category: Rose Parker, 75, who had breast cancer with secondaries. She was a retired teacher and probably only had a few months to live, but the look in her eye suggested she was going to make a fight of it. She’d come in for pain and vomiting control and Edwina had put her on Morphine and Domperidone.
Jo, meanwhile, had arrived for her interview.
“Do sit down, Miss Farewell,” Helen said when they got to her office. “Good journey?”
“Fine, thanks.” Actually, with two changes, it had been a bit of a pain.
“Would you like some coffee now, or shall we look round first?”
“I’d love to look round,” said Jo, taking the hint - besides, she’d had coffee on the train.
Like Fraser two months earlier, she couldn’t help but be impressed by the bright pastel colours, the cleanliness, calmness and efficiency that pervaded the place – surely, nobody could deliberately kill anyone here?
She asked what she hoped were intelligent questions and made what she hoped were pertinent comments before arriving back at Helen’s office half an hour later.
“To tell you the truth, Miss Farewell,” Helen said over coffee, “I can’t help being a little surprised that someone with your qualifications and experience should be interested, I’m sure you could’ve found a sister’s post in the area if you’d waited.” She raised her eyebrows quizzically.
“As a matter of fact,” Jo said easily, “There’s one advertised in your ENT department at the moment.”
“Exactly. I’d have thought with your forthcoming marriage the extra money would’ve been useful.”
Jo was ready for this. “I am right in thinking Dr Philip Armitage is the consultant here, aren’t I?”
“Yes?”
Jo explained how she’d been thinking about a change of direction and had been very impressed by an article of his in Community Medicine … “ So when I saw your advert after Mark telling me about this new job here, I
“You’ll have to work out something: Dr Callan , can we discuss this patient a moment , please ?”
Marcus said, “And you’ll both have your mobiles.”
They tossed the logistics around for a while longer, then Marcus took them out to lunch.
The restaurant was crowded but he’d reserved a table, so they were served quite quickly. Jo and Marcus had fish while Tom and Fraser had rack of lamb and Fraser found himself wondering why this was exactly what he’d have expected them to choose. His lamb was excellent. Jo asked him about Helen and the other staff she’d be likely to meet and he did his best to give her a balanced view.
As soon as they’d finished, Jo got up to go, saying she had a train to catch. Fraser would have liked to have gone with her, but Tom had said he wanted him to come back to his office with him, so he couldn’t.
They left not long afterwards.
“So d’you think you can work with Jo?” Tom asked him as they walked back along the wide pavement with its rustling Plane trees.
“Sure. D’you think she can work with me?”
Tom said softly, “I think you’ll find she can.”
In his office (which was a lot more basic than Marcus’) Tom rummaged in a drawer and handed him a set of keys, both mortise and yale.
“Skeleton keys?” he asked in surprise.
“We call them universal keys. You never know when they’re going to come in handy, so keep them on you.”
He showed him how to use them and gave him a pencil torch to go with them.
“Doesn’t Jo get to get the toys as well?” Fraser asked.
“She’s still got hers from last time. I forgot to ask for them back. Remiss of me.” He showed him out.
In the train back to Bristol, Fraser wasn’t feeling anything like so confident as he’d tried to make out – it was obvious the others were all used to working together and he felt completely out of his depth … think ten grand , he told himself.
*
On the ward round on Monday, he spotted a patient that seemed to fit Tom’s “at risk” category: Rose Parker, 75, who had breast cancer with secondaries. She was a retired teacher and probably only had a few months to live, but the look in her eye suggested she was going to make a fight of it. She’d come in for pain and vomiting control and Edwina had put her on Morphine and Domperidone.
Jo, meanwhile, had arrived for her interview.
“Do sit down, Miss Farewell,” Helen said when they got to her office. “Good journey?”
“Fine, thanks.” Actually, with two changes, it had been a bit of a pain.
“Would you like some coffee now, or shall we look round first?”
“I’d love to look round,” said Jo, taking the hint - besides, she’d had coffee on the train.
Like Fraser two months earlier, she couldn’t help but be impressed by the bright pastel colours, the cleanliness, calmness and efficiency that pervaded the place – surely, nobody could deliberately kill anyone here?
She asked what she hoped were intelligent questions and made what she hoped were pertinent comments before arriving back at Helen’s office half an hour later.
“To tell you the truth, Miss Farewell,” Helen said over coffee, “I can’t help being a little surprised that someone with your qualifications and experience should be interested, I’m sure you could’ve found a sister’s post in the area if you’d waited.” She raised her eyebrows quizzically.
“As a matter of fact,” Jo said easily, “There’s one advertised in your ENT department at the moment.”
“Exactly. I’d have thought with your forthcoming marriage the extra money would’ve been useful.”
Jo was ready for this. “I am right in thinking Dr Philip Armitage is the consultant here, aren’t I?”
“Yes?”
Jo explained how she’d been thinking about a change of direction and had been very impressed by an article of his in Community Medicine … “ So when I saw your advert after Mark telling me about this new job here, I
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