In The Grove, near Alton, Hants
Mary Malone is beginning to feel uneasy. The ambulance journey has taken a long time – over twenty minutes already – and surely it should have reached the hospital by now? She is just about to ask the driver how much longer it will be before they arrive, when the ambulance leaves the main road and stops outside a set of wrought-iron gates. The driver speaks into his radio, and the gates open.
They proceed up a long gravel drive which leads to the front of a large house. The ambulance does not stop there, but follows the drive round to the back of the building. Efficient-looking white-coated personnel open the rear doors of the ambulance, gently lift Elaine Parry onto a trolley, and wheel her in. Mary picks up her bag and follows her.
Mrs Parry is whisked away down a gleaming tiled corridor and into a private room. Its door is closed to Mary, who looks around for someone to speak to. She does not have to look long. A business-like young woman in a blue coat strides briskly up to her.
'Are you Mary Malone? The lady who called the ambulance?'
'Yes, I am. Is there somewhere I can sit while Mrs Parry is looked after? A waiting room, or something?'
'Oh, we can do better than that. We have a room ready for you, if you would like to follow me.' The young woman leads her down the corridor and into a side passage. She opens a door.
'Here you are. Settle in, and give us a call when you're ready. Doctor James would like to have a chat with you.'
Mary enters the room. It is not particularly large, but it makes up for this in the quality of its furnishings, which are rich and elaborate. A tray, with a pot of freshly made tea, cups and milk, is waiting for her on the table. She uses the bathroom and notices that there are expensive soaps and toiletries on the shelf under the mirror, and that the bathtub and hand basin appear to be made of solid marble. She has a cup of tea. It is delicious and refreshing. This is like no hospital she has ever been in before.
Full of curiosity, she picks up the telephone to call the front desk.
'Hello, this is Mary Malone.'
'Oh yes,' says the disembodied voice at the other end of the line. 'Someone will be with you in a moment.' Mary prepares herself for a long wait, but it is only thirty seconds before there is a discreet knock on the door.
It is another young woman, who leads her into what she presumes is the entrance hall of the house. It is spacious and grand, wood-panelled, with chesterfield sofas and coffee tables, and a crackling fire. There are a number of people there, all wearing identical white towelling dressing-gowns. Mary is sure that she recognises one of them from somewhere, an exquisite young man with blond hair and distinctive cheekbones.
'Please take a seat. Doctor James will be with you in a moment.' The young woman gestures towards one of the sofas. Mary sits and waits. Again, she does not have to wait very long.
Doctor James walks up to her. He is middle-aged, grey-haired and smiling. He extends a hand to Mary.
'Good evening, Doctor Malone. Let's go into my office, shall we?'
They pass through a thick mahogany door into a room, which is equipped with a large desk and two comfortable armchairs. The walls are lined with medical textbooks and there is a personal computer in the corner. The carpet is soft and deep, the lighting subtle and free from glare. Doctor James offers Mary a seat and waits until she is settled before sitting down himself behind the desk.
'First indications,' he begins, 'are that Mrs Parry is going to be all right. She is undernourished and she will need a certain amount of TLC, but I have absolutely no worries about her. No worries at all.' He smiles again.
'Doctor Malone. You called me Doctor Malone out there. How did you know I was a doctor? I haven't told you that.'
'Doctor Malone, we know a great many things about you. For example; that you have a PhD in physics.'
Mary looks around the room. It is a beautifully furnished trap, and it has caught her.
'Let me tell you a little about this place.' Doctor James sits back in his chair, hands clasped behind his head, perfectly at ease. 'It was built in the mid-eighteenth century by the Wadworth family, whose country seat it was for nearly two hundred years. Following the Second World War, and the introduction of crippling death duties by the incoming Labour government, it was sold and became a private school. The school did well for a few years, and then badly for many more until it was, in its turn, sold to its present owners, who converted it to a hospital.
'Doctor Malone, The Grove caters for a very particular clientele. Our residents are wealthy, or well-connected, or both. They have health problems which need to be attended to in a discreet manner.'
Mary nods. Now she remembers the film in which she saw the fair-haired young man with the chiselled features.
'Security and discretion are our watchwords. We permit no unauthorised access to our grounds. All our perimeters are closely watched at all times, by closed-circuit television and regular dog patrols. I am sure you understand.' Mary understands completely.
There is a knock on the door, and the blue-coated young woman enters. She whispers in Doctor James' ear. He flushes darkly, and hisses instructions to her. She steps behind Mary's chair, throws her left arm around Mary's neck and pulls her head back until the vertebrae crack. Mary cries out aloud in pain.
'Doctor Malone, please forgive me. I hope we shall not incommode you for very long. In your baggage you had the pieces of an article that was not your property. We have taken them back.'
The Knife!
'Unfortunately, we do not seem to be able to find all the pieces of this article. One important section is missing. This young lady will now allow you to tell me where it is.' The woman relaxes her hold on Mary a little.
Mary is genuinely surprised. She had not checked that all the shards of the Knife were in the package.
'I don't know! Honestly, I never looked!'
Doctor James nods. The young woman pulls Mary's head back again. She screams.
'Doctor Malone, you are only a few millimetres away from total paralysis. If you do not answer my questions truthfully, you will leave my office on a stretcher; a quadriplegic.' He leans forward over the desk. 'Now – where is the rest of the Knife?'
Again, the young woman relaxes her grip a fraction.
'I don't know! I really, really don't know!' Doctor James looks closely at Mary's face. He gestures to the young woman, who releases Mary and continues to stand behind her.
'For now, Doctor Malone, I am inclined to believe you. We will continue to detain you and Mrs Parry, however. It may be that we will need to return to this line of questioning. You might like to consider that we could also bring Mrs Parry in here to assist you with your answers.'
Mary Malone stares at Doctor James. 'You bastard. You utter fucking bastard.'
'That is enough. You may return to your room now.'
Mary is escorted out of the office by the efficient blue-coated young woman. Doctor James picks up the phone and dials a London number.