Episode
2/12 Keep on running

Review
The poison pen letter writer is discovered, Gordon and Jill make their announcement and the mystery girl is found.

Cast list
Anna Madely, Paul Fox, John Axon, Michael Starke, Andy Wear, Robert Daws, Amy Robbins, Ian Carmichael and Polly Maberly

It's the start of a new day in Elsinby, Samantha yawns, she's been on night duty and is looking forward to going to bed. She has another hour yet to go, so she goes down to the staff kitchen to make some coffee. To her surprise Jeff was there making coffee.

"What are you doing here doctor?" Samantha asked smiling, "I didn't think doctors worked this early in the morning."

"We don't, or at least we try not to. One of my patients got worse and I got called in. There's not much point in going home so coffee and lot's of it is the order of the day." Jeff replied tiredly

"I just came down to have some myself, nightshift," Jeff grimaced, when he'd worked in Newcastle he'd had to work nightshifts, they were something you avoided if at all possible. "It's unfair I'm nearly always on nightshift, that's why we haven't been able to go out."

"Yeah," Jeff muttered non-commitedly,

"I'll see if I can switch Saturday night, there's a new film on and I was wondering if you'd like to see it." Samantha asked, Jeff hesitated slightly.

"I've got plans, some other time perhaps." Samantha nodded, she was disappointed, but well it wasn't his fault, she probably wouldn't have been able to switch shifts anyway.

At a more reasonable hour in the morning the health and safety investigator arrived, he was shown everything there was to see by Ken with Mr Harper as a shadow. He said nothing until they got into Mr Harper's office, then the questioning started.

"Dead animals in the drains. How did they get there?" Mr Harper opened his mouth to speak but Ken got there first

"We don't know sir." Ken denied, the investigator nodded

"You sent a sample to the lab I presume?"

"Yes we did, the results should be due back any moment sir." Mr Harper was now looking at Ken with something akin to respect, it would have paid Mr Harper thought to remember Ken fought in the war. He knew how the game was played. Just then a knock came at the door, it was Alun he had the results. If the results showed that the animals had died from something poisonous there would be a problem. If it showed that they died of something along the lines of natural causes then the hospital would get a slap on the wrist for allowing them to get in their drains and told to never let it happen again. Alun quickly left, he hated these tense moments. The investigator took the envelope and slit it open, he read it through twice before telling ken and Mr Harper what it said.

"It appears you have been very lucky, these animals died naturally or as naturally as most. I want better security on those drains, dead animals are a health hazard in themselves." The investigator then left without shaking hands which enraged Mr Harper, Ken thought they had been lucky. There had been that incident with anthrax not that long ago, if that had been it then they would have been finished for sure.

There was a rather uncomfortable silence in the room.

"Who would have thought it? I didn't think it . . . are you sure?" Gordon asked shaking his head in disbelief.

"There's no doubt about it," DI Shiner confirmed "The newspapers that she'd cut up were found in her flat, as were handwritten drafts of the letters received. We also have a full confession." Jill had been silent do far, but she had to know, she had to ask.

"How did she know about the letter?"

""She . . ." Gordon cut DI Shiner off

"I told her, it seems so obvious looking back, who else knew about it? I was trying to help her, her fionsae had been hurt in the cliff collapse, they'd had an argument, she didn't want to marry him, but she couldn't face up to telling him or anyone else, so she was going to kill herself. I just told her anything I could think of to, to get her to come with me."

"It wasn't your fault, don't blame yourself, you tried to help her, she's obviously ill." comforted Jill.

DI Shiner clearly uncomfortable cleared his throat, "Well you won't be hearing anymore from Helen Winters, one way or another." he then stood up to leave, Gordon stood up to and they shook hands.

"Thanks, for everything you've done." Gordon said sincerely,

"No problem doctor, it's my job. Professional courtesy, if I ever need a doc I'll come see you then our roles might be reversed." DI Shiner smiled then left. Jill sighed a sigh of relief, the writer of the poison pen letters had been on her mind for weeks, now finally the case was solved.

"Thank god," Jill muttered, Gordon looked at her and smiled, he then hugged her, he too was glad that it was finally over.

"It's all over. we can now get on with our lives, together."

A little later on a hiker passed Brooker's point, he paused for a moment mesmerised by the view completely unaware he was being watched. He looked at his watch, it would be lunchtime in about an hour, he decided to stop there for a while, the view was simply, well they didn't get any better. He sat down and got out his flask, it was still hot from 8 o' clock this morning, amazing well that was technology for you.

He sat sipping in quiet contemplation for a while, in the bushes someone was wishing he would go away, but he didn't. Instead he got out a parcel of sandwiches making the person lick their lips hungrily, they hadn't eaten for nearly three days now, they shifted uncomfortably, suddenly the sharp report of a twig cracking cut through the air, the hiker jumped and looked all around him, the person in the bushes winced and withdrew even further into the bush, that might well have been their undoing for the hiker spotted the bush shaking and in a moment of rash bravery decided to investigate.

He poked at the bush cursing because it was a spiky one, suddenly behind the hidden person came a pheasant, it totally ignored them and came strutting out of the bush, the hiker then went back to his sandwiches muttering under his breath such profanity that had a vicar been around he would have probably fainted.

Inside the bush, the person sighed a sigh of relief, they were badly scratched but they hadn't been discovered and that was the main thing. Still watching the hiker and being careful in their movements they settled down more comfortably, they hadn't slept in three days either, that was their real undoing for however wary they were the were dog tired and soon fell asleep. Two hours later the hiker decided to leave, he packed his things up being careful not to leave any litter anywhere, he got about half a mile down the road when the screaming started.

Gordon and Jill for sometime had been debating how to tell their friends and colleagues that they were getting married, but the time they had agreed on had now come. Mr Middleditch led the customary Saturday afternoon briefing, when he asked if there was any other business. Gordon and Jill exchanged glances, now was as good a time as any, everyone was here, yeah now was good.

"Jill and I have something to announce." Gordon said licking his suddenly dry lips nervously, suddenly everyone had looked at him and he started to wish he hadn't said anything, but he'd started now, there was going back. "Jill and I are going to be married." Both Gordon and Jill held their breath, both thinking that if Henry had excepted them this lot should, their fears were groundless as smiles erupted, suddenly everyone wanted to shake their hands and congratulate them. Everything was fine, everything had turned out ok.

The hiker whose name was Chris Lake, had been suspicious before he'd heard the screaming, but on hearing the screaming he'd called the police. Sergeant Merton had come with Steve and had taken a statement, he'd then gone and poked around in the bushes at Brookers point, the person had been awake a while by then though and hadn't been idle, they'd moved half a klick down the road and found another dense bush in which to hide in. Sergeant Merton having found nothing didn't quite no what to do next, he thanked Chris Lake for his good citizen act and then went back to the station where for the lack of a better idea he called the royal and told them what had happened.

Most of the hospital staff that weren't on duty had left by then, including Lizzie, so when the phone rang Lucy who had been passing on her way out picked it up. Lucy wasn't stupid, screaming in the woods, near Brooker's point. Alarm bells went off in her head, people screamed for all sorts of reasons, nightmares one of them, that girl was still missing from here and Brooker's Point was notorious for it's suicides. Lucy knew what she had to do, she picked the phone back up and dialled Gordon's home number, she didn't want to have to disturb him but he was the doctor on call and she needed the backup.

"Omerod," Gordon answered, he had just sat down to begin his lunch when the phone rang, he had to answer it as he was on call, but all the same it annoyed him.

"Gordon, it's Lucy." Lucy hesitated, "The police just called, something odd just happened at Brooker's point, I think it might be that girl that ran away. I'm going to go up there and to be honest I need the backup." Gordon groaned to himself, he had to go, he wanted to go, just not now.

"I'll meet you there." Gordon replied, he hung up and went to tell Jill to put his lunch in the oven to stay warm.

10 minutes later as promised Gordon pulled up to Brooker's point, Lucy was just in front of him, looking towards the cliffs edge he could see a small figure teetering on the edge, they'd found their AWOL patient. Slowly they approached her, when they were 10 feet away the girl turned to face them.

"Stay back," she told them "This is nothing to do with you, it's not your problem, so just leave me be."

"It is our problem," Lucy began, first thing first was to get her away from the edge, talk her down "It became my problem when you became my patient, this isn't the answer, talk to me, let me help you." while she had been talking Lucy had been slowly edging towards the girl, but she'd been noticed.

"Oh no you don't, get back, get back. This is the only way." the girl then turned back to look down the cliff, Lucy knew she didn't have long but this kid wasn't listening to her, she had to try again.

"Tell me your name?" Gordon asked, he'd looked on while Lucy had tried and got rebuffed, this kid was smart, she probably knew the procedure they used to 'talk someone down', so he had to try something different. The girl hesitated, but she couldn't come up with a reason why not to tell him.

"Charlie."

"Charlie huh, did you remember that the night you had that nightmare, or did you always know it." once again the girl hesitated and once again couldn't find a reason not to answer.

"I remembered that night, everything came flooding back." Gordon nodded

"Is that why you ran or was it because you didn't want to be sectioned."

"Well, a bit of both I guess. No-one would want to be sectioned, have a load of shrinks on your case all the time but yeah I remembered and I had to get out." this time Charlie answered straight off Gordon noticed, that meant she was now felt secure in talking to him, he could now try and get her away from the edge. He moved towards her and she didn't seem to notice, soon he was right in front of her.

"What's so terrible that you can't face it?" Gordon said quietly ready to catch her if she tried to jump now, but he needn't have worried he could see it in her eyes, she needed to talk, she needed to stop the torment of what she and she alone was carrying, she didn't want to die she just wanted it to end.

"Ever watched someone die?" Charlie muttered "Someone close to you, someone who you loved, and die in the very worst way."

"Yes, my wife. She was in a bus crash and was in a coma for four months, she died eventually of a heart attack." Gordon replied, he found to his surprise that the words contained no pain for him any longer, he'd finally moved on.

"That isn't nice, but it wasn't what I meant. I meant the worst way, the very worst way, what gets me is that I can do nothing and everything about it."

"What are you saying?" Gordon suddenly got a shiver up his spine, he didn't know what this girl was saying and he didn't want to know. He'd pushed his luck too far now, Charlie didn't want to talk again, but he knew he'd done the trick.

"Come away from the edge now, you don't really want to end it all do you?" Charlie looked at him and then nodded silently then turned and walked away. Lucy smiled, she didn't mind that she hadn't got her away from the edge, she was just pleased that Charlie had come away. Gordon's shoulders sagged, he could never have been a doctor like Lucy, the stress involved and knowing at any minute you could lose them was just too much.