The alarm clock ringing permeated Jill's dreams and quite violently startled her into consciousness. She rolled over and slammed her hand down, cutting off the insufferable noise, and knocking the clock off the bedside cabinet and onto the carpet.
She heaved herself out of the bed and placed her feet on the floor, avoiding the clock. She rubbed a hand across her face, trying to wake herself up. She was sure she felt more tired than she had when she'd gone to bed. Her sleep had been fitful; short snatches of sleep interspersed between long, seemingly endless periods of tossing and turning, whilst her mind worked overtime.
She'd avoided Gordon for the rest of the previous day. If they were in reception at the same time or passed each other in the corridor, she averted her gaze, not daring to see what she was sure would be a hurt, angry and perhaps even disgusted expression.
She was disgusted and ashamed at herself; she couldn't believe she'd stooped so low as to try and use Lizzie as an escape by suggesting it was her fault. And what was worse, it was obvious Gordon was disgusted at her, judging by his response to her.
The letter box rattled as post was pushed through, landing with a soft thud on the burgundy welcome mat. She made her way with heavy footfalls down the stairs. She picked them up and flicked through them. The first two were bills. She tore open the third one and her heart sank. On the middle of the A4 sheet, the black ink stark and solitary on the otherwise crisp white background, was only one sentence; 'Silence is golden'. She sighed and folded it again and slotted it into the envelope, it, like all the others providing no clues as to its origins. By now, she had made her way into the kitchen, and she placed it on the counter top by the sink, along with the bills, before proceeding to open the final envelope.
She scanned over the words, then read them slowly, and then again. She'd thought that after all the letters of threats, nothing that came through her letterbox could ever surprise her again, but this did, in a different way than all the others had, perhaps, but it was still totally unexpected. She frowned in confusion and checked the envelope for anything else, any explanation, but there wasn't one. She couldn't understand it.
She glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed in resignation, the air fluttering the edges of the paper. She placed it open on the counter top beside the others, and left the room to get ready for work.
"Dr Weatherill!"
Jill stopped on her route through reception, sighed and turned to see Lizzie looking at her urgently, and she knew what was coming next. Seems her hopes for an escape outside for a quiet lunch alone to reflect on the past few days and to try and figure out a way to explain to Gordon without actually revealing the threats and attacks, were sidelined.
"There's been an emergency on the moors near Elsinby Road. Young girl's fallen down an old mineshaft. Frankie's waiting with the ambulance.
Jill dashed to her office, swapped her lunch box with her doctors' bag, passed back through reception in a blur and through the white double doors to the outside. She ran round the side of the red brick building and leapt into the awaiting ambulance, seated beside Steve, one of the drivers.
No sooner had she slammed the door closed, then Frankie pulled away, speeding up down the streets, the bell ringing, clearing a route for them to weave through the traffic.
She sat with her bag in her lap, in full doctor mode, mentally preparing herself for what they were about to attend. It sounded bad, very bad. Not only would the child's sustained injuries likely be severe, but it could also be tricky getting down to her and bringing her back up.
It was about fifteen minutes before the ambulance reached the destination. An obviously distressed woman stood in the middle of the road, waving her arms frantically for them to stop. Frankie pressed on the breaks and as soon as the vehicle came to a standstill, Jill jumped out, closely followed by the two drivers.
Before Jill could utter a word, the woman ran off the road and into the heather, and all Jill could do was follow. Quite suddenly, the woman halted and just stood, pointing to an area in front of her. The heather continued for a few feet until it just disappeared into blackness. Plants lined the edge of the hole on top of soil, the roots clearly visible where the area of ground had been torn away to fall into the mine shaft below. "Okay," Jill said taking charge, and spoke to the woman in a brisk and firm yet soft tone. "Can you tell me what happened?"
The woman let out a strangled sob, then the words poured quickly out of her mouth. "It's my daughter, Julia. She was just running and playing and then, then she disappeared, the whole ground just fell! Please save her doctor! You've got to save her!" The woman had turned to Jill and was clinging to her coat, her face and actions showing her desperation, and her total dependence upon Jill, Frankie and Steve. They were her last hope and only they would be able to save her daughter.
Jill laid what she hoped was a comforting hand on her arm and looked past her towards hole, too dark to distinguish any component of it from another, the surround of purple flowers of the heather only serving to make it appear darker, more precarious.
"We'll do all we can."
