my last partner left two years ago. We haven’t had a single response.’
‘So you’re it.’
‘I’m it.’
‘Hell.’
‘It’s not so bad.’ She ran a hand over the smooth silkiness of her braid and sighed as she looked down at Charlie. ‘Except sometimes. Except now. I’m so glad you were here—so I know that there was nothing else that could have been done to save my friend.’
‘I can see that.’ He, too, looked down at Charlie’s limp body. ‘Damn.’
‘It was time for him to die,’ she said softly.
‘Like it’s time for you to go to sleep.’
‘Nope.’ Another weary sigh. Then Em pulled herself together, and her usually laughing eyes managed a smile. ‘There’s no rest for the wicked, Dr Lunn,’ she told him. ‘Or should that be Mr Lunn?’
‘Make that Jonas.’
Jonas…
It sounded nice, she thought. Right. ‘OK, Jonas,’ she agreed. The undertaker was pulling up outside. ‘Let’s say our goodbyes to Charlie and then I’ll get on with my morning’s work.’
‘You heard what I said,’ he growled. ‘You see my sister, and then I’ll take over until you’ve had a rest.’
The temptation was almost overwhelming. She had two patients in hospital who she really should be with now. If she left Dr Lunn—Jonas—with the surgery, she could see them, have breakfast-cum-lunch and maybe even have a nap before afternoon clinic.
‘Do it,’ he said, and she could hardly resist. Heavens!
But to hand over her work to a stranger was totally irresponsible.
‘I’m fully qualified,’ he told her, sensing her last qualm. ‘A quick phone call to Sydney Central will confirm it. I promise.’
She believed him and it was good to resist any further. ‘It sounds wonderful,’ she admitted. ‘You’re on. But, first, let’s see your sister.’
‘She won’t tell me what the trouble is, but she’s scared stiff.’
Half an hour later Em was back by her desk. What had happened seemed unreal. But before her sat Anna Lunn, pale-faced and silent. Gripping her hand, as if willing strength into her, Jonas looked almost as grim.
‘I don’t know what’s going on, Dr Mainwaring,’ he told Em, and she cast him a quick glance. He’d turned formal. It was a good idea. This had to be purely professional.
‘Anna doesn’t let me close. She and I went our different ways early, and she’s never let me help her, even though bringing up her kids on her own must be a nightmare. But now… I came down to see her a couple of weeks ago, and something’s scaring her. She won’t tell me what. But I know her well enough to realise it’s something bad. I’ve been badgering her by phone from Sydney ever since. Finally I’ve made her to agree to come and see you.’
‘Anna?’ Em turned her full attention onto the woman before her.
Like her brother, Anna was a vivid redhead, but there the resemblance ended. Younger than her brother, she actually looked much older than him. Her short red curls were a bit uneven, as if they’d been cut at home, her green eyes were shadowed and she seemed…defeated.
In fact, she looked as if the world had dealt her some really hard knocks, and with this one she was about to topple over.
‘Y-yes?’ Her voice was barely a whisper, but Em could hear the fear.
‘Would you like your brother to leave so you can tell me what’s wrong in private?’ Em cast a warning glance at Jonas. Having brought her this far, he must understand he had to be prepared to back off.
But he knew. ‘I’ll go if you like,’ he offered, and half rose, but Anna’s hand came out and caught him. ‘No.’
Jonas sank again. ‘Then tell us what’s wrong, Anna,’ he said softly. ‘We’re with you all the way. Both of us are. But you have to tell us what’s happening.’
Anna took a deep breath. She raised her face to Em’s and her eyes were like those of a rabbit caught in headlights—terrified beyond belief.
‘Tell us, Anna,’ Em said gently, and the girl shuddered.
‘I don’t…I don’t know if I can face it. My kids…’
‘Just tell us.’
‘There’s a lump in my breast. I think I have breast cancer.’
There was, indeed, a lump in Anna’s breast. It was as big as a pea and close to the nipple, and it moved a little as Em gently palpated it.
‘How long have you been able to feel it?’ Em asked, carefully examining the rest of the breast. There was nothing else—just the one tiny, single lump.
‘F-four weeks.’
‘Is that all? That’s great,’ Em said warmly. She had Anna on the examination couch behind the screen. Jonas stayed out of the way, but he was still within earshot. ‘It’s very small and you’ve come early.’
‘Early?’
‘Some women worry about a lump like this for a year or more without having it checked,’ Em told her. ‘You have no idea the kind of trouble that can cause. But you’ve come quickly. And this is small. It’s less than a centimetre across, I’d think,’ she added for the benefit of the listening Jonas.
But Anna was trembling under her hands, afraid to meet her eyes. ‘So it is cancer?’
‘It might well be a small breast cancer,’ Em admitted. There was no use giving false reassurance when the most important thing was to get Anna to agree to have the necessary tests. ‘But there’s also a very good chance it’s just a harmless cyst. Cysts in breasts are common—much more common than cancer—and they feel very similar. It needs a biopsy to tell the difference.’
‘So…’ The girl’s eyes flew to hers, hope flaring. ‘This may well be just a waste of time. If it’s just a cyst, I can go home and forget it.’
‘Yes, but you can’t go home and forget it yet,’ Em told her. ‘Because you may be right in your first guess. Your age means that you’re in a low-risk group for breast cancer, but we have to exclude that possibility.’
‘But I don’t want to know.’ Anna put her hand to her mouth as if to stifle a sob. ‘If it is…cancer…then I want to be as normal as I can for as long as I can. I have three kids. I want to be there for them. Jonas made me come, but if it’s cancer then it’s better not to know.’
‘Well, that’s exactly where you’re wrong.’ Em handed Anna back her blouse—and a tissue—and waited until she was decent. Then she pushed back the screen so Jonas could join in the conversation. ‘It’s far, far better to know.’
‘Why? So you can cut off my breast?’
‘That hardly ever happens any more,’ Jonas growled. Unable to restrain himself, he rose and moved to give his sister a hug. ‘For heaven’s sake…Stoopid. Why didn’t you tell me? I could have eased your fears.’
‘By agreeing I may have cancer?’ She was looking wildly from one to another. She was very close to the edge, Em thought, and knew this visit was the culmination of weeks without sleeping. ‘No one’s easing my fears now.’
‘I can do that,’ Em said gently, but there was a note of iron in her voice. What Anna didn’t need was false sympathy or reassurance. She needed facts. ‘Sit down, Anna.’
And Anna sat, still looking like a hunted animal. She was like a tigress defending her cubs, Em thought, and suddenly realised that the comparison was appropriate. Anna wasn’t