“So, with all our suspects on duty tonight, let’s hope for all our sakes we get a result.” The chief issued his command to Bella.

With an end possibly in sight, Bella could feel her newly acquired confidence diminishing rapidly. Her mind was whirring as she made her way to work, going over and over her own mental notes, checking and rechecking her theory just to be sure she was right. As much as she would have loved to dwell on the thought of seeing Heath at work later, tonight was just too big for any diversions, no matter how appealing. But she allowed herself one tiny luxurious glimpse, one grateful sigh that hopefully soon this would all be over, that soon she’d be able to tell Heath the whole truth, and hopefully he’d understand about her police work—understand why she’d had to go undercover. Then she could really start life over again.

POLICE SURGEONS

Love, life and medicine—on the beat!

Working side by side—and sometimes hand in hand—dedicated medical professionals join forces with the police service for the very best in emotional excitement!

From domestic disturbance to emergency room drama, they work to prove innocence or guilt, and find passion and emotion along the way.

Undercover at City Hospital

Carol Marinelli

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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CONTENTS

Cover

Introduction

Title Page

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

EPILOGUE

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

‘YOU know that you don’t have to accept this assignment, Constable Gray?’ Inspector Eddie Bandford did his best impersonation of a friendly yet professional smile and Bella did the same, reminding herself to keep her hands neatly folded in her lap and to stare her senior in the eye. A natural fidget, it took Bella a supreme effort to do what seemingly came naturally to most people over the age of five—sit still for five minutes! ‘You know,’ Inspector Bandford continued, his voice so assured, his platitudes so emphatic Bella almost believed him, ‘that if you decided this isn’t for you, in no way will it impact on your application to be a detective.’

‘Absolutely.’ Bella nodded, her response equally emphatic, her clear green eyes unblinking as she stared assuredly back. ‘But I want to do this, Inspector Bandford. In fact, I’m thrilled that I’m even being considered.’

Another friendly yet professional smile.

Another pause as he eyed the file in front of him, and had she had a bell in her pocket, Bella would have been sorely tempted to ring it, to call for some time out.

Cut the bull, Eddie, she wanted to snarl. You know as well as I do that if I turn this down, my application to be a detective will be fed into the shredder by the time I hit the lifts. You know as well as I do that the only reason, the only reason, I’m being considered for this role is that I happen to have been stupid enough to keep my nursing registration up to date and that I’m practically the only cop in Melbourne who can work my way around the inside of an emergency room instead of hovering in the waiting room.

‘It doesn’t worry you?’ Inspector Bandford closed the case file and picked up another, flicking through it with agonizing slowness as Bella felt her stomach turn to liquid as her senior read through her personal record. ‘Going back to nursing, I mean. I understand you left because—’

‘Because I realised that I wanted to be a policewoman,’ Bella broke in, her voice amazingly even, nodding when he looked up to affirm her point. But even with a hefty dash of assertion added to her words still she registered the tiny flicker of doubt in Inspector Bandford’s expression and moved quickly to quell it. ‘That all happened years ago,’ Bella said firmly, waving an almost dismissive hand at the personal file he was holding. ‘I dealt with all that long ago.’

‘But even so…’

She could hear the hesitancy in his voice, her inquisitive eyes taking in the deepening frown between his eyes, and Bella pulled on every last reserve she had to drag out a small laugh.

‘I thought you wanted me to take the job, Inspector.’

‘No,’ Eddie corrected her. ‘I’ve merely asked you to come in here to discuss the possibility, that’s all. Detective Miller and I both agree that this business with drugs going missing at Melbourne City has been going on for long enough. Unfortunately, all the usual channels of investigation have been exhausted. All the staff have been extensively interviewed, we’ve had surveillance in place from the waiting room, even hidden cameras in the drug room…’

‘Which have been repeatedly sabotaged…’ It was Bella breaking in now, her curious mind switching in an instant to the puzzle that needed to be fixed, focusing on the task that could be hers if only Eddie Bandford gave the final nod of approval.

‘Clearly, from our observations it’s someone senior that’s taking the drugs.’ After a long moment of hesitation he handed her a list of subjects and Bella snapped them out of his hand like an eager puppy taking a treat. ‘Someone with good access…’

‘Most doctors and nurses would have access to the drug cupboards,’ Bella pointed out, but Eddie shook his head.

‘Only a few very senior staff knew that we were installing cameras in the drug room. Not only that, most of the drugs have been taken soon after the pharmacist has stocked up the cupboards and there’s a decent haul to be had. Whoever’s taking the drugs knows what they’re doing, knows exactly how the system works and knows that we’re watching them.’

‘Why has Dr Ramirez been ruled out?’ Bella asked, reading down the line of suspects. ‘He was the most likely suspect for a while and from this I can see why. He’s the consultant of the department, recently lost a child, been involved in a major accident, there are a lot of stressors…’

‘There are,’ Eddie agreed. ‘And, as you say, he was one of the prime suspects, until he headed off for an extended break in Spain and the thefts continued.’

‘Shame!’ Bella gave a rueful laugh.

Eddie reciprocated with one of his own, but as her eyes worked the list again they both went quiet. He did nothing to fill the silence, watching as his junior mulled the situation over, processed all the information she had been given that afternoon, chewing on her bottom lip in quiet contemplation, a hand that had been clenched in her lap moving to her head and automatically freeing a blond strand of neatly tied-back hair and twirling it around her fingers. If Eddie Bandford had had any doubts about the validity of sending in one of his uniformed constables as an undercover nurse, they wavered then—Isabella Gray was the natural born detective that she insisted she was on rather too many occasions. Petite, dizzy and terribly blond she may be, but that was a gift in itself. Not for a second would you imagine the razor-sharp mind behind that rather scatty exterior, the shrewdness behind those trusting green eyes, and perhaps more relevantly the aloofness behind that dazzling smile. Isabella Gray had, by police standards, the enviable natural ability to make people open up to her while giving away absolutely nothing of herself, coupled with a brain, that came up in just a few moments with an extremely pertinent observation.

‘It all seems so calculated. You’d expect an addict to have made a mistake by now.’ A tiny shake of her head, her strand of hair forgotten as she nibbled on her thumbnail. ‘I mean, I know they can be cunning and manipulative, but this has been going on for so long that you’d think by now there would have been some clear sign there was an addict in their midst, some air of desperation, some sort of slip-up.’

‘You would,’ Eddie agreed, and Bella didn’t even look up, staring over and over at the list before her. All the main suspects were highly qualified, all incredibly well respected by their peers. How sad that amongst this impressive list lay a thief.

‘And the quantities…’ Bella said, more to herself than to the inspector. They were talking a lot of drugs.

A lot.

The nursing part of her brain might be rather rusty, but from the figures before her there was more than enough going missing to feed one person’s habit.

‘Do we think they might be selling them?’

We.

It had been deliberate.

Slip in we, force her toe in the door just a touch, and subliminally let him know she was part of this now. But Eddie had been around the block too many times to miss a trick.

‘Detective Miller thinks that’s a distinct possibility.’ Bella’s cheeks went pink as Eddie gently pulled her back. ‘Which is why he’s taking the unusual step of requesting a nurse go in undercover. Only the CEO and one of the nursing supervisors would know. There’s a chance after all that the perpetrator isn’t on our list of suspects. But more to the point, the people on the list in front of you are, for the most part, well liked, respected and extremely trusted—the last thing we want is even a hint that whoever is sent in is anything other than a nurse, because otherwise someone will end up revealing it in supposed confidence.’

‘Whoever?’ Bella questioned, tired of the games now. She wanted this—badly. OK, after what had happened to Danny, she’d sworn she’d never step foot inside an emergency room as a professional, sworn she’d never go back to nursing, but she wasn’t going back, Bella consoled herself. She was going forward, taking on a job that, if she performed well, would surely move her that difficult inch over the line to being accepted to train as a detective.

She had to do this.

‘I haven’t made my mind up yet. Look, Bella, I know you say that what happened in your previous nursing career is all in the past, that you’re over it, but I’m yet to be convinced. This could be dangerous. As you’ve rightly pointed out, Detective Miller is leaning towards the possibility that these drugs aren’t being used to sustain one person’s habit, that this could be part of a drug ring, and I don’t need to tell you how ruthless those type of people can be. Naturally there will be back-up, we’ll have an undercover officer in the waiting room at all times, but even so, the last thing we need is to send someone in there with emotional issues—’

‘I don’t have issues,’ Bella broke in forcibly. ‘I’m not going to break down on the job, for heaven’s sake. Surely you know me well enough by now to know that much.’

‘I don’t know you, though, Bella.’ Eddie remained unmoved. The only concession was that he dropped her title and called her by her name. ‘No one in the station really knows you. Sure, you’re friendly, personable and well liked by your colleagues but, as we’ve discussed before, on many occasions, you never really let anyone in.’

‘And as I’ve said—on many occasions,’ Bella added dryly, ‘has it ever affected my work? Has the fact I’m not exactly the station’s social butterfly ever once impacted on my professionalism?’

‘No.’ Eddie answered, tight-lipped.

‘Have I, even once, brought my problems to the station?’

‘No.’

‘So let me do this.’ Bella leaned forward a fraction in her chair. ‘I’m more than up to it.’

‘I’ll speak with Detective Miller some more and let you know. Thank you for staying behind. I know your shift should have ended an hour ago.’ Eddie nodded to the door and Bella knew it was all she was going to get from him for now, knew that even though he’d invited her in to discuss the possibility of going in as an undercover nurse, this particular interview was far from over, and that appearing too eager, too needy wasn’t going to help matters. Taking her cue, she headed for the door, the professional smile back in place. ‘No, thank you for considering me, Inspector. I’ll look forward to hearing your decision.’

‘One more thing, Constable Gray. Have you ever worked at Melbourne City?’

Bella shook her head. ‘I did my training in a suburban hospital.’

‘So no one at Melbourne City would know that you left nursing to join the police?’

‘I can’t say for sure,’ Bella admitted honestly. ‘There’s a big turnover in hospitals, people pop up all over the place. But my departure was fairly low key at the time. I guess there might be a few people who will recognize me, but they wouldn’t know that I’d joined the police.’

‘I’ll bear it in mind.’

The interview was definitely over now. Eddie picked up his pen and started to write, clearly assuming that the door would quietly close, but Bella stood there until he looked up, and from the frown that formed he was clearly slightly irritated to find she was still there.

‘I said I’d let you know, Bella,’ he sighed. ‘There’s nothing more to say until I’ve spoken with Detective Miller.’

‘But there is.’ Her voice was clear, the compulsive fidgeting that was so much Bella still now, and from her stance Eddie knew that what Bella was about to say was non-negotiable, that whatever was on her mind had already been decided. Putting down his pen, he offered her his undivided attention.

‘You said that if I get the role I would be going in as an RN?’

‘That’s right.’ Eddie nodded. ‘We could have put you in as a student or a nurse’s aide but Detective Miller felt you’d have better access to the critical patients and senior staff if you went in as a fully qualified RN with a certificate in emergency nursing. And given that you’ve got all the credentials, Bella, we may as well use them.’

‘Agreed.’ Bella nodded. ‘So long as you explain to Detective Miller that if I get the role, I will not compromise patient care under any circumstance. If I’m going in as part of the team, people will be depending on me…’

‘You’re a police officer,’ Eddie started, but Bella shook her head.

‘I’m a nurse, too. I want this, Eddie, you know how much I want this role, but unless we set down some ground rules, unless you and Detective Miller understand where I’m coming from, you might as well put a thick red line through my name. I cannot and will not compromise a patient in my care.’

‘I think you’re being a bit melodramatic here, Bella. You’re only going to be there for a couple of weeks.’

‘Have you ever done a shift in Emergency?’ Two spots of colour flamed on her cheeks, but apart from that Bella kept her temper firmly in check as Eddie shook his head. ‘Then take it from me, I’m not being melodramatic.’

Stepping out into the late afternoon sun, Bella dragged in a deep calming breath, but it didn’t work, her heart rate still skipping along way too fast, her brain still reeling from the unexpected carrot that had been dangled before her.

Boarding a tram, she took her usual seat at the back, only this time she didn’t eye her fellow travellers, didn’t play her usual game of people-watching, guessing who everyone was and where they were all going. Instead, she rested her head against the window and tried to quell the flurry of nerves that danced inside her; tried and failed to envisage herself back in an emergency room; tried and failed to envisage her detective application going through if she turned down the role on ‘personal grounds’. And yet…it wasn’t just nerves that were dancing as Bella stepped off the tram and walked the five-minute distance to her destination. It was excitement—pure, unadulterated excitement.

She’d be going undercover.

Undercover!

Using her own mind, her own people skills, working out clues—in fact, being everything that she wanted to be…

Except a nurse.

Stopping at the milk bar, Bella bought a magazine and chatted to Sandra, the owner, for a couple of minutes. After a very respectable pause, which the two women knew was just for effect, she decided to spoil herself with a bar of chocolate as if it were an occasional treat, not a daily essential.

‘How’s Danny?’ Ringing up the till, Sandra asked her usual question.

‘Good,’ Bella replied, just as Australians always did. Half the family could be being held at gunpoint and the answer would be the same.

Good.

‘How’s Danny?’ Bella asked Tania, the young nurse who was feeding him, putting down her chocolate and magazines on his locker and pulling up a chair before taking over the bowl of puréed mince and vegetables.

‘Good.’ Tania smiled brightly. ‘He’s just not very hungry.’

‘Still?’ Bella sighed. ‘He hasn’t eaten much all week.’

‘The doctor’s been in to see him, he couldn’t find anything wrong. He said we were to try giving him some nutritional supplements, there’s some in the fridge, I’ll go and fetch you one. Can I get you a coffee or anything?’

‘I’m fine, thanks.’ Bella shook her head, stirring the unattractive meal around the plate.

‘Maybe later—with your chocolate perhaps?’

‘Maybe later,’ Bella agreed.

Another pleasant but pointless conversation, another pretence at normal that, even after all these years, merely felt false.

‘How was your day, Danny?’

He didn’t even look at her, didn’t smile, didn’t shrug, and didn’t say ‘good’. He didn’t say anything at all, just let out a moan when Bella tried to persuade him to eat the shepherd’s pie.

‘Come on, Danny,’ Bella pleaded. ‘You have to eat something. If you don’t, they’re going to put the nasogastric tube down again and you know how much you hate that.’ Lecture over, Bella forced a smile, rued the fact that even after all this time, even though she came in just about every single day, the mere sight of him could still bring her to the verge of tears. That gorgeous, athletic body, atrophied now, his blond sun-bleached hair that she’d loved so much, crudely cut now, courtesy of the mobile hairdresser more used to elderly clients. But Bella tried not to let her hurt show, tried so hard, just as she always did, to carry on chatting as if the person sitting opposite her was as animated and as interested in life as her, carried on chatting as if it were her gorgeous, vibrant, sexy fiancé she was coming home to. ‘You haven’t asked how I am! Well, I’m good, actually. Really good, in fact. You’ll never guess what Inspector Miller called me into his office for today…’

CHAPTER TWO

‘WELCOME to chest pain city!’

Acutely uncomfortable in her very new uniform, supremely conscious that at least one of her police colleagues was hovering out in the waiting room, Bella did her best to blend into the throng of nurses standing at the nurses’ station as the night sister smiled up at them, no doubt anxious to get the handover started and finished as quickly as possible. But even though she’d been away from nursing a long time, Bella knew this was one handover that was going to take a while. One look around the chaotic department, one look at the weary faces of the night staff and Bella knew it had been a very busy night. Several doctors were around, writing notes, making calls, working in Resus, the waiting room lined with people still waiting to be seen. Trolleys lay abandoned and unmade in the corridor, some still with rumpled blankets on top, a sure sign the night had been hell.

‘How was your holiday, Jayne?’ the night sister asked, and Bella looked over as a middle-aged woman rolled her smiling blue eyes, giving a dry laugh as she accepted the hands-free phone from the ward clerk and chatted for a moment before turning it off and placing it in her pocket.

‘Great, Hannah—only now it doesn’t feel as if I’ve been away. That was South Ward,’ she added. ‘They want to know if we can keep the patient they’re expecting down in the department till after seven-thirty. They can’t take him now because they’re busy with handover.’

‘Oh, the poor guy,’ Hannah groaned, shaking her head as a porter pushed a trolley out of a cubicle. ‘He’s been here since ten last night.’

‘Which is why I told South Ward that they were too late and he’s already on his way up. They’ll just have to tear someone away from their half-hour sit-down and mug of coffee. Go on, Jim,’ she called to the porter. ‘Take him up.’

Normal, Bella decided on the spot, peering at the name badge pinned to the woman’s crisply ironed blouse and confirming that it was indeed Jayne Davies. Her short, practical light brown hair was still damp from the shower, a slick of lipstick the only make-up she wore, and clearly, from the way a couple of doctors had already waylaid her to ask a question, the way she’d dealt with a ward’s rather annoying request, even before handover had started, Bella knew that this was a woman very much in control.

But Hannah!

Bella’s eyes worked the woman, taking in the rather jumpy appearance and wild hair, remembering the briefing she’d had from Detective Miller. A night sister, Hannah was working overtime to support her ailing husband, and apparently it was common knowledge around the department she had massive financial problems. But the weary smile she gave as she caught Bella staring, the tiny wink she imparted in a show of support for a nurse on her first day, had Bella shuffling her mental cards somewhat, discarding Detective Miller’s observations a tad and deciding to form her own opinions. Right here, right now Hannah was way down on her list.

‘I’ve let Bethany, the grad nurse, go home early,’ Hannah said to Jayne. ‘She’s got her driving test at lunchtime and obviously wanted to have a sleep first, so we’re a bit short on the floor at the moment. I haven’t even had time to check the drugs.’

‘OK, Trish.’ Turning to a nurse standing next to Bella, Jayne gave out her orders. ‘If you wouldn’t mind, you can go and check the drugs with one of the night staff. I’ll fill you in on the handover later. Something tells me that if Hannah wants to get off before lunchtime then we’d better get started now!’

Chest pain city was certainly an apt description, Bella thought as they made their way around the department. For various reasons, some obvious and some completely obscure, certain symptoms seemed to present themselves en masse. Christmas and New Year were notorious for fights, the dangerous combination of alcohol and distant relatives in close proximity enough of a reason, hips and wrists were top of the list on a frosty morning, and on a wet night you could rest assured a higher proportion of road accidents would be present. And as to the obscure: any night nurse would testify that the slightly mad were barking on a full moon, but chest pains? Why did they all seem to arrive at once?

The handover did take for ever, the world didn’t stop in Emergency as it did on the wards. Ambulances still arrived, unstable patients still demanded vigilant attention, and one by one the entourage of nurses was trimmed down as Jayne allocated them tasks. Finally the rather depleted group, comprising Jayne, Bella, a couple of students and Hannah, were at the end of the resus list. ‘Charles Adams, seventy-four years of age, previous history of hypertension and angina.’ Hannah suppressed a yawn as Bella peered over at the patient lying exhausted on the gurney and attached to various monitors. A woman by his side, dressed in a massive trench coat, held his hand. Bella assumed it must be his wife, watching anxiously as a very tall blond doctor took some blood from the patient’s other arm, chatting away to both of them as he did so. Bella’s interest upped a considerable notch and it had nothing to do with the fact that the doctor was completely and utterly stunning. It was because from the description she’d been given, she realised this must surely be Heath Jameson, the consultant she was investigating.

She was investigating!

Every now and then Bella felt as if everyone must surely know, as if surely there was some massive sign above her head telling everyone the real reason she was here, but for a moment or two Bella realized it had seemed as if the clock had turned back, as if she really was just another nurse on a busy Monday morning listening to handover.

Heath Jameson.

Summoning details to mind, Bella stared apparently nonchalantly as Hannah gave the handover.

Recently divorced, massive custody issues with his ex-wife over the children and a hint of partying rather too hard since being reluctantly made single, though apparently in recent weeks that had all calmed down. With the promotion to Acting Consultant, it would appear that Heath had settled down and decided to concentrate firmly on his patients and career. Certainly, from the way he was chatting to Mrs Adams, he was doing a good job, taking some time to reassure the anxious woman instead of merely rushing off.

‘Charles woke this morning at five a.m. with central chest pain, radiating down his left arm. His wife Celia decided it would be quicker to drive him in than wait for the ambulance!’ Hannah’s raised eyebrows told everyone the unfortunate lack of wisdom behind that decision. Patients with chest pain could collapse very quickly and with no warning—and this, it seemed, had happened to Charles en route to the emergency department. ‘Now, I should warn you at this point, just so that you’re prepared, that there’s no telling Celia what to do. She’s read every article on the internet about her husband’s condition and as I speak is no doubt suggesting to Heath what blood tests he runs. I tried to tell her that next time her husband gets chest pain, assuming that her husband survives this event, she should call an ambulance because next time there might not be a police car travelling behind her. Thankfully, on this occasion the police officers realized she was in trouble and forced her to pull over so they could assist. He went into VF just as the paramedics arrived.’

‘Lucky,’ one of the student nurses commented, and Hannah nodded.

‘Very lucky! The paramedics shocked him once and he reverted to sinus rhythm.’ She gave a small grin. ‘And gave him some IV lignocaine as ordered by Celia! They basically got an IV bung in and scooped and ran, then brought him in, where he’s carried on misbehaving! He was just about to be given some morphine and promptly suffered another VF episode. Heath’s in with him now…’

‘Why aren’t Cardiology in with him?’ Jayne asked. ‘The man’s had two cardiac arrests after all. Surely they should be down here.’

‘Because they’ve had as bad a night as we have,’ Hannah sighed. ‘They’re stuck on ICU with another chest pain who’s had a full, extended arrest and a teenager who took every last one of her grandfather’s heart tablets. Heath is looking after him till they can get here.

‘Problem,’ Hannah said as a rather anxious-looking Trish returned.

‘There’s an ampoule of morphine missing!’

If Bella had felt conspicuous before, she felt as if she were glowing now, scarcely able to believe that after only half an hour in the department drugs were already missing. But her internal excitement was somewhat dampened by Hannah’s response.

‘Damn!’ she cursed, instantly putting her hand up. ‘That was my fault! We wasted the morphine Mr Adams was supposed to have prior to his arrest. Bethany and I signed for it but the patient got restless again as soon as he came round and Heath decided to go ahead and give the morphine but we’d already thrown it out. Bethany and I got a fresh ampoule but we were so busy we didn’t have time to sign for it at the time. She’s off duty now; I can ask Heath—’

‘Who checked the drug?’ Jayne broke in.

‘Bethany and I.’

‘So why would you get Heath to sign for something he didn’t check?’ Jayne’s voice was crisp, her stare direct. ‘Hell, Hannah, you know the trouble the department’s been in with drugs going missing, you know we have to do things by the letter. You’ll have to ring Bethany at home and tell her to come in and sign for it.’

‘But she’s got her driving test,’ Hannah protested.

‘And I’ve got a department to run,’ Jayne clipped back. ‘Now, I’m sorry to do this, Hannah, I know you’ve got the kids to get to school, but before you go off duty I need you to fill out an incident report.’

‘What?” Hannah’s voice was incredulous. ‘It’s a non-event, Jayne. You’re completely overreacting. I really can’t stay. I need to have a couple of hours’ sleep before I bring Ken back here for his outpatients appointment at eleven…’

‘Sorry to interrupt, but could I have a hand in here, ladies?’ A rather snobbish, very deep, very laid-back drawl halted the bickering, and Bella’s eyes widened as she turned around. The reading on the heart monitor that had been blipping along slowly but regularly had reverted to the wiggly line of VF and Heath was laying Charles Adams down before he even passed out, before his wife had even registered that there was something really wrong. As Trish dashed over and led her away, Heath was applying fresh pads to the patient’s chest as Jayne quickly pressed a button to charge up the defibrillator. The machine whirring into action was a sound Bella hadn’t heard for ages, but as instantly memorable as a dentist’s drill.

Heath was supremely calm, an utter contrast to Bella who could feel her heart fluttering almost as much as the patient’s—watching in awe as Heath pulled the paddles out of their trays.

‘Everybody back.’

Another memorable noise, listening as 200 joules were delivered to the patient, watching as his body spasmed, then turning to the monitor.

‘Still VF. Charge to 360 and could someone put out a code?’

On the wards a code would have been called immediately, but events like this were more commonplace in emergency and they had the equipment and expertise to deal with it. Once Charles’s heart had failed to respond, however, it was time to call for the team.

Heath’s hands were on his patient’s chest now, commencing cardiac massage as he called for drugs that would hopefully work on the irritable heart before they shocked him again.

‘Bag him, please, Bella.’ Jayne’s order was sharp and to the point.

Hell, she hadn’t even been shown around the department, but Bella knew that with the RN badge dangling from the cord around her neck she was responsible now, not an undercover cop but an emergency nurse, and a life was on the line.

An ambu-bag was already connected to the oxygen, lying on the head of the trolley beside the patient thanks to his previous episode. Bella checked the man’s airway to make sure it was clear before extending the neck and placing the mask firmly over his face, delivering oxygen as the machine charged and Heath pumped on.

‘OK. Everyone back,’ Heath ordered, then addressed his patient. ‘Come on, Charles. I’ve just finally managed to arrange a bed up on CCU for you. Don’t let’s waste it.’

As soon as Jayne delivered the shock, Bella took her position again, holding the bag tightly over Charles’s airway, ready to commence immediately. Suddenly she felt resistance, the uplifting sound of the monitor bleeping, the unmistakable feel of the quiet tension that had been present seeping out of the room as Charles started thrashing his head around. Bella replaced the ambu-bag with an oxygen mask, letting out the breath she had been holding before finally looking up.

‘It’s OK, Charles.’ Heath’s voice was still calm, and he lowered his head and spoke into his patient’s ear. ‘You’re back with us now. You just had another small turn.’

Which was one way of describing it, Bella thought, blowing skywards the hair that had escaped as she let out another deep breath.

‘Fun’s over, guys!’ Heath grinned as the crash team started skidding into the room. ‘This is Charles Adams, the patient I’ve been babysitting for you. He’s just had his third episode of VF in the last three hours and this time he had to be shocked twice before he reverted. Can we get him out of here now please and onto CCU?’

‘Good job, everyone.’ Heath nodded to the staff, then addressed Bella. ‘I assume from the way you reacted, you’ve done emergency before.’

‘Not for a long while,’ Bella admitted.

‘Well, you did great.’ He held out a hand. ‘I’m Heath Jameson, the very new acting consultant.’

‘Bella Gray.’ Bella smiled. ‘And I’m the very new nurse.’

‘Welcome aboard.’ Very green eyes smiled momentarily at her, but his face grew more serious as he looked away, nodding to the group to step outside Resus and addressing Hannah and Jayne.

‘If you have to argue, could you do it well away from Resus next time?’

‘I’m sorry, Heath.’ Jayne blushed darkly. ‘But you know the problems we’ve been having with drugs.’

‘So does half the department now,’ Heath retorted sharply. ‘Is Bethany on duty tonight?’

Hannah nodded.

‘Well, she can sign for the drug then and do an incident report when she comes in. I don’t want my nurses half-asleep on the job, which is what she will be tonight if we drag her back here now to fill in a blessed incident report just to appease the powers that be. That’s when real mistakes start to happen.’ He turned to Hannah. ‘If you can come in fifteen minutes early tonight, you can fill yours out then.’

Hannah gave a grateful nod but Jayne was far from appeased.

‘Heath, this is a nursing-related issue and given that I’m the most senior nurse in the department…’

‘This is a staff-related issue,’ Heath corrected. ‘And I’m the consultant. Sorry,’ he added before Jayne could. ‘Acting consultant.’

‘So you’re pulling rank now, Heath? According to the records there are drugs missing…’

‘There’s a single vial of morphine that hasn’t been signed for,’ Heath broke in, instantly diluting Jayne’s accusation. ‘And if anyone has a problem with the incident reports being filled in tonight instead of this morning, they can discuss it with me. I am not having a simple mistake turning into a drama, and if it means pulling rank then I’m up for it. I am not going to walk around panicking about things and feeling guilty when I’m not, and neither do I expect the rest of the staff to. Now, can I have a nurse to come in to speak to Charles’s wife with me?’

And turning on his heel he stalked off, leaving everyone, especially Bella, standing blushing and open-mouthed.

Jayne because she’d been put down.

Hannah because she’d been backed up.

And for the rest of the nurses standing there, including Bella, it was entirely due to the fact that they were female.

CHAPTER THREE

CELIA was inconsolable.

Sobbing in a chair, a massive overcoat over a fluorescent nylon nightdress, pulling tissues out of a box, she stood up and let out a wail of terror as Heath and Bella walked in.

‘Please, don’t tell me…’

‘He’s not dead,’ Heath said quickly, taking her elbows and lowering her back into the chair. Bella could only admire him. Instantly he’d quelled Celia’s greatest fear without giving false hope. How many other doctors would have walked in and quickly said that Charles was OK, that the drama was over when, in fact, it had barely started.

‘This is all my fault.’

‘It’s no one’s fault.’ Heath attempted to soothe her. ‘Charles has had a heart attack, and unfortunately these types of events often occur afterwards. He suffered another cardiac arrhythmia,’ Heath explained. ‘His heart effectively stopped again. However, we got it started.’

‘And he’s OK?’ Celia begged, but Heath held back.

‘He’s critically ill, Celia, but we’re moving him up to the coronary care ward and we’ve given him some drugs which we hope will calm his heart down. The next forty-eight hours will be—’

‘Critical,’ Celia whispered through chattering teeth. ‘I’ve read all about heart attacks on the internet.’

‘Quite.’ Heath flashed a brief smile, clearly not impressed with her cyber-knowledge. ‘For now, though, I need you to tell me what happened.’

‘It’s all my fault,’ Celia said again. ‘I should have listened to him when he said he wasn’t well enough—’

‘Did Charles have chest pain last night?’ Heath asked, but Celia shook her head.

‘He was fine last night. I made him a special dinner. I told him to forget his diet for a night, we had a bottle of nice red wine and everything was fine until this morning. Oh, God, what have I done?’

‘This isn’t your fault,’ Heath said firmly, then softened it with a smile. ‘Some doctors actually recommend red wine for cardiac patients and I can assure you, Celia, nothing in last night’s meal would have caused this…’ Clearly he’d said the wrong thing as her sobbing grew louder. Bella pulled out another wad of tissues as Heath struggled to say the right thing, his eyes meeting hers over the woman’s heaving shoulders in a silent plea for help.

‘It’s OK, Celia,’ Bella said soothingly. ‘I’m just going to have a word with the doctor and we’ll be right back.’ Gesturing to the door, she walked outside and waited till he joined her, a quizzical look on Heath’s face, clearly surprised that Bella had pulled him out at such a sensitive time.

‘She’s very upset.’

‘Very,’ Bella agreed, nibbling on the skin around her thumbnail. ‘Extremely upset, in fact.’

‘Well, I guess that’s to be expected.’ Heath shrugged, his frown deepening as Bella’s eyes met his. ‘Why did you call me out?’

‘Because I think you were making things worse in there.’ She heard him suck in his breath, clearly irritated that this very new nurse was pulling him up. But as a tiny smile wobbled on her lips as she tucked back a strand of hair behind her ear over and over, Heath finally joined the party, a smile of his own starting, eyes crinkling around the edges as he waited for her to elaborate.

‘What am I missing, Bella?’

‘The sexy night attire under her coat for starters.’ Bella grinned, blushing as he did, too. ‘The romantic dinner for two, the fact she’s feeling impossibly guilty…’

‘They’re allowed to have sex,’ Heath said gruffly. ‘Just because they’re in their seventies—’

‘He’s a cardiac patient,’ Bella broke in.

‘So? Just because he’s got a heart condition it doesn’t exclude him from having a healthy sex life.’

‘Of course not,’ Bella agreed, ‘but you’ve seen the medication he’s on at home. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was having some difficulties with…’ Clearing her throat, Bella attempted to squash her embarrassment. ‘Maintaining an erection.’

‘I’m not with you, Bella.’ He gave her a rather wide-eyed look and made to go back to the room, but Bella stilled him with a sentence. ‘She’s an internet junkie!’ Heath was frowning now, two vertical lines appearing on the bridge of a very nice nose as Bella continued. ‘I’d suggest that Celia’s guilt has nothing to do with the eggs she put into his soufflé or the wine she served, but more to do with the little blue pill she served up instead of after-dinner mints.’

‘No!’

‘Yes.’ Bella nodded, her smile widening as Heath blushed to his impossibly blond roots. ‘If you ask me, there’s a very good reason Celia’s feeling guilty, and you insisting that it wasn’t her fault isn’t exactly helping matters.’

‘Do you think she drugged him?’

‘Oh, please.’ Bella laughed. ‘I’d say she just nagged him to death more likely!’ As Heath opened his mouth, Bella got there first. ‘Pun entirely intended. Look, it’s just a hunch, but if I am right, maybe you need to alter your line of questioning a bit.’

‘Line of questioning!’ Heath gave her a slightly startled look. ‘We’re in Emergency, Bella, not down at the local police station!’

‘Of course,’ Bella responded quickly. ‘I meant—’

‘I know what you meant.’ Heath gave a grateful nod. ‘And you’re right, if Celia’s been ordering drugs from the internet, then my line of questioning was way off track. How the hell am I supposed to broach this with her?’

It was more a statement than a question, and Bella watched as he raked his hand through his superbly cut hair.

Danny was blond.

At a totally inappropriate moment the thought popped into her head.

There was absolutely no comparing the two.

Danny had been the surfy, sporty type, with shaggy blond hair that had always been in desperate need of a cut, living his life in bathers and board shorts, whereas Heath was the epitome of cool sophistication. No doubt his wardrobe was full with variations on the superbly cut suit he was wearing now, just an occasional glimpse of subtle but expensive jewellery but wearing enough aftershave to asphyxiate from fifty metres.

There was no comparison, Bella concluded, except for the fact they were both blond.

‘Hell, they never prepare you for this type of thing in medical school,’ Heath moaned, staring directly at her.

And except for the fact they both had beautiful eyes.

‘Or nursing school,’ Bella agreed, heading back towards the interview room, frantically trying to clear these ridiculous thoughts from her head.

‘How did you work it out?’ Heath asked, catching her arm lightly and pulling her back. ‘I mean, how did you guess what was going on?’

‘Just incurably nosy, I guess.’ Bella shrugged but she lost her audience as a red-eyed Hannah brushed past, clearly in tears.

‘Hey!’ Heath called her back. ‘Jayne didn’t make you stay and write that report?’

‘No!’ Though visibly upset, Hannah forced a smile. ‘Just another stupid mistake I made last night—I left my car lights on.’

Heath gave a groan of sympathy.

‘I’ve called the roadside assistance number but it would appear I’m not the only one. There’s a two-hour wait.’

‘Get a taxi,’ Heath suggested, ‘and then pick your car up when you come in for Ken’s outpatient appointment. Shirley on Reception can tell roadside assistance where your car’s parked.’

Raking her hand through her hair, Hannah gave a nervous nod. ‘I guess. It’s just…’ Her voice trailed off, but Heath picked up the silence with efficient calmness.

‘You’re probably entitled to a cab charge. Why don’t you check with Jayne?’

‘I was just about to.’ Hannah gave a pale smile and started to go, and only then did Bella really understand. A cab charge might get her home but she’d have to pay for a taxi back, and if funds were short perhaps the twenty or fifty dollars it would take hadn’t been factored into this week’s budget, let alone a new car battery and callout fee. But it wasn’t Bella’s place to say anything. She was the very new girl here, so instead she stood in polite silence, pretending not to watch this exchange.

‘Hannah?’ Heath called her back. Maybe he had understood, Bella realized as he dug in his jacket pocket and pulled out a very flash-looking keyring. ‘Take my car.’

‘Sorry?’ Hannah looked completely dumbfounded as her weary face turned around.

‘You’re over twenty-five, I assume?’

‘Way over.’

‘Then take it.’ Heath shrugged. ‘Jayne’s pretty tied up, you’ll have to wait for ever for her to go into the office and find the forms. Just take my car.’

‘Heath—’

‘I’m not going anywhere,’ Heath groaned. ‘Just don’t smoke in it.’

‘I’ve run out.’ Hannah grinned, the first real smile Bella had seen from her breaking over her exhausted face.

‘Then there’s no problem.’

And except for the fact that under all the bravado, both Danny and Heath were as soft as butter.

As Hannah happily made her way off, jangling Heath’s car keys in her hand, Heath rolled his eyes heavenwards. ‘Why me?’ he groaned.

‘I’m sure she’ll look after it,’ Bella ventured, referring to his car, but that, it would seem, was the least of his problems.

‘I couldn’t give a damn about the car. Why, out of all the doctors in the building, do I get the geriatric nymphomaniac to deal with?’

And except for the fact that they both made her laugh!

‘Is everything OK, Doctor?’ Celia jumped up as they entered, terrified eyes dragging between the two. ‘Nothing has happened to my Charlie, has it?’

‘No.’ Heath gestured to the chair and waited patiently as Celia sat down, clearing his throat and staring at the floor for an endearing moment before assuming a bland expression and looking down at the woman. ‘Now, Celia, for Charles’s sake, I really need to know what happened last night. I need to know about any medications he might have taken, anything unusual that’s happened recently…’

‘There’s nothing!’ Celia said quickly, too quickly Bella thought, and clearly so did Heath.

‘Celia, this is an emergency room. No one’s here to judge either you or Charles. We just want to give your husband the best treatment possible and to do that we need all the facts. So if there’s anything you can think of that might help, anything you’re holding back, now might be a good time to tell me about it.’

‘What about…?’ Celia gave a nervous swallow. ‘I mean, if I’d done something wrong…’

‘I’m a doctor, Celia. My only concern is to see Charles gets the appropriate treatment.’

‘And I won’t get into trouble?’

Heath shook his head. ‘I just need the truth, Celia.’

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