‘Before you go,’ he said, placing a hand on her forearm. She looked at his hand, feeling it hot on her skin. ‘Will it come back? My memory?’

She met his eyes. She could see the fear and the anticipation. ‘I’m not …’ She faltered, unsure what to say. ‘I think it depends.’

‘On?’

‘Which part of your brain has been damaged. Whether this loss is due to a temporary factor like swelling or a more permanent injury.’ She wasn’t sure if she should be telling him this. She didn’t want to scare him or give him false hope. He stayed quiet, waiting, and so she continued. ‘Sometimes memories come back gradually, sometimes spontaneously, and we don’t really know how or why the brain is doing that. And sometimes they’re permanently gone. I’m afraid we don’t really know enough about it.’

‘Is there anything I can do to help it along?’

Karene placed her free hand on top of his. ‘Rest and try not to worry.’

Harry closed his eyes as he spoke. ‘Easy for you to say.’

She wanted to shout, ‘No, it isn’t. None of this is easy for me,’ but instead she said, ‘I suppose.’ Her urge to run disappeared. He looked lost. She wanted to climb into the bed beside him and tell him that everything would be OK. But she couldn’t. So she sat back down and hoped that just being here might help.

20

Harry had been moved from the Intensive Care Unit on Sunday evening. He was now in the neurology ward of Exeter Hospital and visiting hours were fixed: eight a.m. to eight p.m. It was very nearly eight a.m. on Monday and Karene was heading towards the ward and checking her emails. She planned to spend as much time with him as possible. She stopped abruptly when she saw a new message in her inbox.

From: ANONYMOUS07:59

Subject: What do you know about the man you love?

There was no text in the body of the email, only the question in the subject line. She clicked on ANONYMOUS. The full address was [email protected].

Who would send that to her? And why? She knew Harry. They told each other everything. It was one of the things she loved most about their relationship: their ability to be totally open and honest. She wasn’t naive enough to think she knew everything about the man, but she knew the important things. Was someone implying that Harry had been hiding something from her?

She entered the ward and approached the nurse behind the desk. ‘Morning. Can you tell me where I’ll find Harry Peterson, please?’

‘Is he new?’ the nurse said, as she checked the computer screen.

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘He was moved here last night.’ She refreshed her inbox, but there were no other emails.

‘I’m afraid he’s not on this ward.’