Chapters (82)
- Cover
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- Suggested topics for reading-group discussion
- Keep Reading …
- Lisa Stone also writes under the name of Cathy Glass.Don’t miss her latest book …
- About the Author
- Books by Lisa Stone
- About the Publisher
Tomorrow he would visit David one last time and then try to pick up the pieces of his life. David had outlived their expectations and Ian had seen him every week since Anne had told him. Not at her home in Dells Lane, but at Ivy Cottage where she now stayed. It was perfect, rural and remote, so that David, James and Kerris could run free and make the most of their last days, happy and unaware they were any different to others. For that, Ian was grateful.
SIXTY-FOUR
‘Have you heard the news?’ Beth asked the following morning as she slipped into her office chair.
Matt looked up from his computer screen and frowned questioningly.
‘You must have. The raid on the Moller Clinic?’
‘Oh yes, I did. You can’t miss it. But why are you looking so concerned? Because we weren’t part of the action? You know the fraud squad use their own people.’
‘That’s not the reason,’ Beth said. ‘You remember Ian Jennings? We interviewed him and his wife after their neighbour reported their baby was missing?’
‘Yes.’
‘He phoned months ago with concerns about the Moller Clinic. I took his call. He’d found out that his and his wife’s parents had used the clinic and they’d both been given the same donor sperm. I didn’t do anything. I told him it wasn’t a police matter and to contact the adjudication service responsible for the private sector.’
‘Oh, I see,’ Matt said. ‘That was a missed opportunity. Has he filed a complaint?’
‘No. But I feel bad I did nothing. In my defence, Ian didn’t say that Carstan Moller was their biological father, only that he’d had his and Emma’s DNA tested and they shared the same donor.’
‘He probably didn’t know it was Moller then.’
‘Well, he certainly does now!’ Beth said. ‘It’s all over the news. It must have come as a huge shock.’
‘Or possibly he was contacted as part of the investigation?’ Matt suggested.
‘Maybe,’ Beth sighed. ‘Even so, I feel bad. I should have done more to help him. He thought it could be the reason he and Emma weren’t able to have healthy children. He wanted the clinic investigated. I was thinking maybe I should phone him and apologize.’
‘I wouldn’t,’ Matt warned. ‘If he does file a complaint, it could be seen as an admission of your guilt.’
‘You’re probably right,’ Beth agreed. ‘I’ll tell the sergeant, though, just in case there are repercussions. Hopefully Moller’s arrest will give Ian and Emma some closure, although I can’t see their marriage surviving. That MP was right when she said private clinics need to be better monitored, otherwise it could happen again.’
SIXTY-FIVE
A year later Jan was in the village store in Merryless, buying groceries.
‘How are you feeling?’ Lillian asked as she scanned the items into the till.