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
A layby appeared and Chris pulled over. Cutting the engine, he took the scan photo and his phone from his pocket. He propped the photo on the steering wheel and then accessed the Internet on his phone. He put club foot into a search engine and soon learnt that the term covered a number of conditions. Photos and X-rays appeared alongside articles. He glanced between the images on his phone and the scan photo of his baby, comparing them. There were some similarities, but there were also many differences. The lower leg bones seemed longer in the scan photo of his baby than those of a human child, even allowing for the malformation. Although he couldn’t be sure.
He searched again, this time using the more general leg and foot deformities in an unborn baby. Pages of links to websites appeared – medical, research and forums. He read the information and compared the images. One research paper said that this type of deformity crossed ethnic groups and could be found in some animals, especially primates, which didn’t reassure Chris at all. There were pictures of developing foetuses in the uterus, and in the early stages most species looked very similar. This is because fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and humans carry very similar ancient genes, he read with another stab of fear.
He returned to the information on club feet and possible causes … not caused by the foetus’s position in the womb … often the cause is unknown … genetic factors are believed to be involved … specific gene changes have been associated with it … can be passed down through families. He went cold.
But this had nothing to do with the Moller Clinic, he told himself. It couldn’t. Jan’s parents lived over a hundred miles away and had never used the clinic. Jan and he didn’t look alike as he and Camile did, so it couldn’t be history repeating itself. It was his paranoia. Simply, it was bad luck that their baby had a malformation of his feet, but it wasn’t uncommon and could be easily corrected with surgery, just as the doctor had said.
Returning the scan photo and phone to his pocket, Chris started the van and continued the drive to work, desperately trying to believe that what he was telling himself was true.
SIXTY-NINE
‘Ian Jennings?’
‘Speaking.’
‘It’s Chris Giles.’
‘Hi, how are you?’
‘Fine. And yourself?’
‘Not bad. We sold our house, but Emma and I are still in touch.’
‘I’m sorry to trouble you but …’ Chris paused and took a deep breath. God. He hoped he was doing the right thing. ‘I need to ask you something, and I’d appreciate it if you kept it to yourself.’
‘Sure. What is it? Sounds a bit ominous.’ Ian tried a small laugh.
‘Hopefully it’s nothing. I think you may know that I’m in a relationship with Jan Hamlin, who used to be the tenant at Ivy Cottage.’