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
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‘Mum says I shouldn’t, but you got to admit they’re a bit weird.’
‘Do you know them well then?’
‘No, they don’t come in here much and don’t really associate with us in the village.’
‘So why do you call them Mr and Mrs Frankenstein?’ Ian asked, tucking the cigarettes into his pocket.
‘They make babies, don’t they? And there are rumours around here they create monsters.’ The lad laughed again.
‘What do you mean?’ Ian asked, with a stab of unease.
‘Oh, nothing.’ He shrugged. ‘Mum says I shouldn’t repeat this stuff, but rumour has it that sometimes things go wrong and the babies aren’t born right.’
Ian took his receipt and left the store. The babies he and Emma had produced weren’t right – not by a long way. But they hadn’t used sperm from the Moller Clinic so they couldn’t blame the clinic for creating their ‘monsters’, unless …
Unless Moller had made a mistake or lied, and he and Emma did share the same donor sperm. Then the chance of a genetic fault being passed on became possible again.
TWENTY-SIX
‘You’re home early,’ Emma said as Ian came into the living room.
Without replying, he threw his briefcase and jacket over the armchair and continued to the table where he opened his laptop.
‘What’s the matter?’ Emma asked, concerned. ‘You’ve been smoking. I can smell it on your clothes. Shouldn’t you be at work?’
‘Yes, but I need to find out how to do a DNA test,’ he said, staring at his laptop screen.
‘Not that again!’ Emma sighed. ‘I’ve told you I’ll phone the clinic, but I have to be in the right mood.’
‘There’s no need to phone now. I spoke to them this morning. In fact, I’ve been there.’
‘You’ve been to the Moller Clinic?’ Emma asked, amazed, looking at him. ‘Why?’
‘It turns out it’s not just you but me too.’
‘What are you talking about? You’re not making any sense, Ian.’ She closed the book she’d been reading and put it to one side.
‘I’m the product of donor sperm just like you,’ he said, tapping the laptop. ‘From the same clinic.’
Emma stared at him. ‘What? How can that be?’
Ian didn’t reply but concentrated on the screen.
‘Ian, I’m talking to you. Can you tell me what’s going on? You’re frightening me.’
Ian paused to look at her. ‘I phoned the Moller Clinic this morning about tracing your donor and spoke to Edie Moller. She let slip that I was on their files too. I saw Moller himself and he said both our parents used their clinic. I called my mother and she confirmed that she and Dad had gone there.’
‘Strewth! That’s a coincidence. And your mum never told you?’
‘No, not a word.’