Chapters (78)
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Prologue
- 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
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Remarkable Praise for Nicci French
- Also by Nicci French
- About the Publisher
Two
“You’re a doctor.” And Liam smiled that soft slow smile that brought the past back so vividly that Jude felt it in her stomach.
She looked around, as if she needed to reassure herself that this was true, that she really was a doctor and this really was a hospital.
“Yes, yes, I am. Just about.”
“It was what you always wanted.”
It was impossible to exchange small talk with this ghost who had come out of her past.
“I never thought I’d see you again.”
“Yes, I know,” he said slowly. “I mean, I don’t exactly know. But it was complicated.”
She looked at him and couldn’t look away. She didn’t know what to say.
“Can we get a coffee?” he said. “Unless you’ve got somewhere to go.”
“I’m on my way home. It’s my bedtime.”
“Maybe decaffeinated coffee, then.”
She shook her head and smiled. “Nothing keeps me awake after a night shift. I’d like to have coffee.”
They left the hospital and crossed Whitechapel Road and Jude led them up Brick Lane to a small café that had recently opened, all soft chairs and rough wooden tables. She suddenly remembered Nat, about to set off to the hospital to meet her—she hoped he hadn’t left by now. She took out her phone and texted him: Sorry! Emergency. Can’t do breakfast. See you this evening. xxxx
They faced each other across the table. Jude felt giddy with the strangeness of it.
“Do you want breakfast?” she asked. “Eggs or something?”
He shook his head and ordered coffee for them both. Her hunger had vanished. As the young woman behind the counter prepared the drinks, Jude and Liam simply looked at each other without speaking. The silence didn’t feel strange or embarrassing.
When the coffee arrived, Jude took a packet from her pocket, extracted two pink pills and swallowed them with a gulp of coffee. Liam looked quizzical.
“I’ve got a migraine coming on. This sometimes stops it.”
“You never used to get them, did you?”
“No. They began shortly after . . .” She stopped. After the crash; that was when they had begun. “I get them a lot. Colors start looking strange and then I go to bed for a few hours.”
“Anyway, congratulations,” said Liam, holding up his coffee cup.
“What about?”
“About your upcoming marriage.”
“How do you know about that?”
“Someone told me. When I was tracking you down.”
Jude laughed. “Tracking me down? What are you, a private detective?”
“Just an old friend.” He sipped his coffee. “A doctor, like you always said you’d be. You did it.”