Chapters (44)
‘Does this have something to do with why John quit?’
‘Officially, John resigned.’ He was almost whispering now. ‘Unofficially, Holly didn’t give him much of a choice. If Annabel’s son carried through with his legal threat, and it seemed like there was a good chance he might, there would be all sorts of trouble heading their way. Don’t get me wrong, Holly puts the needs of Trinity staff ahead of everything else, but you know she’s a cut-and-run type of person. John became a liability, so she cut him loose.’
The rain outside eased enough for the seagull to creep out from under the orca’s tail and take flight.
‘What was Annabel’s surname?’ Kate asked.
‘I can’t remember off the top of my head.’
‘Can you check?’
‘I don’t know, Kate,’ he said. ‘There’s doctor–patient confidentiality to consider.’
‘I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important,’ she said. ‘Please.’
Chatveer said nothing, but Kate could hear the tapping of fingers on a computer keyboard. ‘Stemple. Annabel Stemple.’
‘Did she ever talk about her husband, was his name David?’
Chatveer scoffed. ‘Only all the time,’ he said. ‘From what I remember, he died a long time ago.’
The 7th of August 1996.
‘Do you know how he died?’ Kate asked.
‘No, but I got the impression it was unexpected. Sudden, even.’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘The way she reminisced about him. It was more about the times they didn’t get to share, rather than the ones they did.’
In a painful, sudden flash, Kate thought about the years that stretched out ahead of her. John wasn’t coming back for them.
‘I just need one more thing from you,’ she said. ‘Do you have access to Annabel’s son’s contact details?’
Another contemplative click of the tongue down the line. ‘What was the last thing?’
‘What?’
‘You said the second-last thing John said to you was about monsters. What was the last?’
‘… He told me he was ready to come home.’
Chatveer exhaled, then she heard him typing on his keyboard. A moment later he came back on the line and said, ‘Here’s the address, do you have a pen?’
Kate fetched some motel stationery from the desk. ‘Go ahead.’
‘Oh,’ he said.
‘Oh what, Chat?’
‘Annabel’s son. He lives in Belport.’