A Courageous Doctor

‘Has Joan gone home, then?’ he asked the night nurse.

‘Twenty minutes ago. Did you want her for something?’

‘No.’ Hugo was disconcerted to find a hint of relief rather than disappointment lurking. He must be more tired than he’d thought. ‘How’s Nicola?’

‘Sound asleep—just like her daughter. Do you want to see them?’

‘I won’t disturb them. It’s high time I went home myself.’

The road curved around the edges of Lake Wakatipu and Hugo found himself nurturing his first real hope of winding down from a long and tiring day. The level of stress he was trying to escape was unusually high. He loved his job and his lifestyle and it was a rare occurrence to have a day as hectic as today’s had been. The busload of poisoned honeymooners had tipped the balance a little too close to chaos for comfort but the diverse range of illnesses and injuries that tourists to the area brought was part of what kept his life as a rural doctor so interesting.

And the tourists were flocking to Central Otago, and Queenstown in particular, in increasing numbers every year. More than once the alpine resort had received accolades of being the friendliest foreign city and it was the only New Zealand destination to rank amongst the world’s top twenty. A place of enormous scenic beauty, with a rich gold-mining history and award-winning vineyards, Queenstown had also earned a reputation as the adventure capital of the world. With a baseline population of fewer than twenty thousand people, peak summer and winter tourist seasons could take numbers to over forty thousand. That dramatically increased the workload of the available GPs and the local hospital where Hugo worked for most of his time as its on-call physician and medical administrator.

Two startled rabbits ran from the beam of the headlamps as Hugo turned to swing his Jeep into the covered space the old woolshed provided for his vehicle. Three old farm dogs competed for his attention the moment he stepped out, and Hugo bent to fondle three pairs of ears before making his way to the long, low house sitting only metres away from the lake-side shingle beach. Having reached the veranda, he paused for a moment despite the bone-chilling temperature to take in the shimmer of moonlight gilding the glassy, black surface of the lake. It was bright enough to make the lights of Queenstown on the far shore of little note.

The happy panting of the dogs and the gentle rub of shingle from tiny waves at the lake’s edge were the only sounds to break a deep and peaceful silence. Then a muted whine from one of the dogs reminded Hugo that he was very late producing their dinner. He moved inside, checked his phone for messages, opened the logburner to add wood and crank up the air flow and then filled the three bowls in the laundry with dog nuts. Reaching into the fridge to retrieve the remains of last night’s casserole for himself, Hugo spotted the half-finished bottle of white wine. One glass wouldn’t hurt, even if he was on call. The only message on his phone was from his mother and Hugo had an uneasy feeling that talking to Gwen Patterson might not be the best way to try and unwind.

In fact, it might be better if he put off returning the call until tomorrow. Leaving the bottle where it was, Hugo put the casserole in the microwave and hit the reheat button. The old leather armchair near the fire looked extremely inviting and Hugo took his plate in that direction a few minutes later. The phone was within reach, recent, unread copies of his favourite medical journals were on the coffee-table beside the chair and his dogs were lying contentedly in the circle of warmth. Hugo felt his stress levels declining rapidly. He was, once again, a very happy man.

At least, he was until the insistent call of the telephone jerked him from a very pleasant post-prandial doze.

‘Darling, you’re finally home! I rang earlier.’

‘I was just thinking about you,’ Hugo said in surprise. The half-dream had been a less pleasant aspect of the doze. He had been almost convinced that his mother was about to arrive on his doorstep for another extended visit—intent on finding the woman who would bear her grandchildren. As much as Hugo loved his mother, anything more than a three-day visit was a daunting prospect. ‘I’ve been incredibly busy today,’ he added hurriedly. ‘In fact, life is generally a bit hectic at the moment.’

‘Don’t worry, Hugo. I’m not planning a surprise visit. Queenstown’s far too cold for me in winter.’

‘It’s freezing,’ Hugo agreed. ‘But the mountains are looking glorious with all the snow.’ He relaxed a little. ‘How are you, Mum?’

‘Oh, I’m fine.’ The fact that Gwen had something more important on her mind than the list of minor, age-related physical ailments she loved to discuss with her son, the doctor, was a warning. That she had rung twice in the space of two hours made the matter of some urgency.

‘Is everything OK at home?’

‘Oh, yes. Everything’s fine. Apart from the fridge. It’s making a very funny noise. Sort of a clunk and then a dribbling sound. It always seems to happen in the middle of the night.’

‘Are you not sleeping well?’ Talking about fridges reminded Hugo of that bottle of wine. He pushed himself slowly to his feet.

‘I’m fine,’ Gwen repeated impatiently. ‘I didn’t ring up to talk about me, dear.’

‘Who did you ring up to talk about?’

‘Maggie Johnston.’

Hugo sat down again abruptly. And silently.

‘Are you still there, Hugo?’

‘Of course. Did you say Maggie Johnston?’

‘Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten who she is?’

‘No.’ Hugo’s tone was cautious. ‘I haven’t forgotten.’

The silence spoke volumes. A single instant that managed to cover so many years. A wealth of memories, both happy and sad. Flashes of grief. Of laughter. Of a lifetime left well behind now.

‘I keep in touch with her mother, you know. Eleanor and I always exchange Christmas cards. She rang me up yesterday. Or was it Monday? Anyway, she wanted to talk about Maggie.’

‘Why? Is she in some kind of trouble?’

‘Oh, no! Nothing like that. She’s coming to Queenstown. On Friday. I told Eleanor she could stay with you, dear.’

‘What?’ Hugo stood up again and this time he kept moving. Towards the fridge. ‘What did you tell her something like that for?’

‘They’re old friends, Hugo. Almost family. You know how close we all were once.’

‘That was a very long time ago,’ Hugo reminded his mother. He shook his head. ‘She’s coming this Friday? What for? Does she ski?’

‘I didn’t ask Eleanor about skiing. Does it matter?’

‘No.’ Hugo gritted his teeth as he opened the fridge. ‘I just wondered why she was coming.’

‘Oh. She’s got a new job.’

Hugo extracted the bottle of wine. ‘What’s she doing these days?’ He reached for a glass from the cupboard as a horrible thought struck. ‘Didn’t I hear years ago that she had gone nursing?’ They were trying to recruit nursing staff at his hospital. The prospect of having to work with Maggie Johnston was alarming to say the least.

‘Yes, you’re right.’ Gwen sounded surprised. ‘I’d forgotten that. But she’s not nursing now…I don’t think.’

Hugo pulled the half-inserted cork from the bottle with his teeth and poured what he hoped would be a reviving drink. There was no point trying to jog his mother’s memory. She would be happy to agree with whatever he suggested and prepared to conclude that whatever it was was probably correct.

‘Eleanor said something about driving. Yes, I’m sure that was it. Maybe she’s driving a truck.’

‘It wouldn’t surprise me. Probably something articulated and weighing in at about twenty tons.’

‘That’s a bit heavy for a girl, isn’t it?’

‘Maggie’s not a girl, Mum. She’s a grown woman.’ Hugo’s mental calculation was swift. He was thirty-six. His sister Felicity and Maggie had both been six years younger. ‘She’s thirty years old, for heaven’s sake,’ he grumbled. ‘She doesn’t need someone looking after her. I’m sure she’s perfectly capable of finding her own accommodation. She’s probably quite happy to pitch a tent on the side of the road if she has to.’ Hugo breathed a sigh of relief. ‘In fact, those large trucks usually have a sleeping compartment behind the driver’s cab. I’m sure I could find her a place to park it.’

‘Oh, no! That wouldn’t do at all, dear. I don’t think she owns a truck. She just drives…something. Eleanor said she’s been trying very hard to find a house to rent but they’re as scarce as hen’s teeth and ridiculously expensive.’

There was no hint of relief in Hugo’s sigh this time. Queenstown was notorious for a lack of rental accommodation during peak tourist periods and for outrageous prices at most times. He could well remember his own delight in purchasing a property of his own. His own home. Where he lived, quite happily, by himself.

‘There’s always motels. I’m sure I could find an available room.’

‘That’s what Eleanor suggested.’

Good for Eleanor, Hugo thought. At least someone was on his side.

‘But I said, “Don’t be ridiculous, Nelly. Why should she pay a hundred dollars a night when Hugo has a spare room and he’s living there all by himself. Lonely.”’

‘I’m not lonely, Mum. I keep telling you how happy I am.’

‘You’re still living by yourself, dear. It’s not natural—not at your age. You should be settled down with a nice little family by now. Do you know I’m the only person in my bridge club who doesn’t have any grandchildren?’

‘You have mentioned it once or twice.’

‘Some of them have ten!’

‘I’m working on it, Mum.’

‘I’m seventy, Hugo. And last time I checked I wasn’t getting any younger.’

The reference to a biological clock struck a disturbing note that distracted Hugo momentarily. Where had he heard something like that recently? ‘You don’t look anything like seventy,’ he said. Maybe some flattery would help him change the subject. ‘Are you keeping up with your yoga classes?’

‘Of course. Don’t try and change the subject, Hugo.’

‘As if I would.’ Could, Hugo amended silently with a wry grin.

‘How long is it that you and that girl have been seeing each other? You know who I mean. Jenny. No, Jane.’

‘Joan,’ Hugo supplied. He took a long swallow of his wine. That was it. It had been Joan’s biological clock he’d heard ticking today. ‘And we’ve been friends for about a year now.’

‘Are you going to marry her?’

‘Marriage isn’t something to rush into, Mum.’

‘I rushed into it with your father. We had sixteen very happy years together. Your dad had two beautiful children by the time he was your age.’

The short silence was weighted by the memory of his father’s premature death when Hugo had been only fourteen. At least Gary Patterson hadn’t had to live through the tragic loss of his teenage daughter. A daughter who would probably have obliged by producing at least a few grandchildren by now.

‘I’ll see what I can do,’ Hugo said placatingly.

‘You would have married her by now if she was the right woman,’ Gwen suggested brightly. ‘Maybe you should keep looking for a bit.’

‘I don’t have time to go out hunting for women.’ Hugo was annoyed by his mother’s inadvertently perceptive observation. Striking up a friendship with Joan had been almost inevitable due to her availability as a nurse in his hospital. The relationship had become a reasonably comfortable habit until very recently. Possibly today, in fact. Joan’s comment about her age and babies had probably made him uneasy because it reminded him of his mother. And now his mother was making him uneasy by sowing a seed of doubt about the liaison that suddenly seemed familiar enough to have been around, unrecognised, for some time.

‘I don’t think Maggie’s married.’

Hugo’s huff of laughter was incredulous. ‘Mum! Maggie’s a—’ He stopped short. OK, he hadn’t seen Maggie for more than ten years and she hadn’t really stepped out of ‘kid’ category then, but she was a grown woman now. He’d said as much himself and far too assertively to go back on. And he didn’t want to go back on that statement. Kids needed looking after. They needed a place to stay. ‘Maggie’s family,’ he amended hurriedly. ‘Or close enough, anyway. Like you said yourself.’

‘Exactly!’ Gwen sounded triumphant. ‘That’s why I knew you wouldn’t object when I told Nelly Maggie could stay with you.’

Hugo’s groan was silent. If he changed his tune and objected that Maggie wasn’t really in their extended family, his mother would have her pegged as a potential mother for her grandchildren. Either way, he was in for some feminine emotional blackmail that he really didn’t have the energy to contend with. He drained his glass of wine.

‘Fine,’ he growled reluctantly. ‘She can stay.’

‘For as long as she likes,’ his mother finished helpfully.

‘For as long as it takes her to find a suitable permanent arrangement,’ Hugo corrected firmly.

‘I knew you’d be happy about it.’

‘I didn’t say I was happy.’

‘Nelly will be so pleased.’ Gwen appeared to be ignoring his comments. ‘I think she worries about Maggie more than she lets on.’

‘Somehow—’ Hugo was unaware of the wry expression on his features ‘—that really doesn’t surprise me.’

CHAPTER TWO

BLACK ice.

The small car lost traction and went into a skid, turning a full three hundred and sixty degrees before careening sideways into the solid rock wall of the gorge. Maggie Johnston braked her own vehicle gently, negotiating the curve around the crashed car until she had gone far enough to be easily seen by oncoming traffic. She hit the hazard light button on her dashboard and then pulled the release catch for the hatch at the back of her car. Thank goodness she had unearthed her first-aid kit before stuffing in any more of her worldly possessions now filling all the available space.

And thank goodness the car had skidded towards the solid side of this tortuous road. Had it gone the other way it would have tumbled about fifty metres into the impressive flow of the Cromwell River that sliced through the base of this picturesque gorge. Maggie wasn’t thinking about the setting’s scenic qualities right now, however. Having alerted the emergency services of the incident, she was now assessing the hazards the scene presented. Her own car would warn traffic of the obstruction on that side of the road around the bend. The narrow section in the direction she was now walking was relatively straight and…yes, there was another vehicle approaching with due caution. Maggie waved her arms and the driver stopped and rolled down his window.

‘Is anybody hurt?’

‘I’m about to find out.’ Maggie’s air of control was unconscious. ‘Could you park your car back at the next bend and put your hazard lights on? Wave down any approaching traffic and warn them to stop.’

‘Have you called an ambulance?’

‘It’s on its way. I just need to find out exactly what we’re dealing with.’ Maggie was already moving away swiftly. ‘Don’t worry, I do know what I’m doing. I’m a paramedic.’

It was only a minute or so after the accident that Maggie reached the passenger’s door of the crashed car, which was accessible. The occupant on that side was sitting there, clearly stunned by what had happened. Maggie tried the doorhandle but the front of the car was crumpled enough for it to have jammed. She noted that no airbags had been deployed as she tapped on the window.

‘Hello, can you hear me?’

The woman’s head turned and she blinked at Maggie in bewilderment.

‘Can you roll your window down?’ Maggie called. ‘I can’t open the door.’

The woman moved quickly now and the window lowered. Maggie leaned in so that she could see the driver as well.

‘Hello, there. Are either of you injured?’

‘I…I’m not sure,’ the driver stammered. ‘I don’t know what happened.’

‘You hit a patch of ice,’ Maggie told him. ‘Your car skidded and hit the wall.’

‘Oh, God!’ The middle-aged woman burst into tears. ‘We could have been killed.’

‘It’s OK,’ Maggie said. ‘You’re safe. My name’s Maggie and I’m a paramedic. Can you tell me if you have any pain anywhere?’

‘No.’ The woman was struggling to release her safety belt. ‘I want to get out.’

‘My neck hurts,’ the man said. ‘And I’m bleeding. I’ve cut my arm.’

‘Try and stay still,’ Maggie instructed. She couldn’t see any evidence of major ongoing blood loss and neither occupant was showing any signs of breathing difficulties. She looked at the car again. It was a three-door hatchback very similar to her own so it was going to be difficult for anyone to climb into the back and provide support for a potential cervical injury. The passenger door was jammed and the driver’s door was blocked by the rock wall it rested against. She looked past the car to the group of people approaching.

‘Does anybody have a crowbar or something similar?’ she called. ‘I need to try and get this door open.’

‘Let me try.’ A large man stepped forward. He reached for the door catch and pulled. Maggie saw him frown as he reassessed the situation. She picked up her mobile phone and made contact with the emergency services again.

‘We have two people trapped,’ she informed them. ‘One appears to be status 4, the other status 3 with a possible cervical injury. We need the fire service, a tow truck and an ambulance.’ She glanced at the growing number of onlookers. ‘We’re probably getting a bit of a traffic jam on the road as well.’

The man trying the door was now gripping the window-frame as the passenger held the catch open from the inside. He had his foot against the bottom of the car and with each pull the metal was giving a little. As Maggie finished her call the door was finally wrenched open enough to allow the woman to escape. She was still sobbing and Maggie gave her over to the care of the bystanders with instructions to keep her warm as she opened her first-aid kit and then climbed into the vehicle.

‘Is your car fitted with airbags?’

‘Just on my side. Why hasn’t it gone off?’

‘I don’t know.’ Maggie reminded herself to be careful until the fire service arrived with a cover for the steering-wheel. Getting between an injured occupant and a deploying airbag had killed more than one paramedic since their introduction.

‘Are you having any difficulty breathing at all?’

‘It hurts a bit when I take a deep breath.’

‘OK. I’m going to check your neck and put a collar around it and then I’ll listen to your breathing. What’s your name?’

‘James. Colin James.’

‘Have you got any medical problems I should know about, Colin? Do you suffer from any heart conditions? Asthma? High blood pressure?’

By the time the first assistance arrived, Maggie had completed a thorough assessment on both victims and was happy there were no serious injuries. Colin’s neck pain was probably due to mild whiplash. The collar was just a precaution until an X-ray examination could confirm her impression. As Maggie introduced herself and handed over the various components of scene control, she found herself becoming the centre of attention rather than her patients.

The ambulance arrived after the fire service and police and the crews of those vehicles were ready for the approach of the young, male ambulance officer.

‘Watch out, Jason,’ they warned jovially. ‘Your boss has beaten you to it. This is Maggie Johnston, the new station manager for Lakeview.’

‘You’re kidding!’ The officer’s face split into a wide grin. ‘Welcome to Central Otago, Maggie.’

‘Hell of an introduction.’ Maggie returned the grin. ‘I’m not supposed to start work till Monday.’ She was surprised but not at all put off by her future colleague’s short, dread-locked hair. He looked intelligent and had a very friendly smile. She held out her hand. ‘But thanks for the welcome.’

Her hand was shaken warmly. ‘I’m Jason Locke. I got your update from Control on the way so I knew there was someone here who knew what they were doing. Has the status changed for either patient?’

‘No. Mrs James was uninjured. Neither were KO’d and both have a GCS of 15. Colin has two out of ten neck pain, no associated neurology. He’s got some bruising from the seat belt but his chest is clear. Abdomen’s also clear. Blood pressure is 130 over 90. He’s got a minor laceration on his right forearm which I’ve dressed. That will probably need a few stitches. I’ve put a C-collar on and made a note of baseline vitals on both patients.’

‘Cool.’ Jason was nodding. Then he grinned again. ‘You wouldn’t like to complete the paperwork while you’re at it, would you?’

Maggie raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you single-crewed?’

‘That’s nothing unusual at the moment. We’ve got plenty of staff for the patient transfer side of the service and they’re qualified to fill gaps in the emergency roster, along with the volunteers, but we’ve been pushing them a bit hard for the last couple of months so it’s not just me that’s been looking forward to your arrival.’

‘What would you like me to do?’

‘I’ll grab a backboard,’ Jason said. ‘If you could help with the extrication and another assessment before I head off I’d be very grateful.’

Maggie also completed the two patient report forms and offered to travel with the ambulance if someone else could drive her car.

‘If it was a serious injury I’d take you up on that offer,’ Jason said. ‘But we’re fine, now. One of the fire guys, Andy, is a mate. He’ll drive me back. I’m sure you’ll want to get into town and get settled before it gets any later. Or colder. Call in at the station tomorrow and I’ll give you the grand tour.’

‘Thanks. I suppose I’d better try and find where I’m staying before it gets dark. The address sounds a bit isolated.’

‘Where are you heading?’

‘I need to look for a turn-off about six kilometres past the hospital. I take Spencer Road and then head off on an unnamed road across the paddocks looking for a house by the lake. I’m told I can’t miss it.’

‘Sounds like Doc Patterson’s place.’

‘It is. He’s an old friend.’

‘No kidding?’ Jason shook his head as he pulled the back doors of the ambulance closed. ‘Small world, isn’t it? Is that why you’ve come to work in this area?’

‘No.’ Maggie’s smile was almost rueful. ‘It’s just a lucky coincidence.’

It was a coincidence. Maggie had had no idea that Hugo Patterson had settled near Queenstown when she’d applied for the ambulance station manager’s position. And it was lucky in that it was solving a temporary accommodation hassle, but Maggie had doubts about the arrangement. Surely, if Hugo had been happy about it, he would have contacted her himself and not sent a message and directions via their respective mothers. The message had also been unexpectedly welcoming. If Hugo was so keen to see her, why had he not made any contact for more than a decade? And why had Hugo’s mother deemed it necessary to give her the information that he was unmarried and in some kind of relationship with a most unsuitable woman? It was none of her business after all. Maybe she was heading into a situation she would regret.

She couldn’t regret her impulsive decision to try a new start in a totally new part of the country, however. Maggie completed the last few kilometres of her journey towards Queenstown completely awed by the magnificent surroundings. Some of the Southern Alps’ most impressive peaks towered over the deep, glacier-gouged lakes in the area and Wakatipu, the huge and icy-cold serpent-shaped lake she was approaching now was the most famous. Reading up on her destination recently, Maggie had been intrigued to learn that the lake ‘breathed’ with a rhythmical rise and fall of its water level every five minutes. Maori legend had the lake being formed when an evil, sleeping giant had been set on fire, melting the snow and ice of the nearby mountains to fill the eighty-kilometre-long lake. That the movements were caused by variations in atmospheric pressure was an explanation of far less appeal.

Hugo lived right on the shore of the breathing lake and Maggie suspected that he would present the scientific version of the peculiar phenomenon. Not that Hugo was unimaginative or stuffy, but he had always been a fount of knowledge, and old and wise enough to be completely trustworthy. He had been more than a big brother figure. Hugo Patterson had been the only man of any significance in Maggie’s early life and she had loved him as much as his sister Felicity had.