‘My feet?’
‘That’s right.’ He squatted down and helped her slip her shoes off.
‘I never thought I’d have Conner MacNeil at my feet.’
‘Savour the moment, Mrs Ellis. Do they bother you?’
‘They’re aching terribly and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re a bit swollen…’ She wiggled her toes. ‘I assumed it was the heat.’
Conner examined her feet and ankles. ‘From what I’ve seen, Glenmore is in the middle of a typical summer. Wind and rain. I’m not expecting any cases of heatstroke today.’ He was sure that her feet were swollen for a very different reason.
‘We had sunshine last week. You know Glenmore—the weather is always unpredictable. A bit like you.’ She looked at him, her gaze slightly puzzled. ‘You’re very gentle. I hadn’t expected that of you.’
‘I prefer not to leave marks on my victims.’ A faint smile on his face, Conner rose to his feet. ‘The swelling isn’t caused by heat, Mrs Ellis. I can tell you that much.’ He washed his hands and picked up the IV tray that Flora had left on the trolley. ‘I’m going to take some blood.’
‘Is that really necessary?’
‘No. I just want to cause you pain.’
His patient laughed out loud. ‘Revenge, Conner?’
‘Maybe. You called the police that night.’
‘Yes, I did.’ Susan stuck out her arm. ‘You were out of control. Only eight years old and helping yourself to what you wanted from my shop.’
He ran his fingers gently over her skin, searching for a vein. ‘I needed some stuff and I didn’t have the money to pay.’
‘And how often did I hear that from the children? Plenty of them did it.’ Her laughter faded and she shook her head as she watched him. ‘But I remember you. You were different. So bold. A real rebel. Even when John, our island policeman, gave you a talking to, you didn’t cry. It was as if you were used to being shouted at. As if you’d hardened yourself.’
Conner didn’t falter. ‘You have good veins. This shouldn’t be hard.’
‘You’re not going to excuse yourself, are you?’
‘Why would I do that?’
‘Because we found out later that there were things happening in your house.’ She spoke softly. ‘Plenty to explain why you were the way you were.’
Suddenly the room felt bitterly cold. Conner slipped a tourniquet over her wrist. ‘Everyone’s family is complicated. Mine was no different.’
‘No?’ Susan looked at him for a moment and then sighed. ‘I remember how you looked on that day. You just stood there, all defiant, your chin up and those blue eyes of yours flashing daggers. Oh, you were angry with me.’
‘As you said, you’d called the police.’
‘But it didn’t have any effect. You were never afraid of anyone or anything, were you, Conner MacNeil?’
Oh, yes, he’d been afraid. ‘Don’t do it. Don’t touch her—I’ll kill you if you touch her.’
With ruthless determination Conner pushed the memory back into the darkness where it belonged. ‘On the contrary, I was afraid of my cousin Kyla.’ Keeping his tone neutral, he tightened the tourniquet and studied the woman’s veins. ‘She had a deadly punch and a scream that would puncture your eardrums.’
‘Ah, Kyla. We all miss her. It’s not good when islanders leave. It’s not good for Glenmore.’
Swift and sure, Conner slipped the needle into the vein. ‘Depends on the islander, Mrs Ellis. There are some people that Glenmore is pleased to see the back of.’ He released the tourniquet and watched as the blood flowed. ‘I’m checking your thyroid function, by the way.’
‘Oh. Why?’
‘Because I think hypothyroidism is a possible explanation for your symptoms.’ Having collected the blood he needed, he withdrew the needle and covered the area with a pad. ‘Press on that for a moment, would you? If you leave here with bruises, that will be another black mark against me.’
She looked down at her arm. ‘That’s it? You’ve finished? You’re good at that. I barely felt it.’ The expression in her eyes cooled. ‘I suppose you have a lot of experience with needles.’
Conner picked up a pen and labelled the bottles. ‘I’m the first to admit that my list of vices is deplorably long, Mrs Ellis, but I’ve never done drugs.’
Her shoulders relaxed. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said softly. ‘That was uncalled for. If I’ve offended you…’
‘You haven’t offended me.’ He dropped the blood samples into a bag, wondering what had possessed him to take the job on Glenmore. He could have come in on the ferry, sorted out his business and left again.
‘Hypothyroidism, you say?’
‘There are numerous alternative explanations, of course, but this is a good place to start.’
‘I don’t know whether to be relieved or alarmed. I was expecting you to tell me it was nothing. Should I be worried?’
‘Worrying doesn’t achieve anything. If we find a problem, we’ll look for a solution.’ He completed the necessary form and then washed his hands again. ‘I’m going to wait for those results before we look at anything else because I have a strong feeling that we’ve found the culprit.’
‘You’re confident.’
‘Would you prefer me to fumble and dither?’
She laughed. ‘You always were a bright boy, Conner MacNeil. Too bright, some would say. Bright and a rebel. A dangerous combination.’
Conner sat back down in his chair. ‘Call the surgery in three days for the result and then make another appointment to see me. We can talk about what to do next.’
‘All right, I’ll do that. Thank you.’ Susan picked up her bag, rose to her feet and walked to the door. Then she turned. ‘I always regretted it, you know.’
Conner looked up. ‘Regretted what?’
‘Calling the police.’ Her voice was soft. ‘At the time I thought you needed a fright. I thought a bit of discipline might sort you out. But I was wrong. You were wild. Out of control. But what you needed was a bit of love. People to believe in you. I see that now. What with everything that was happening at home—your mum and dad. Of course, none of us knew the details at the time, but—’
‘You did the right thing calling the police, Mrs Ellis,’ Conner said in a cool tone. ‘In your position I would have called them, too.’
‘At the time I was angry that they didn’t charge you.’
‘I’m sure you were.’
It was her turn to smile. ‘Now I’m pleased they didn’t. Can I ask you something?’
‘You can ask. I don’t promise to answer.’
‘There was a spate of minor shoplifting at that time but everyone else was taking sweets and crisps. You took the oddest assortment of things. What did you want it all for?’
Conner leaned back and smiled. ‘I was making a bomb.’
‘He blew up the science lab!’ Flora stood in front of Logan, trying to make him to see reason.
‘Funny.’ Logan scanned the lab result in front of him. ‘Conner said that you’d bring that up.’
‘Of course