by Amy Cross
***
Not even ten minutes later, with the vehicle having driven at breakneck speed through the twisting streets of Thaxos before surging up the hill, Doctor Burns climbed out of the passenger seat and hurried toward the steps that led up to the mansion's main door. Having lived all his life on Thaxos without ever visiting the house before, he found it almost surreal to be so close. He still felt as if the night was somehow twisted and unreal, as if the house was brooding, but he told himself that his duty was first and foremost to help whoever was injured, and that he could worry about everything else later.
“Where is she?” he shouted as soon as he made his way through the door.
“This way,” replied an elderly man, evidently Le Compte's manservant.
“Tell me what happened.”
“She was found outside,” the old man explained, with the same impassive, almost disinterested tone as the young man who had driven the vehicle. “His Lordship is tending to her presently.”
Despite his age and his increasingly painful knees, Doctor Burns was still able to run along the dark, under-lit corridor that led through to the western wing of the building. He could scarcely believe that he was in such a place, and as he passed the huge oil paintings of various Le Compte family members, he felt almost as if they were staring down at him. Finally, as he reached the double doors at the end of the corridor, he made his way into a large state room and spotted a figure standing solemnly by a sofa, and another figure laid out nearby under a blanket.
“What happened?” Doctor Burns called out as he hurried across the room.
Slowly, Edgar Le Compte turned to him.
“Out of the way, man,” the doctor continued, dropping his medical bag and kneeling next to the sofa. “Tell me what happened to her!”
“It's okay,” Edgar replied calmly. “She's absolutely fine.”
Pulling the blanket back, Doctor Burns saw that Kate Langley seemed to be resting. Her eyes were closed and there were deep scratches all over her face, but it took only a second to establish that she seemed to have a strong pulse and that she was breathing unaided. There was blood on the blanket, but little on Kate herself. After double-checking her pulse and then peering more closely at the scratches, the doctor realized that they were indeed deep and ragged, although it was clear that someone had already tended to her.
“When I sent for you,” Edgar continued, “I believed that Ms. Langley was on the verge of death. I'm afraid, however, that you have had a wasted journey, since as you can see she is already recovering.”
“What happened to her?” the doctor asked, pulling the blanket down further to reveal Kate's torn clothes, which in places seemed to have been completely shredded in some kind of furious attack. Moving a scrap of fabric aside from her belly for a moment, he saw more thick scratches, although these too seemed to have already begun to heal.
“She seems to have been attacked by some kind of wild animal,” Edgar explained. “My suspicion is that there must be a wolf loose somewhere on Thaxos, but if that is the case, I shall have my men deal with it. Rest assured, the matter is in hand and there will be no further attacks.”
“There are no wolves on Thaxos,” the doctor replied, continuing to examine Kate's injuries. “There's nothing on this island that could possibly cause so much damage. Not even one of your goddamn rats.”
“They are not my rats,” Edgar replied patiently. “Besides, you can see Ms. Langley's injuries for yourself. Regardless of what you say, it is absolutely clear that there must be some kind of large animal on the island, something that is able to cause this type of damage to a person. It would appear that she took shelter in one of my maintenance huts, and that the creature broke through the window and savaged her. This, to me, implies an animal of considerable heft and intelligence, which is why I believe that a wolf is the most likely culprit.”
“Yes, but -”
“I have experience with wolves,” Edgar added. “I have seen their victims before.”
“There are no wolves on Thaxos,” Doctor Burns insisted. “I don't care about your experience, there just aren't any! What are you suggesting, that one swam all the way here from the mainland?” He paused for a moment as he carefully examined a deep cut that ran across Kate's waist. “I don't get it,” he muttered. “The cuts on her skin are deep and ragged, but at the same time they all seem to extend only through the flesh itself. The underlying muscle tissue is completely undamaged.”
He paused again, trying to understand what he was seeing. In all his years as a doctor, he had never encountered such specific injuries. It was as if the world's most greatest surgeon had delicately savaged the poor woman.
“What did you do to her?” he asked eventually, turning to Edgar.
“Me?”
“This woman has received medical attention.”
“I simply arranged her on the sofa and tried to make her as comfortable as possible.”
“No,” the doctor continued, “she has received actual medical attention. There's no doubt of that at all. Do you have your own private physician up here?”
“I do not.”
“Then who worked on her?”
“No-one.”
“Don't treat me like an idiot,” he continued, struggling to stay calm. “I'm a doctor, Mr. Le Compte, and I know when another doctor has been at work. The injuries this woman has sustained are deep and serious, but at the same time someone seems to have begun to heal her. She's my patient now, and I demand to know what has been done to her so far. I can't work if I don't know what treatment has been administered!”
“As you can see for yourself,” Edgar replied, “Ms. Langley is now recovering after her ordeal. Whatever happened to her out there, I'm sure she will confirm once she wakes up that some was attacked by a wolf. I'm sorry to have had you disturbed and brought up here at such an unfortunate hour, but at the time it seemed like the best approach. I can only hope that you will accept my apology for the trouble, and perhaps a drink as recompense for your troubles.”
“I'll need to give her a thorough check-up,” Doctor Burns replied. “Once I get her down to my surgery -”
“That will not be necessary.”
“Excuse me?”
“She requires no further medical attention,” Edgar explained. “All she needs is to rest.”
“That's fine for you to say, but you're not a doctor. I'll be taking her down to my surgery, and I'd appreciate it if you could make your vehicle available so that the journey can be -”
“She will not be going anywhere.”
Doctor Burns stared at him for a moment, taken aback by Edgar's refusal to listen to medical advice. He had never met Edgar before, although he had heard a great deal about him, and the man's arrogance seemed second to none. Turning back to look at Kate, however, the doctor couldn't help but admit that she genuinely did seem for the most part to be okay. He felt that he should take her to his surgery for a check-up, just to be certain, but at the same time he knew that on purely medical grounds he had no cause to start issuing demands.
“Please,” Edgar continued, “take all the time you need to examine Ms. Langley while you're here. Once you have ascertained that she is fine, I would very much like you to join me in my study for a few minutes. I feel that it would be a good idea for us to get to know one another. After all, even if on this occasion your skills are not required, I intend to remain on Thaxos for quite some time and therefore I'm sure it would benefit me to be on good terms with the local physician.”
“I am going to examine this woman's injuries thoroughly,” Doctor Burns replied, “and I can assure you, Mr. Le Compte, that if I feel that she needs to be taken to my surgery, I will ensure that this is precisely what happens, even if I have to call the police for help in the process. Is that clear?”
Edgar merely stared at him, with a faint smile on his lips, almost as if he found the situation amusing.
“Is that clear?” Doctor Burns asked again.
“As crystal,” Edgar replied, calmly. “But please, come to my study when you're done. We have much to talk about.”
