Page 11 (1/2)

Richard Serrailler cleared his throat

"Yes," Cat said "I see it"

It was always the way You knew, but you pretended you did not; you feared the worst, not because you were a pessimist but because you knew the medical facts It was your job

She had known

"The lesion is here," Dr Parker said, highlighting the shadowed area "It’s already quite large He row pretty rapidly as you know The pressure just reached a point where it triggered off so hies"

"Yes," Cat said

"Has he complained of headaches?"

"He has, but he didn’t i up and travelling Jet lag He’s been very tired--I should have realised I should have known it wasn’t prolonged jet lag"

"Easy to miss He says he’s vomited a couple of times in the last few days"

"He didn’t tell ?" She looked at her father but could not read his expression because there was none He ht not have heard the conversation

Chris’s brain She looked at the shadowed portion, trying to assess exactly where the tunosis, to behave as if she were a doctor and this were a patient’s scan To behave like her father

"It doesn’t look good," she said at last

"No Dr Ling will look at it first thing tomorrow and talk to you about the options"

"May I see Chris?" I aed

"Of course I’ll take you along Dr Serrailler?"

"I’ll wait in the car No point in crowding hihts were diure, one humped over One with the curtains drawn Murmured voices Drip stands Cat felt a swell of fear

He was propped up on a pillow rest Hospital gown

"I’ll go and see if soistrar said

Hospital pyjamas

But he was Chris He looked no different Soed

He looked at her Looked away

"Why didn’t you tell me?" She hadn’t "

"I used to have ht they’d come back"

She put her hand on his

"Seen the scan?"

"Yes MRI diagnosis is for the experts You’ll see the neurologist in the "

"Where are the children?"

"With Judith"

"Who’s Judith?"

"Dad’s friend You’ve had a sedative, don’t worry"

Chris was silent Drowsing? Thinking?

Sheher on Cat leaned over and stroked his forehead "I’ll coive nose yourself"

"Promise me, Cat"

She was silent She could not proin to think of what it would liorade two Please"

"Try to sleep But you know there are plenty of other brain tuht to the worst Don’t think about it any ht, how stupid How stupid, stupid, stupid Don’t think about it any more As if

She leaned over to kiss hie," Richard said as they turned out of the hospital car park "The symptoms are contradictory The epileptic fit and the drowsiness indicate a brain stees are consistent with one in the frontal lobe Glioma, would you say? Has he had eye problegled to reply The car see ahead down the bypass Her father had always been a careful, safe and very fast driver Herwould stay still

"What did Chris have to say?"

She meant to reply that he had been sedated and not very corade-four I would give hi?"

He did not reply

"For heaven’s sake, there are dozens of possibilities, aren’t there? It could be benign, in which case it ery and he’ll make a full recovery It could be amenable to radiotherapy It may not even be a tumour An MRI is hard to read, you said so yourself"

"Not that hard"

"My God, you are a co here, Dad I need you to help me"

"Of course I’ll help you What on earth do you expect?"

"You sound so clinical"

"I’ like aI’m extremely sorry for Chris It is not a road I would wish anyone to have to travel"

"How can someone ask his wife to kill him?"

"He spoke only of one particular circumstance"

"In any circumstance"