Chapter Four

Jenna sat in her car until the last patient had left the surgery.

She needed to think this through. She had found a number for Professor Merrick with ease. All afternoon she had sat with her phone on her lap, not quite able to make herself punch in the number.

Finally, she’d made the call, only to be told the professor was away at a conference and wouldn’t be back for another two days. She’d been relieved; she didn’t want to go to some stranger.

In the end, she had decided to talk it over with David first. He was a doctor, and even if her medication was still in the experimental stage, surely he would be able to help her. Or get her on some sort of program—there must be other people like her.

She got out and locked the car. The surgery was in an old converted house on the edge of the village. It was the last sort of practice she would have expected her father to work for, but he had seemed happy here.

The receptionist, Susan, looked up as Jenna walked through the door, recognition flickering in her eyes. “Jenna, I’m sorry about your father. He was a good man.”

“Thank you,” she murmured. “Is Dr. Griffith in?”

“Yes, he’s expecting you. Go right through.”

David stood up as she entered and gestured to the chair opposite him. Jenna sank into it and fiddled with the strap of her bag. She didn’t know how to begin, and at the last moment, she wasn’t even sure she should be here. Her father’s warning echoed in her mind. Don’t speak to anyone else.

But why?

What possible harm could it do to get a second opinion?

“Jenna, what is it?”

She glanced up at the softly spoken question. From his seat across the desk, David watched her, concern clear in his face.

She lifted one shoulder. “I don’t know how to begin, or even whether I should begin at all.”

His brows drew together. “Perhaps just tell me what this is about.”

Jenna took a deep breath. “I have an illness. It’s genetic—I’ve had it all my life.”

“You’ve never spoken of this. Neither did your father.”

“I know. I didn’t like to, and my father…” She paused then forced herself to go on. “I think it was all tied in with my mother leaving. He didn’t like to talk about it. But he was treating me, and now I need to sort something out.”

“So what is this disease?”

“Some sort of mutation of Huntington’s. I was hoping my records were here at the surgery. I haven’t been able to find anything at Dad’s house.”

David leaned across and switched on the monitor. He typed in her name and stared at the screen, his frown deepening. “You’re not listed as a patient.”

Her heart sank. It looked like this was not going to be easy.

“Are you on any sort of medication?” he asked.

She nodded. “I had a checkup each month, and Dad adjusted my pills based on the results. He did tell me that the drug was experimental, though, and I’ve nearly run out.”

Opening her bag, she pulled out the pill bottle and handed it across the desk. David read the label and his frown deepened. “I don’t recognize the drug.” He typed it into the computer and shook his head. “Nothing.”

He unscrewed the lid and shook one of the small white pills onto his hand. “There are no markings. I have no clue what this is.” He stared up at the ceiling, his eyes narrowed in thought. Finally, he looked back at Jenna and smiled, even if the smile did look a little forced. “How about I send this out to the lab? I can label it as priority, and we should get the results back quickly. In the meantime, I’m going to give a friend of mine a call. He specializes in genetic neurological diseases; he can get you tested, find out exactly what this thing is that you have. And we need to keep looking for your records. There must be some.” He shook his head again. “I can’t believe your father was so secretive about it.”

“I was worried that maybe he was doing something illegal. He never talked about the past, but I know he used to work in research, and I wondered whether he was giving me medication that wasn’t approved.” She rubbed her finger across her forehead, trying to ease the ache.

David got to his feet and came around to crouch in front of her. “I’m not going to give you any platitudes here. If you have Huntington’s, then it’s a serious disease, but you obviously know that.” He straightened, running a hand through his short, light brown hair. “I wish you’d told me.”

“I didn’t want people to treat me differently.”

“And you think I would have?” He paced the room for a minute before coming to stand in front of her, hands jammed in his pants’ pockets. “Is that why you wouldn’t go out with me?”

Jenna bit her lip. She so did not want to have this conversation right now. But she didn’t want to hurt David, either, and she chose her words carefully. “You’re a serious sort of guy, and in the circumstances, I’m not looking for commitment.”

He released his breath on a sigh. “No, I can see why, but I still wish you’d confided in me.”

“Well, now you know.” She tried to keep the irritation form her voice but knew she’d failed when he moved away and went back to sit behind the desk.

“I need some time to take all this in. In the meantime, I’ll get onto the lab and get you an appointment with the specialist as soon as possible.”

“There’s something else. I don’t know if it’s any help, but perhaps you’d better see it.” Taking her father’s letter from her bag, she handed it to David. “This arrived today from my dad’s solicitors. To be forwarded on the event of his death.”

David took out the single sheet of paper and scanned it quickly. “So have you contacted this Professor Merrick?”

Jenna shook her head. “I looked him up on the internet this afternoon and found a telephone number. But apparently, he’s away at the moment, at a conference. I’ll try again in a few days.”

“I can track him down if you want me to.” David raised an eyebrow in query, and Jenna struggled to make sense of her thoughts.

“I sat there by the phone today,” she said, “and I realized I just want everything out in the open. So I’m ill—I’ve lived with that knowledge all my life, but I don’t want it to be some dirty little secret anymore.” Her speech picked up speed as her thoughts became clearer. “And who is this Professor Merrick guy? How did he know my father, and why have I never heard of him? Why should I go to a biochemist and not a doctor? Why shouldn’t I tell anyone? And what the hell is Descartes?”

Her voice had risen as she spoke, and David now regarded her with a dazed expression on his face. “Wow,” he said. “Well, I can answer the last one.”

Shock ran through her. And hope. “You can?”

“Descartes is a place.”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“Well, it’s not likely to be one you’ve ever visited—it’s on the moon. It was actually the site of the Apollo 16 landing. The Descartes Highlands.” At her blank look, he smiled. “I’m a bit of a space enthusiast.”

Thoughts whirled in her head. “I just don’t understand. What could a site on the moon possibly have to do with me or my father?”

“It’s probably something else entirely, a name perhaps. Why don’t I have a look for you, see if I can get some connection. Maybe this Merrick guy has done research on Huntington’s. Perhaps he worked with your father. It’s possible.”

He moved back around the desk and sank into his chair, scribbling some notes on a yellow pad. “There. I’m sure there’s a sensible explanation for all this.” He sat back in the huge leather seat and regarded her. “You know, your father was a brilliant man. I always felt honored to have the chance to work with him. But…”

“But?”

“I never understood why he was working here. He never talked about the past, but it was obvious that he was meant for something other than small-town surgery.”

“I was surprised, as well. But he was a secretive man, even with me, and I was his only family. I always presumed my mother had broken his heart.”

“You’re a romantic.”

She looked at him sharply. “No, I’m not. But he would never talk about her. You know, maybe this is my chance to look up my mother’s family. Even if she didn’t want me, it might be an interesting exercise.”

“It might at that. Perhaps I could help you.”

“Perhaps.” She rose to her feet and picked up her bag. “Thank you for listening.”

“You know I’m always here for you.”

She nodded and turned to go.

David followed her out of his office and into the reception area. The receptionist had left for the night and the room was in darkness except for a small lamp on the counter that cast a pool of light.

“You know, all this wouldn’t have stopped me wanting to see you.”

Jenna reached up and stroked the palm of her hand down over his cheek. “That’s the main reason I didn’t tell you.”