Chapter Four Where were his parents? Ken reassessed the door but there was no Be Right Back sign or statement giving a clue as to their whereabouts. Then the phone broke the silence, making him jump. ‘Hello, Canton Kitchen?’ he uttered. ‘Son?’ ‘Dad.’ ‘Your mother is in hospital.’ ‘What? What happened? Is she okay?’ ‘She’sContinue reading “Chapter Four”
Author Archives: adrianli88
Chapter Three
Chapter Three Time, as it usually proved to be, was not going to be the best medicine in this circumstance; even when he returned to the takeaway after school, Ken Jin found himself ducking and diving around the grey worktops in a bid to avoid any form of contact with his irate father. During theContinue reading “Chapter Three”
Chapter Two
When the bell signalled the end of lunch break, Ken dusted down his charcoal trousers after having performed a spectacular last-ditch sliding tackle to maintain the eight-seven victory that his team had hard-fought largely in his absence. He may have consistently held the title for the shortest boy in the year at five-feet-four, but heContinue reading “Chapter Two”
Chapter One
‘Take some change with you, son.’ I’ll be fine, thought Ken, they’re a business too. As if they won’t be able to produce the right amount of money from the till. He half-heartedly scooped up the small white bag from the shelf and undid the latch beneath the counter in order to escape the premises.Continue reading “Chapter One”
Bonus Epilogue
December 2019 ‘So, you’re finally back.’ ‘Only for a stopover. Did you miss me?’ asked Philippa. ‘Of course,’ the man said opening his arms for an embrace. He seemed genuinely pleased. ‘I’m sorry I never had the chance to say goodbye in person.’ She patted his back lightly. The pair walked abreast down a picturesqueContinue reading “Bonus Epilogue”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Two weeks later ‘Can I change your mind… about quitting the health service?’ ‘Dr Steer, working in the NHS; it’s fire-fighting… it’s politics over patients and I cannot take it anymore – the injustice. The medical registrars – we’re the ones who keep the hospital running in and out of hours yet it’s the managementContinue reading “Chapter Thirty-Six”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Philippa charged at Tim, using the pew as a springboard. He did not seem surprised. Instead, his expression was one of disappointment. He pulled the trigger. The pain that ensued was paralytic – the most pain she had ever experienced in her life. The shock from the taser caused her to lose all control ofContinue reading “Chapter Thirty-Five”
Chapter Thirty-Four
The man made no response despite her rather unsubtle entrance. Philippa inched forwards, the cannula poised in her right hand, ready to plunge it into the man’s neck, if it came to it. One further step. Still, the man did not flinch. ‘Hello?’ she said quietly. Then she spotted the man’s jaw flicker, as ifContinue reading “Chapter Thirty-Four”
Chapter Thirty-Three
The name sent an arctic chill through her body. Rob Gadra had told her the tragic story behind the former Princess Royal Hospital employee tonight. With one click, Philippa entered the deceased girl’s profile. She was sure that she had never come across the girl. So why did the numerical clues found at each sceneContinue reading “Chapter Thirty-Three”
Chapter Thirty-Two
An intricate yellow-gold bangle rattled against the lino. Philippa Haven picked it up off the floor and bounced it on the palm of her perspiring hand. It was heavier than it looked. Two hearts, where the clips were hidden behind, stared back at her like the eyes of a hawk. Diamonds were evenly spaced alongContinue reading “Chapter Thirty-Two”
Chapter Thirty-One
On the map, Shinji had marked the locations of each murder with an ‘x’: Surgical Four, Medical Six and portacabin three aka fifty-five. However, he had also circled Medical Six and beside the ward, written the word: symbol. ‘Symbol?’ Philippa muttered aloud. Her phone had two percent battery remaining. The doctor flicked through the savedContinue reading “Chapter Thirty-One”
Chapter Thirty
05:45 ‘You must be Mrs Nyarko?’ ‘Yes, I am. Please, just call me Suki.’ The tearful lady had moved to perch on the bed, next to her husband, whose face was noticeably asymmetrical. Saliva drooled from the corner of his mouth. ‘My name is Philippa, the doctor on-call tonight,’ she said, trying in vainContinue reading “Chapter Thirty”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Philippa drew blood at the first time of asking and handed the porter the sample to run. She needed these results more than ever. ‘Two minutes!’ Manuel said. He had a fresh Spanish accent. Gemma took a breather as Philippa pressed for a pulse. ‘Still no pulse.’ ‘Any more adrenaline, Philippa?’ Karan asked with aContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Nine”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
‘Me?’ he stammered disbelievingly. Philippa nodded. ‘Go and lead this arrest. I will stay here and try to stabilise Shinji. I’ll join up with you later, Karan.’ ‘Are you comfortable with that?’ ‘Are you?’ ‘I’m happy to; I just want to make sure you are.’ ‘I have full faith in you. Gemma, Luigi, can youContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Eight”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The steel doors of the mortuary proved a strain to open, allowing Philippa Haven to fully appreciate the strength Ariel must have possessed in those biceps. She stepped out into the corridor. It felt strangely warm. Her bleep went off. And in that moment, her heart stopped, because she had heard this adrenaline-activating siren onContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Seven”
Chapter Twenty-Six
In relation to the pathology lab, the mortuary was geographically and thermally at the polar opposite of the hospital and the chilly atmosphere urged Philippa to move hastily. The corridor down this wing was adorned with a weird framed collection of decorated eggs which did their best to mask the peeling paint. At these earlyContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Six”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Death… In her time as a doctor, she had grown at times, expectant of it. Her first experience of it was at the tender age of four when she held the hand of her dying father as he took his final breaths. He had pancreatic cancer and passed away shortly after the diagnosis as hisContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Five”
Chapter Twenty-Four
‘Shinji, I forgot to show you this.’ The detective took the Polaroid photograph with robust eagerness. Every clue seemed to shoot fresh energy into his body, much like a defibrillator. ‘Any idea where this was taken?’ he asked. ‘No, but it’s just a brick wall; it could be anywhere in the world… Pisa, given theContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Four”
Chapter Twenty-Three
04:10 A consultant once taught her: ‘If you get on with everyone at work, then you’re not working enough.’ Her hands now trembled from the verbal tirade that had just erupted. Her cheeks were wet and her shoulders tense. She began to rue letting the consultant get beneath her skin. Leaving the pressure canister ofContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Three”
Chapter Twenty-Two
By the time both Karan and the nurse had ditched their gloves, the hooded person had fled. ‘They’ve gone,’ said Philippa. ‘I don’t know who it was – someone was standing by those hedges.’ ‘Are you –’ ‘I wasn’t seeing things.’ ‘I meant to say, are you alright?’ ‘I’m fine,’ she snapped. ‘What happened atContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Two”
Chapter Twenty-One
She handed the device to the detective. He juggled it in his frail hands as if it was a piece of burning coal. Then he used a curved fingernail to pry open the battery compartment. There was a standard AA battery enclosed but when he lifted it out, he nodded his head gently. Using aContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-One”
Chapter Twenty
Philippa Haven took out her mobile phone and turned on the camera function. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance… the five stages of grief. She had jumped directly to anger; how could there have been a denial stage when she had undeniably failed to save Rob’s life? But his tragic death had chopped away at theContinue reading “Chapter Twenty”
Day Ten: Final Words
As my experience with COVID-19 switches from a very personal fight to an occupational one, my heart goes out to all those who have lost loved ones to the virus, whose own personal battles did not conclude as positively as mine. What have I learned from this? Well, coronavirus can present extremely differently. I hadContinue reading “Day Ten: Final Words”
Chapter Nineteen
‘I’ll be right back,’ Justin said, protecting the precious syringe of blood cautiously. But was he shielding much more; a secret that was linked to the events of both tonight and right now? Philippa’s head oscillated between Justin and Karan, like a metronome dial. She had to act now. ‘No,’ she said suddenly. ‘Justin, you’veContinue reading “Chapter Nineteen”
Day Nine: An Emerging Stigma
I plan for this to be the penultimate entry on my fight against COVID, one which had become so personal. Day eight had not been disclosed in its entirety. I had organised a COVID test for Fi. It would have been a sense of deja vu had it not been for the contrasting drive. LockdownContinue reading “Day Nine: An Emerging Stigma”
The Crucial Day Eight
It was another rough night for Fi and that meant a near enough rough night for me, but there was no further vomiting and the back pain was better. She did however, have the restless legs that I too, had experienced and on direct questioning, it was the same left leg that was particularly troublesome.Continue reading “The Crucial Day Eight”
Chapter Eighteen
What was he doing cutting across the graveyard in the direction of the hospital building? At one point, the cemetery trespasser seemed to look up and his light zapped across her window, forcing her to hide behind the edge. She continued watching with enthusiasm until her angle of vision no longer allowed her to trackContinue reading “Chapter Eighteen”
The End of Week One
Fi had a rough night, to say the least. She had back pain, lethargy, fevers and vomiting. Thinking back, she complained of back pain two days prior. I had to do a quick literature search to find out how common vomiting was. Not common but has been reported, was the conclusion. I realised I wasContinue reading “The End of Week One”
Day Six: One Contagious SOB
I felt better but little did I realise that the worst was yet to come… We may have been approaching the crucial day eight but I felt better. Fi and I joked how perhaps I had some underlying syndrome – clubbed fingers, being cursed with a lack of masculine height, born with pyloric stenosis toContinue reading “Day Six: One Contagious SOB”
Day Five: The Dream
I had a dream and not a very pleasant one. In it, I was reading an article but somehow living it too. A thirty-something Caucasian doctor, usually fit and well had COVID and deteriorated, requiring intensive care. Her symptom the day prior to deterioration was restless legs, a syndrome which already exists and may signalContinue reading “Day Five: The Dream”
Every few days... 