‘What?’
‘The home where I’m working is in Clincham …’
‘Wow!’
‘… and I’m living in a little village called Weldisham.’
‘Oh, goodness me. Just up on the edge of the Downs. It’s lovely up there.’ Jude remembered when she and Carole had investigated some human bones discovered in a barn near Weldisham. ‘Well, since you’re so close, we absolutely must meet up.’
‘I agree. That’s why I was ringing.’
‘But tell me first about this convalescent home where you’re working. Are you enjoying it?’
‘Best job I’ve ever had. I’ve been so caught up in it that’s another reason why I haven’t phoned you. It’s a big house just on the outskirts of Clincham, lovely setting, great views looking up towards Goodwood and the Downs. Called Casements. And the patients are, well, what you’d expect – people recovering from operations, a bit of respite care, some who’re just run down or have had breakdowns, a few terminal cases. But the doctor who runs it is the kind I’ve been looking for all my life.’
‘You don’t mean in the sense of a potential Husband Number Three?’
‘Certainly not. Rob is very happily married, I’m glad to say. He’s a qualified doctor, but he’s really found his métier as director of Casements. What’s more, he’s the perfect boss for me because he does genuinely believe in mixing traditional and alternative therapies.’
‘So you get to do a bit of kinesiology?’
‘Yes. Which is great. Rob also has people who come in to do reiki and acupuncture. I mean, none of it’s forced on the patients. And of course I do the normal everyday nursing stuff as well. But if any of the patients want to have a go with me on the kinesiology, well, they can. And I must say I’ve had some really encouraging results. Really think I’ve helped some of them. I no longer leave work feeling dissatisfied.’
‘That sounds brilliant. Well, look, come on, diaries at the ready. Let’s sort out a time when we can meet up. Presumably if you’re in Weldisham three miles up a country lane, you must have a car. There’s a very nice pub here in Fethering called the Crown and Anchor.’
‘There’s also a nice one in Weldisham called the Hare and Hounds.’
‘Yes, I know it.’ Jude and Carole had spent quite a bit of time there when they’d been investigating the death on the Downs.
‘Oh, before I forget, Jude … there was another reason why I phoned you today.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes. Your name came up yesterday when I was talking to one of the patients here.’
‘Oh? Who was it?’
‘Her name’s Hester Winstone.’
TWENTY-ONE
‘Staying with a friend.’ Yes, thought Jude, that’s exactly how a man like Mike Winstone would explain away his wife’s absence. In his shallow world of cricketing heartiness there was no room for uncomfortable realities like mental illness. Belle told her that Hester had been in Casements almost from the moment she had been released by the police after questioning about Ritchie Good’s death. She was under the care of a psychiatrist, but she had also accepted Belle’s offer of some kinesiology treatment. It was during one of their sessions that Jude’s name had come up. ‘She was very kind to me,’ Hester Winstone had said.
According to Belle, Hester wasn’t isolated at Casements. Though she had breakfast in her room, she ate other meals communally with the other patients. She was on a heavy dose of antidepressants, and she was given sleeping pills at night. Belle said she was not a difficult patient. She seemed very withdrawn and, yes, in a state of shock.
Jude had then given a brief outline of the events in Smalting that had led to Ritchie Good’s death, and Belle said, hearing that, she wasn’t surprised at the state Hester was in. ‘So do you think she actually witnessed him dying?’
‘I think so. But I can’t be sure. I’d really love to talk to Hester about that.’
‘Well, why don’t you?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Come and visit her at Casements.’
‘Could I do that?’
‘Why not?’
‘I thought perhaps she wasn’t allowed visitors.’
‘Not so far as I know. Her husband comes to visit her twice a week. Regular as clockwork. Two o’clock on Wednesdays and Saturdays.’
‘Have you met him, Belle?’
‘No, I haven’t.’
‘So you don’t think there’d be any problem if I were to visit her?’
‘I wouldn’t think so. I’ll check with Rob if you like. I think he’d welcome your coming. I think he’d also welcome it if you tried a bit of healing on her.’
‘That’s a thought. Would you mind asking him, though?’
‘No problem. I’ll be going in after lunch. My shift starts at two. I’ll ask Rob and phone you back.’
‘Well, if it’s OK, maybe I could come and see Hester this afternoon?’
‘I can see no reason why not,’ said Belle.
As it turned out she must have phoned her boss straight after their call ended, because she rang back within five minutes, offering to pick Jude up in Fethering at one-thirty and drive her to Casements.
It was good to see Belle again. Jude always found that, whatever time had elapsed since their last meeting, they could pick up together as if they’d only met the day before. But they didn’t talk a lot on the journey to Clincham. Jude was preoccupied with her forthcoming encounter with Hester Winstone and, as she did before a healing session, was focusing her energies. Belle knew her well enough to respect the silence between them.
Casements was a large house set back from the road some miles outside Clincham in the Midhurst direction. Its name clearly derived from its large number of windows, all criss-crossed with lead latticework. It looked more like a country house than a hospital.
As she brought her Toyota Yaris to a halt in the staff car park, Belle said, ‘I’d like you to meet Rob. I told him you were a healer.’
‘Fine.’
The door off the main hall to the Director’s Office was open, which seemed to typify the air of relaxed warmth around Casements. Rob himself reinforced that impression. A tall man in his forties, he dressed more casually than the average GP, but there was a shrewdness in his blue eyes which suggested he was aware of everything that was going on around him.
‘My friend Jude,’ said Belle as they stood in the doorway.
‘Great to meet you.’ Rob’s handshake was firm and welcoming. ‘I hear you’re a healer.’
‘Yes.’
‘I can’t claim to understand how it works, but I have a great respect for your profession.’ Jude wondered how Carole would have reacted to hearing what she did described as a ‘profession’, as Rob went on, ‘And I’ve seen some remarkable results from the work of healers.’
Jude grinned. ‘I can’t claim that I know how it works either. But I know when it works.’
‘Sounds good enough to me. As Belle’s probably said, we use a lot of alternative therapies here – though actually I prefer to call them complementary therapies. Medical knowledge is improving all the time, but there are still too many things we are clueless about when it comes to curing them. So I’m in favour of trying anything – short of downright charlatanism – that might work.’
‘Sounds a good approach to me,’ said Jude.
‘Were you thinking of trying any healing with Hester this afternoon?’
‘Only with your permission. She’s your patient, not mine. I don’t want to do anything that might clash with the treatment she’s already receiving.’