wanda1969

Rebecca- Chapter 6 (part 3)

Jack had insisted that Ianto stay at Manderley, and that he, Swanson, Owen and Hart would travel down to London. After close to an hour looking for the address that Mrs Cooper had given them, they finally found themselves at a rather dingy terrace with a brass plaque proclaiming ‘Dr J Fortesque MD, FRS, FRCOG”. It all seemed a little squalid.

The group entered the building to find a rather young and disinterested receptionist who was frantically texting away on her mobile ‘phone.

“We’re here to see Dr Fortesque,” Swanson said authoratively as she flashed her police ID. “It’s a matter of some urgency...police business.”

“Take a seat, Dr Fortesque shouldn’t be long,” the young woman said as she quickly closed her telephone and placed it on the desk.

The group sat down silently and several uncomfortable minutes went by, until a middle aged woman scurried out from the doctor’s surgery.

“You can go through now- the doctor has a gap in his appointments,” the receptionist stated as she stood and showed them through into Dr Fortesque’s surgery.

“Dr Fortesque- there are some people to see you...” she said, before turning around and closing the door.

Swanson took the lead. “Dr Fortesque, I’m DI Swanson, Cornwall Police Force. We have some questions about one of your patients- a Mrs Rebecca Harkness.”

“Hello,” Fortesque said as he nodded his greetings to the small group. “But I can assure you that I have no-one of that name on my books...”

Hart was the first to speak, “Perhaps she used a different name?” He reached into his pocket and looked through his ‘phone, passing it over to the doctor. “I’ve got a picture here- does it ring any bells?”

The doctor studied it before he spoke, “Ah! Mrs Cooper, oh yes, I remember her- very charming. She was one of my clients, but I have to tell you that I can’t tell you any details about her medical history. Hippocratic Oath and all of that...”

“I can assure you, doctor, that this case is the subject of a Coroner’s Inquest- you might as well tell me any details now. I will be able to get a warrant for this information, if necessary.” Swanson leant forward on the desk.

Fortesque relented. “Take a seat, all of you...what do you want to know? I haven’t seen Mrs Cooper for over a year now.”

“Well, that’s just it. Mrs Harkness- Cooper wasn’t her real name- she died about a year ago. In fact we estimate that she died just after her last consultation with you. This is Mr Harkness, her husband,” Swanson continued, indicating Jack.

Fortesque looked a shocked before his features settled into an understanding and compassionate smile. “Oh. It doesn’t surprise me...Mrs Cooper was a client of mine for many years. She was desperate for children. The last time I saw her she was excited. She’d been nauseous, missed her period...”

“See! I told she was going to have a baby, Swanson,” Hart interrupted. He was still standing and paced over to the doctor’s desk.

“If you’d just hear me out,” the doctor continued. “I did a pregnancy test, but it was negative. I sent her for more tests. It was heartbreaking- she was in the advanced stages of cervical cancer. There was no hope. It was a matter of months- if not weeks.”

“She was going to die?” Jack said quietly.

Dr Fortesque nodded and spoke quietly, “I’m afraid so, Mr Harkness.”

“Oh, my God,” John Hart, turned and walked towards the mantelpiece. He rested his arms against it and dropped his head onto them.

“That could account for her suicide then?” asked DI Swanson.

“She was a strong woman, she’d wanted to know the truth. But when I told her the news- that she had only a few months- I remember that she said something very strange. She smiled and said, ‘not even that long doctor.’ I didn’t see her again...I assumed...”

“Thank you, doctor. I’ll be in touch with you to confirm this officially, but I think this explains Mrs Harkness’ suicide,” Swanson stood and shook Fortesque’s hand.

As Jack got to his feet, the doctor reached over taking his hand, “I’m so very sorry, Mr Harkness. She was such a very beautiful woman- I thought that she had taken the news well.”

“No, no. Thank you, doctor- you’ve explained so much,” he said as he turned to follow the Detective Inspector out of the consultation room.

Swanson turned back, “Come on, Mr Hart. We have to leave Dr Fortesque to his surgery.”

Hart pushed himself away from the mantel. Still shocked he said a quiet ‘thank you’ to the doctor and followed them out of the room.

Once outside, Hart sighed. “My God, it’s at times like these that I could do with a bloody stiff drink. It turns out Rebecca held out on us all. I’ll bet she didn’t even tell Gwen.”

“Hart, I hope you’ve learned you lesson? If you’re going to attempt blackmail, at least be sure of your facts. Now if Mr Harkness here is satisfied, I won’t bring charges against you,” Swanson said and then turned to Jack.

“I don’t want any more of this dragged through the courts, Detective Swanson. I’d rather forget about it all.”

“Thank you, Jack.” John Hart gave a weak smile as he walked a short distance away and took his mobile telephone from his pocket and dialled. Jack could hear him speaking quietly. “Gwennie...It’s me...John...no, no...it seems Rebecca didn’t tell either of us the whole truth...she was going to die...cancer...Yeah, I guess it means that Jack and the new Mr Harkness can live happily ever after at Manderley now all of this is over...No, I’m staying in London...” .

There was a certain bitterness in his tone.

Owen walked over to Jack and laid a hand on his shoulder. “You have to forget about all of this now. You can start again with Ianto. You two should have been happy at Manderley. You can start again.”

“Owen- there’s something I need to tell you.”

“No there isn’t, Jack. I know everything I need to know. Come on, you need to give Ianto a call. Tell him all of this nightmare is over, and get back to him.”

***

Chapter List: http://wanda1969.dreamwidth.org/17042.html