Page 18 of On the Edge

She found a green one and used the tongs to pass it to him.

‘What do you say?’Sophie said.

‘Thank you.’He popped the lolly in his mouth.

Sophie put her hand on the arm of the chair, wincing as she pushed herself up.

Nel frowned.‘Are you okay?’

Sophie raised her eyebrows, confused.Nel glanced towards her wrist.

‘Oh.Yeah, it’s fine,’ Sophie said.‘It’s nothing.’

Nel didn’t say anything.

‘I fell off a bar stool in the kitchen,’ Sophie added, ‘trying to get something from a high cupboard.Stupid really.’

There was something inauthentic about the way she said it.It sounded rehearsed, as though she was a bad actor delivering a line in a play.Nel knew this lie.The neat explanation.The self-deprecation.The casual, offhand delivery.She’d heard it plenty of times before, as a resident at St Vincent’s in Dublin, at the women’s health practice where she’d done her GP training, at the medical centre in Sydney, from women with split lips, broken ribs, black eyes.

‘How are things at home?’Nel asked gently.

‘Fine,’ Sophie said, but the tears that welled in her eyes told a different story.

‘Do you ever feel unsafe?’

Sophie ran a hand through her hair and shook her head, as though she didn’t understand the question.

Nel held her gaze.‘It’s just’—she gestured to Sophie’s wrist—‘when I see an injury like this, I wonder if it might have—’

‘Please,’ Sophie interrupted, ‘please don’t.I’m fine.I can handle it.’She repositioned her grip on Harvey, struggling with the weight of him.‘I’ve got to go.Would you mind putting my bag over my shoulder?’

Nel reached for the bag.‘Do you need a hand getting to the car?’

Sophie shook her head.‘I’ll be fine.’

Nel watched her walk down the corridor and stop at the reception desk.

Nel was typing up patient notes when Viv stuck her head around the door at the end of the day.She’d changed into leopard-print leggings and an oversized t-shirt that said,Give me chocolate and no one gets hurt.

‘Doll, I’m heading off.I’ve got a pickleball game at five thirty down at the netball courts.Anything you need before I go?’

‘Did you speak to the recruitment company?’The locum interviews had been a dismal failure.One candidate was so shy they’d been unable to hear most of his answers.The other one didn’t show up.

‘They’re lining up a few more for tomorrow.’

‘Okay, good.Actually, there is one other thing,’ she said, remembering Sophie.‘What can you tell me about Harvey’s mum, Sophie?’

‘She’s Ryan Warner’s wife.Remember Ryan?’A shadow crossed Viv’s face as she must have remembered the connection.‘Funny girl.’

‘Funny how?’

‘She’s a bit … aloof.She struggles with her mental health, I think.’There was empathy in Viv’s tone rather than judgement.‘And I don’t know what she does with her money, but her card was declined.’

‘Really?But Ryan works at Warner Property, doesn’t he?’

Viv nodded and shrugged.‘I bulk-billed her to save us both the embarrassment.’She looked at her watch.‘I better get moving.Don’t stay too long, will you?Big day tomorrow.’

When Nel was alone again, she typed Sophie’s name into the database and scanned her clinical history for any previous injuries,but she’d only seen Rob for standard things like chest infections and contraceptive prescriptions.There was no record of a mental health diagnosis.