Page 60 of The Forsaken (Echoes from the Past #4)

FIFTY-TWO

Leicester, Leicestershire

The sunshine of the previous day had given way to pissing rain, making the drive to Leicester less than picturesque.

Emma was huddled in her child seat, disgruntled at having to go on this boring expedition the weekend before her party instead of shopping for a new frock and picking out party favors.

Quinn had promised her they would do all that tomorrow, but Emma was determined to sulk.

Gabe hardly spoke on the drive, no doubt worrying about the outcome of their enquiry.

Regardless of what they discovered today, the search was just beginning, and wouldn’t end until Quinn found her sister.

Only Logan was chipper as ever, prattling on about his job and making funny faces at Emma to cajole her out of her bad mood.

He’d instantly agreed to come back to Leicester when Quinn texted him, but made excuses for Colin, saying his boyfriend had plans with his mum.

Quinn was grateful to Logan for his support and his cheer, particularly because they were genuine.

“Are you not rattled by any of this?” Quinn had asked when they spoke last night.

“Nope. Why should I be?”

“Quentin is your sister too, as you pointed out earlier.”

“If we find her, I’ll be thrilled to meet her and get to know her. But if we don’t, I’ll go on with my life as before. I can’t feel a sense of loss over someone I’ve never met.”

“But what about your mother?” Quinn had persisted. “Will this not change your relationship with her? ”

“Not in the least,” Logan had replied. “She did what she did. Period. What’s the point of judging her now, thirty-one years after the fact?

She’s my mother, and my mother she will remain.

It’s different for me, Quinn. She never abandoned me.

She loved me and raised me, regardless of what she’d done in the past. I understand how you feel about her, and I won’t like you any less if you never want to speak to her again. ”

“Really? You won’t resent me?”

“Not in the least.”

“What about Jude?”

“What about him?” Logan had asked.

“Does he know about Quentin? Does he care? Does he have any thoughts on my relationship with Sylvia?”

“Jude doesn’t know. Mum didn’t tell him, and I saw no reason to apprise him of the situation.

Jude has his own demons to battle, as I’m sure you know.

Once we find Quentin, I’ll fill him in. As far as you and Mum go, I don’t think he cares one way or another.

Jude’s too self-absorbed to give either of you much thought. ”

Put like that, Quinn had felt more at ease. She hadn’t spoken to Sylvia and she owed Jude no phone call. If Logan didn’t find it necessary to tell him about Quentin, then she had no business calling him either. She would call Seth though, after they returned from Leicester.

The rain tapered off as they approached Leicester and the sun eventually came out, drying out the sidewalks and sparkling on the still-wet grass and leaves.

Everything looked more cheerful and welcoming in the sunlight, but the modern office building where Dr. Karen Crawford had her surgery was gray and unwelcoming, the type of structure that could house anything from a school to a detention facility .

Gabe rolled into a parking space out front. It was Saturday afternoon, but Dr. Crawford had office hours, and Quinn had made an appointment first thing that morning. The doctor might have no time to speak to her, but with a half hour appointment booked, she’d have no excuse.

Quinn turned and gave Logan a weak smile.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“I’d better be,” she replied. “I am nervous though.”

“Me too,” Logan confessed. “I hope she’ll be amenable to answering a few questions.”

“There’s a playground two streets over,” Gabe said. “Emma and I will wait for you there. Good luck, you two.”

“Thank you, darling,” Quinn said and kissed Gabe’s cheek before she got out of the car.

“See you later, Quinn,” Emma called out. “Bye, Logan.”

“Bye, princess,” Logan said and high-fived her.

Gabe helped Emma out of her child seat and they set off for the playground while Quinn and Logan entered the building and took the lift to the third floor.

The reception area was pleasant, with several potted plants and leather sofas in dove-gray for the waiting patients.

Modern prints hung on the walls, adding a splash of color to the otherwise colorless room.

Two receptionists sat behind a glass partition, their gazes fixed on computer screens.

“Sure you want to do this?” Logan asked as he took a seat on the sofa after they checked in at reception.

“Of course. Aren’t you?”

“I am, but to be honest, I wish I didn’t know these things about my mother.

As much as I want to believe that nothing’s changed, it has.

I realized that last night after speaking to you.

I’m grateful to have you in my life, and I hope to get to know Quentin, but I can no longer trust my mother unquestioningly as I did before.

I keep wondering about the sort of woman she is, what else she might be withholding, and how much my dad knew.

For a while there, I rooted for her and Rhys to make a go of it, but now I see that it would never have worked.

Deep down, he doesn’t trust her either, and he’s beginning to question the accusation of rape she’d leveled at him. ”

“I’m sorry, Logan. I really am. I’m still trying to come to terms with the woman she is. Sylvia is not at all the mother I envisioned.”

“No, I don’t suppose she is. Come on. Let’s get this over with,” Logan said as a nurse called Quinn’s name and led them down a narrow corridor to an examining room.

“I’d actually just like to talk to Dr. Crawford,” Quinn told the nurse. “Perhaps we can speak in her office.”

The nurse looked surprised but acquiesced to Quinn’s request. Quinn and Logan exchanged nervous smiles as they headed toward the doctor’s office.

Karen Crawford looked up from a file she was perusing and smiled in welcome. “Please, have a seat.”

Dr. Crawford styled her hair in a chic blond bob and wore perfectly applied makeup. Beneath her white lab coat was a smart silk blouse in an unusual shade of blue-gray that exactly matched the doctor’s eyes. She was a woman who took pride in her appearance.

“How can I help you today?” she asked pleasantly, assuming an air of someone who couldn’t wait to hear what the other person had to say.

“Dr. Crawford, my name is Quinn Russell, and this is my brother, Logan Wyatt. Nearly thirty-one years ago I was abandoned at Leicester Cathedral by my birth mother. A few weeks ago, I discovered, quite by chance, that I’m actually a twin, and that my sister, Quentin, had been left at the Royal Infirmary on the same day.

I believe you know who I’m referring to. ”

Dr. Crawford’s eyes grew round and she studied Quinn more openly, no doubt searching for a resemblance to her twin.

She was silent for a few moments, then nodded, her unblinking gaze still fixed on Quinn.

Her face underwent a series of expressions, ranging from surprise to sadness, and eventually to something that might have been a grimace of contrition.

Quinn’s heart rate accelerated as she waited for the doctor to speak. What she said, however, wasn’t quite what Quinn had expected.

“Are you currently on blood pressure medication?” Dr. Crawford asked. She came around the desk and reached for a blood pressure cuff on a nearby shelf. “May I?”

“Why?” Quinn asked, annoyed.

“You’re a pregnant woman whose blood pressure just spiked in front of my eyes. Before I answer your questions, which I will do gladly, I must make sure you are well enough to have this conversation and your child isn’t in any danger.”

“I’m fine,” Quinn retorted. “I’m just nervous.”

“That’s understandable. Slightly elevated,” Dr. Crawford said as she took off the cuff and sat back down. “Can I get you a cup of tea?”

“Yes, please,” Quinn replied, defeated. Everyone felt the need to mother her, and it annoyed her to no end.

Dr. Crawford rang reception and asked for some tea, then turned back to Quinn and Logan. “I’m sorry for the delay, but I am a doctor, first and foremost.”

“Understood,” Quinn replied. “Now, please tell us about Quentin.”

“What would you like to know? ”

“Everything,” Quinn replied. “You must recall the adoption, having been a teenager at the time.”

“Yes, I do. It was an odd time for my family.”

“How so?” Logan asked.

The receptionist brought it a tray loaded with three cups of tea, a jug of milk, and a sugar bowl.

Quinn added a splash of milk to hers and took a sip.

It did calm her and allowed Dr. Crawford a moment to compose herself while she made her own tea.

She took a sip, then set the cup down, ready to explain.

“When Quentin was discovered in the emergency area of the Royal Infirmary she was in a bad state. She had difficulty breathing caused by a severe heart murmur. She might not have survived had her mother not brought her to the hospital when she did. My father fell in love with that little girl the moment he saw her, or more accurately, he fell in love with the idea of being her savior,” she added bitterly.

“You see, my dad, God rest his soul, loved attention and publicity, and adopting an abandoned little girl whose life he’d saved was the jewel in the crown of his achievements. He was enamored of the idea.”

“Are you saying it was all a publicity stunt?” Logan asked.

“Not a conscious one, but if you knew my dad, you’d understand.”

“What about your mother? How did she feel about adopting Quentin?” Quinn asked.