LITMIR.BIZ

       CHAPTER FOUR

      Friday: 6 p.m.

      ‘SORRY to keep you waiting, but we had a bit of an emergency.’

      Seb could feel his stomach churning as he led the way into the office. He beckoned Libby forward and dredged up a smile. ‘For those of you who haven’t met her yet, this is my wife, Libby. I’m afraid we’ll have to leave the rest of the introductions until later, though.’

      He closed the door, ignoring the looks that were being exchanged. Although everyone knew he was married, he guessed that most people had assumed that he and Libby were separated. It must be almost as big a shock for them as it had been for him to have her turn up like this, but there was nothing he could do about it. He could hardly explain why she’d come when he didn’t officially know the reason himself.

      ‘Right, I’ve spoken to the coastguard and the news isn’t good,’ he said briskly, trying not to dwell on how he was going to feel when Libby asked him for a divorce. ‘The tugs have been unable to get a line to the tanker because of the heavy seas. It’s still on course for a collision so they’ve decided to evacuate as many people as possible from the rig.’

      ‘By helicopter?’ Marilyn put in.

      ‘To begin with. However, if the wind speed increases then the helicopters won’t be able to continue flying so they’ve put out a call to all shipping in the area. If the local fishing boats can offload some of the crew, that will cut down the number of flights the air-sea rescue guys will have to make.’ He shrugged. ‘We don’t want to add to the chaos by having a ’copter ditch in the sea.’

      ‘How many crew are there on the tanker?’ Ben Robertson, their senior radiologist, enquired.

      ‘That’s something the coastguard is still trying to establish, along with the exact nature of the cargo the tanker is carrying. Let’s just say that the owners of the vessel are a tad reluctant to answer any questions.’

      ‘So we don’t know how many potential casualties we could end up with,’ Cathy said in dismay.

      ‘That’s the top and bottom of it, I’m afraid.’ Seb glanced around the room, his eyes lingering only a fraction longer on Libby than they did on anyone else but even so, he could have recited from memory every detail of what she was wearing if he’d been asked to do so.

      He’d always loved her in blue, he thought wistfully. It was a colour that suited her perfectly, highlighting her honey-gold hair and fair skin. She’d worn a pale blue suit when they had married in the simple register office ceremony they had decided on. Neither of them had wanted a big wedding with lots of fuss. They’d just wanted each other and the day had been perfect. They had made their vows in front of a handful of family and friends, and they had both cried. It had been the best day of his life and it was almost too painful to have to remember it now.

      He cleared his throat, afraid that his feelings would be all too apparent. ‘We don’t know if we’ll be dealing with six or sixty casualties so we need to be prepared for every eventuality. Ambulance Control has been instructed to send only the most severely injured patients to us during the course of the next twenty-four hours so that should help, but if the numbers are high, we are going to be pushed to our absolute limit. Just do your best. That’s all any of us can do.’

      There was a murmur of agreement before everyone started to leave. Seb didn’t go with them. They knew the drill and he didn’t need to check up on what they were doing. Every single member of the team would do his or her job without him having to badger them. It was what made them work so well together: they trusted each other and had the kind of confidence that came from knowing they were trusted, too.

      His gaze went to Libby again and his heart ached with a searing pain. Libby had also trusted him at one time. She’d trusted him to be there for her and he had let her down. Maybe it had been his dream to work in a job like this, but could he put his hand on his heart and swear that it had been worth doing it when it had added to the demise of his marriage?

      He wished he could, wished with every fibre of his being that he could say that his job had made up for what he’d lost, but he couldn’t. He may have fulfilled his ambitions but he had lost Libby, and nothing could ever make up for that.

      ‘I really think I should leave.’

      Libby edged towards the door. It was obvious that Seb didn’t have the time to talk to her right now so it would be better if she got out of his way. Maybe she could find a hotel in the town and stay there until the crisis was over? Now that she’d come all this way, she would prefer to get everything settled, but it wasn’t fair to expect him to deal with the issue of their divorce when he had so much else going on.

      ‘Nonsense! Of course you can’t leave. You’ve only just got here.’

      Seb’s tone was brisk and her heart sank when she heard it. She didn’t want to cause a scene but she knew it would be better if she left. Deciding to get divorced was a big step for any couple and they needed time to talk about what it entailed. She was just about to tell him that she would book into a hotel when the phone rang and she stopped as he picked up the receiver.

      ‘Seb Bridges.’

      Libby waited in silence while he listened to what the caller was saying. Even though she couldn’t hear what was being said, she could tell it wasn’t good news. He looked extremely troubled when he hung up.

      ‘That was the coastguard again. Apparently, the tanker is carrying some sort of organic compound used to make pesticides. It’s highly toxic and also believed to be carcinogenic even in fairly low doses.’

      ‘Is it water soluble?’ she exclaimed in dismay.

      ‘They’re not sure. However, in the absence of any information to the contrary, we shall have to assume that it isn’t. Which means if any of the containers rupture, the chemicals could be washed ashore.’

      ‘It’s a real nightmare scenario,’ she agreed worriedly. ‘It’s coming up to the weekend and I expect a lot of people still use the beaches around here even at this time of the year.’

      ‘And every single one them will be at risk if they come into contact with any of those chemicals,’ Seb concluded, grimly.

      Libby shivered. It didn’t bear thinking about so she focussed on practicalities instead. ‘Are you going to tell your staff?’

      ‘Of course. They need to be fully informed about all the facts. One of our nurses has just found out that she’s pregnant and I certainly don’t want her coming into contact with a substance like that,’ he said, heading for the door.

      ‘Of course not.’ She quickly stepped aside, shrugging when he paused beside her. ‘I just wish there was something I could do to help.’

      ‘If you mean that, I can easily find you a job. We’re going to be really stretched when things start moving around here. Another pair

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