Page 55 of Stranded with the Surgeon
‘I don’t care.’ Jennifer was pulling on her coat. ‘I can get a later flight. I could ask them to postpone my interview until tomorrow.’
‘I don’t want you to come.’
‘I don’t care,’ Jennifer snapped for the third time. ‘This isn’t about you, Guy.’ She was pulling on her coat. ‘You win, okay? As soon as this is over, I’ll be out of your life. I’m not stupid enough to keep battering my head on a brick wall.’ She was at the door now, waiting for him. ‘This is aboutPhil, notus. I was there when his baby was born yesterday, Guy. Do you think I’m going to go home without knowing whether Isaac’s father is still alive?’
Several vehicles were already positioned at the rendezvous point near where the tributary joined the larger river. The bearded Mack was there with his tow truck.
Other locals had also gathered, but the three men dressed in overalls and heavy boots were strangers. Guy introduced them as members of the search-and-rescue team from Queenstown.
‘The police divers will be here shortly,’ the team leader, Wayne, informed Guy. ‘Then we’ll know what we’re dealing with.’
Was there any chance Phil could have survived his vehicle being swept away and overturned by the swollen river? Catching the glances of people who had shared the celebration of Phil Henderson’s son’s arrival last night, Jennifer thought it unlikely. And incredibly sad. Hadn’t this community had enough tragedy to deal with recently?
She moved closer to a group of women who had the back of a utility vehicle covered in Thermos flasks of hot water and various containers. Maureen was using a plastic lid as a board on which she was buttering scones.
‘Can I help?’
The women made space for her, and Jennifer was handed a knife and a jar of raspberry jam.
‘They’ll need something to eat and a hot drink,’ Maureen explained. ‘Especially if they have to start searching.’
‘Do you think Phil might have got out of the truck then?’
‘Let’s hope so.’ Maureen’s expression was grim as she sliced another scone in half. ‘We’ll find out soon enough.’
But it was nearly an hour by the time the police divers arrived and got into their wetsuits and breathing apparatus. The news had spread like wildfire and more and more locals arrived to stand vigil at the riverside. The faces were all familiar but there was no hint of the camaraderie and humour of the previous evening. These people were grim. They were all somewhere no one wanted to be, but they were there together to both offer and receive support.
It was a solid thing, this feeling of community, and Jennifer felt a curious pride at being part of it as she made a strong pot of tea and then took a plate of food to offer to the official search party. Their numbers had also grown, with police, ambulance and fire service vehicles and personnel on standby. Guy was leaning over the bonnet of a police car as he and Wayne studied a detailed map of the area.
The shout from one of the divers came just as Guy raised a mug of tea to his lips.
‘Cab’s empty!’
The tea slopped onto the edge of the map. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Affirmative. The driver’s window is wound down. He must have got out.’
‘Right.’ Wayne was ready for action. ‘We’ll divide into two teams and search the banks. Maggie, you go with Pete’s team and you stay with me, Guy. That way we’ll have a medic on hand without having to wait for a boat to do a river crossing.’
‘I’m coming, too.’
The look Jennifer received was one of astonishment. Then it became patronising as Wayne’s gaze raked her from head to toe. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘Jenna’s a doctor. Specialist in emergency medicine.’ It was Guy who spoke up in her support and Jennifer flashed him a grateful glance.
‘She’s not equipped or dressed for this,’ Wayne said dismissively. ‘She’d be a liability.’
‘I’ve got a spare set of overalls in my truck.’ Jennifer recognised the young man who’d made the quip last night about Guy having to marry her. Nathan. ‘She can have those.’
‘This isn’t a Sunday stroll,’ another of the men from Queenstown was saying disparagingly. ‘She wouldn’t even keep up.’
‘Don’t you believe it.’ Guy pinned the man with his glare. ‘Jenna could give you a run for your money any day. She made it out of the Balfour Range with me after that plane crash.’
‘Oh…’ Wayne’s glance carried something more like respect now.
‘And I, for one, would prefer to have her along,’ Guy added. ‘If Phil’s in need of medical assistance, Jenna’s the person I want to have around.’
‘She saved Phil’s baby yesterday.’ The onlookers had been listening to the exchange and one now spoke up decisively. ‘She deserves a chance to help him.’
