The Spanish Consultant (Westerling)

‘Keep irrigating it,’ he ordered immediately, seeing just how badly the man was burned. ‘Get both legs under a tap and then rub in some 2.5 per cent calcium gluconate gel.’

He reached for a pair of gloves and tugged them on with grim-faced efficiency.

‘Did someone call for calcium gluconate gel?’ Like a miracle of efficiency and teamwork, Charlotte appeared beside them and they washed the burn repeatedly and then finally applied the gel to the burns.

‘What exactly does this gel do?’ Charlotte asked as they worked.

Katy glanced at her. ‘In this case calcium gluconate acts as a neutraliser but you have to be careful with some chemical burns. If you attempt to neutralise the chemical you can create heat and make the burn worse. Hydrofluoric acid is the exception.’

‘Really?’ Charlotte looked at her in admiration and Jago smiled.

‘Chemistry was obviously your thing, Dr Westerling.’

‘I was always quite good at chemistry,’ Katy said modestly, concentrating on trying to stabilise the patient, who was still howling in agony.

‘Charlotte, call the plastic surgeon,’ Jago instructed. ‘He needs more pain relief so we’ll give him an injection of calcium gluconate. And then we need to take some bloods. Fluoride ions are absorbed by the skin.’

‘Even when it’s only damaged a small surface area?’ Katy gave the injection under the skin and then started to search for a vein.

‘You can get problems with as little as a two per cent body surface area burn when the chemical is concentrated 70 per cent hydrofluoric acid. Fluoride ions end up in the circulation and produce a variety of systemic problems. We’ll check his calcium and magnesium levels and his U and Es,’ Jago told her, nodding approval as Charlotte appeared with a cardiac monitor. ‘Good. We need to get him wired up so that we can keep an eye on his ECG.’

As Charlotte connected the machine to the patient, Katy watched the wavy line on the screen, seeing that it was showing a normal heart rate.

They waited for the results of the blood tests and in the meantime the plastic surgeon arrived to assess the burns.

‘Hmm. Nasty.’ He examined them closely and pulled a face. ‘Some of those burns are full thickness. There’s a bed on the ward so I’ll admit him and take it from there.’

Jago gave a full handover and Charlotte arranged for the patient to be transferred to the ward.

‘What will happen now?’ Katy asked, after they were finally left on their own.

‘Well, he’s probably going to need skin grafts to at least some of those burns,’ Jago said, finishing off the notes and sliding his pen back in his pocket. ‘Now, on to more important matters. What are you cooking me for dinner?’

Katy worked through to the end of her shift and made her way home via the supermarket where she picked up some food for supper.

Realising that she’d never actually cooked a meal for Jago before, she felt a smile touch her lips. She was looking forward to it.

Chopping onion and garlic, she suddenly heard the sound of a key in the door.

Expecting to see Libby, she turned with a smile on her face, excited at the prospect of confessing that she was going to marry Jago.

Her father stood in the hallway.

The smile on her face died. Katy felt her heart rate double and suddenly her palms were damp.

Reminding herself that she was twenty-nine years of age and that he couldn’t touch her any more, she dropped the knife she was holding and tried to control her shaking legs.

‘Dad! How did you

get in?’

‘I’ve got a key.’

Well, of course he had, Katy thought dully. Somehow, somewhere her father had managed to obtain a key to her flat. And now he was inside. And she was in trouble.

‘Did you want something?’

He moved towards her, his powerful bulk blocking the doorway of the kitchen, his expression ugly. ‘You’re seeing Rodriguez again.’