Page 70 of Liberating Lily

Their grandfather had taught them that a firm handshake made a good first impression.

“Hey there, Doc. I’m Paddy, and this is my brother, Harvey.”

Harvey walked over and shook the doctor’s hand as well.

“You both have quite a good grip on you, don’t you?” Wallace said.

“We like to keep fit,” Harvey replied. “Now, we’d like to speak in private with you about my ward.”

“Your ward?” the doctor asked. “And who would that be?”

Right, as if the receptionist hadn’t told him who they were here about.

“Lily St. Clary,” Harvey said. He kept his voice carefully neutral, along with his face.

He knew that Paddy would be studying every reaction of the doctor’s, trying to figure out what he knew.

What he was hiding.

“Ahh, Lily. How is she?”

“Not very well.”

Doctor Wallace nodded solemnly. “I imagine not. Please, come with me to my office and we’ll discuss her care in private.”

They followed him into an office that was actually larger than the entire reception area, which showed him that not many people sat and waited to get into the clinic.

Doctor Wallace gestured to a small sitting area and Harvey took a seat on the sofa.

“Can I get either of you a drink? Tea, coffee?”

“No, thanks. We’re fine,” Harvey replied. There was no way that he was taking any substance this man offered him.

“I must start off by saying that I can’t share anything about Lily due to patient-doctor confidentiality. You understand that I’m sure.”

“Of course we do,” Harvey said. “However, I believe I did mention that I’m now her legal guardian. As such, I am privy to any medical information so I can arrange the best care for her.”

“Well, I only have your word for that. I’d need some sort of court order from a judge before I’d pass over any medical records. You do understand, of course, that I could be in a lot of trouble if I broke confidentiality.”

“Of course,” Harvey replied. “We’ll get that court order for you. In the meantime, perhaps you could tell me if there is anything that Lily immediately needs for her care. I don’t want her to suffer in the meantime.”

“Actually, I think the best idea would be for you to bring Lily here. She is rather sick, I’m afraid.”

Hmm. So he wouldn’t tell them anything about her medical needs, but he wanted them to bring her here because she was ill?

Alarm bells were going off at how eager to have her back in the clinic.

“You want me to bring her here when I don’t even know what you do here?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand how you became her guardian? Has something happened to her mother?”

Did he know about Lily’s mother, or was he just pretending to be ignorant? He was quite a good actor, so Harvey wasn’t sure.

“My apologies, I should have explained. You’re obviously not aware that Mrs. St. Clary is currently in quite a lot of trouble with the police.”

“Good God, no. I had no idea,” the doctor said.

“Lily’s unable to look after herself, so I’ve stepped in as a family friend in order to take control of her care.”