The Jack Hansard Series: Season Two

Episode 7.3

Lucidity faded from her eyes and the hand grasping me fell limply away. 'Betty,' she moaned.

'We'll take it from here,' said a voice by my shoulder, making me shoot a foot into the air. 'Sorry to startle you. I've radioed the others.'

The chap was a nurse. He didn't seem fazed by the strange excretions of hair and teeth, and set straight to covering Julie with a warm blanket.

'Does this happen often?' I said as he handed me my coat.

'No,' he replied brusquely.

'Is she being looked after?'

'Yes.'

'She was asking for Betty.'

'She always does.' I was about to snap when he altered his tone. 'Look mate, I understand. It's difficult to see someone in this state. But Betty was Julie's wife, and she died three years ago. Poor Julie just doesn't remember. Dementia is cruel as anything. She has a son, though, David. A good lad.' He threw me a sideways glance. 'He knows the specifics of her . . . condition. We'll get it under control. Don't you worry.'

More staff arrived, with more blankets and clothes and the promise of a cup of tea.

'She's had a psychotic episode,' he told them. 'Worse than last time. She needs some calm and quiet.'

Julie followed them wide-eyed, like a child, and they led her away.

'Was something wrong with her meds?' I asked.

'Possibly a bad reaction. Can't say for sure.'

'Bet you weren't prepared for that kind of side-effect.'

He snorted. 'No. We'll be changing her prescription, that's certain.' He had already pulled out a small white box and was turning it over in his hands. 'We had such high hopes for her with this. New wonder drug, you know. Seems to cure almost anything.'

'Surely not lycanthropy.'

'Goodness, no. I'm talking about the dementia. It's been amazing for other patients. Really life changing. We might be able to bring these people back to themselves, you know.'

'Oh?' Of course, Cora flashed to the forefront of my mind, even though I'd long ago lost hope of conventional medicine being the answer to her problems.

But it was almost absent-mindedly that my gaze lingered on the box, and finally saw what I hadn't seen before, a glaring detail in Cora's room that my eyes had passed right over.

I snatched the box of tablets from his hand.

All trace of affability evaporated. 'You need to put that back. Right now,' he said severely.

'But–' I saw his hand hover over the radio again, and gently placed the box back in his palm. Gingerly, I pointed to a logo in the bottom right corner. 'What's this?'

He relaxed. 'Oh, that's just the name of the pharmaceutical company that makes them.'

'I see. Excuse me. I have– There's something urgent–' I hobbled past him, knees twinging where I'd taken a blow from flailing werewolf limbs.

Mavis was right where I'd left her on Cora's bed, being tended to by Ang, who had apparently poured her a cup of tea from the trolley.

'No milk, gwas,' Ang informed me. 'An' only a coupla them plain biscuits. Could do wi' some chocolate ones when you get a minute.'

I ignored her completely and strode to the trolley where Cora's tablets still lay on top of Mavis' clipboard. There, the same red logo branded the box. 'Ang,' I said sharply. 'Look at this.'