Reginald Hill - A Cure for All Diseases

Most drivers flee at the sight of it – but this DB obviously thought his hybrid could ford rivers & climb Alps – & just kept going.

Bad decision.

For 30 secs the wheels sent out glutinous brown jets – like a cow with colic – then the car slipped slowly sideways – finishing at 45 degrees – driver side down.

– now hell expect us to pull him out – said the HB with some satisfaction.

Moment later the passenger door was flung back. First thing out was a floppy brimmed sun hat – sort posh lady gardeners wear in the old Miss Marple movies. Beneath it was a woman who started to drag herself out – followed by a scream from below – suggesting shed stood on some bit of the driver not meant to be stood on.

She looked around in search of help – & there we were – me – dad – George – & Fang – staring back at her from 50 yds.

– help! – she called – please – can you help me? –

George & me looked at the HB – G because he knows his place – me because I was curious what hed do.

If it had been a man I doubt hed have moved – not without serious negotiation. But this was a woman doing what women ought to do – calling for male assistance.

– reckon wed best take a look – he said – we meaning him & George – of course.

He drained the lemon barley – thrust the jug into my hands like I was a docile milkmaid – & set off towards the accident – G close behind – even old Fang got to go.

I dropped the jug on to the grass. Sods Law – hit a stone & cracked. – O shit! – I said. It was that old earthenware one thats been around forever. I knew the HB would reckon bringing out the lemon barley in anything else would be like serving communion wine from a jam jar. O well – from now on hell have to make do with a plastic bottle!

I set off after them. This was the first mildly interesting thing to happen since I came home – & I wasnt going to miss it.

Woman was thin & wispy – bonnet askew – big straw shoulder bag round her neck like a horses feed sack. She looked so worried I thought the driver must be seriously injured – but now I know its just a couple of notches up from her normal expression of unfocused anxiety. Another thing I noticed – words sprayed on the car door – pro job – elegant cursive script –

She was saying – please can you get my husband out? I think hes hurt himself –

– no – Im fine – came a mans voice – really – just a sprain – nothing in the world to worry about dear – aargh! –

As he spoke his head had appeared at his wifes waist level. Gingery hair – soft brown eyes in a narrow mobile face – not bad looking even with a bloodied nose & a footprint across his left cheek – mid to late 30s. He was trying a social smile – till presumably he put more weight on his ankle than it could take.

George jumped up on the side of the vehicle – hooked his hands under the womans armpits – & swung her clear of the muddy sump into dads arms. At 18 – G makes Arnie Schwarzenegger look like a hobbit! On our skiing trip last December – (yeah that one – when I hooked up with lousy Liam) – I could have rented G out to my mates by the hour. In fact – if you count free rounds of gluhwein as rental – thats exactly what I did!

The injured man came next & the HB passed the woman on to me – looking relieved to be rid of her. Thought of making some crack about him preferring men – he still thinks gays should be treated surgically – but decided not time or place.

– youre so kind – many thanks – Ill be fine in a minute – Mary my dear are you all right? – burbled the man.

She said – Oh yes. But your nose dear – its bleeding –

– its nothing – must have banged the wheel when we stopped – he said – rubbing at a mark across his bridge.

Looked very like a footprint to me. I gave him a plus for diplomacy. Made a change from dads Old Testament determination to track all bad shit back to females.

The DB now decided to introduce himself. Unfortunately this involved twisting out of the HBs grip to offer his hand with the inevitable result to his ankle.

– Tom Parker – he said – my wife Mary – aargh! – Another plus – in dads eyes anyway. Had to be English – first thing they taught us in psych school was only the English risk pain for the sake of politeness.

– let me have a look – I said – set him down there dad –

Dad obeyed. Must be a first!

– my daughters had St John Ambulance training – he said proudly. Touched me for a moment to hear him bragging about me – then he spoilt it by dragging you into it!

– when she wanted to go to college – he went on – I told her she ought to sign up for training as a nurse like her sister Cassie – but of course it was like banging my head against a brick wall –

1st time the famous phrase had cropped up in a week. Found Id been missing it!

I said – ignore my father. When he dies were going to build him a headstone out of cracked bricks. Now lets get that shoe off while we can –

The DB winced as I removed his shoe & sock – then regarded his enlarged ankle with a kind of complacent pride. I was about to offer my not very expert opinion when he forestalled me – addressing his wife – something like this.

– look Mary – some typical subcutaneous swelling – the beginnings of what will doubtless be an extensive ecchymosis – tarsal movement restricted but still possible with moderate to acute pain – a strain I would say – certainly no worse than a sprain. Thank heaven I have always mended quickly. What a laugh they will have at home when they ask how I hurt myself – & we tell them I did it looking for a healer! –

This odd bit of self-diagnosis – with its odder conclusion – confirmed dads suspicion he was dealing with a particularly daft DB – & he burst out – what the hell were you playing at? This is a country lane not a public race track! –

Parker replied – youre right of course. But I didnt anticipate even someone as unworldly as a healer would let his driveway fall into such bad repair –

– its worse than bad – its dangerous! – chimed in his wife – The man should be taken to court for letting it get into that condition. How does he expect people to get anywhere near his house? –

& George put his large foot in it by saying with a grin – aye – theres not many get past dads tank trap –

The woman looked at him suspiciously – while dad gave him one of his shut-your-gob glares – then changed the subject by demanding – house? – What house? –

– Mr Godleys house. There – said Parker.

He pointed up the hillside towards the ruins. From below – the alders in full leaf – that one bit of wall still standing does look like there might be a whole building behind.

– you mean the old mill? Well you could have saved yourself the bother – declared dad – Nowt to be seen up there – all the machinery were taken out twenty years ago – you can see some of it along at the Dales Museum – if youve got time to waste. As for the building – roofs fallen in & most of the walls. Id have knocked the rest down years back only some daft bugger got a conservation order put on it –

– but that cant be right – protested the man – darling pass me the magazine –

The woman dived into her bag & produced a copy of Mid-Yorkshire Life. It was folded open at a short piece entitled ‘Healing Hands’ – with a pic of a slightly embarrassed bearded guy holding up what were presumably the hands in question. His name – thisll make you laugh – was Gordon Godley!

– look – said Mr Parker triumphantly – its got the address quite clearly here. The Old Mill – Willingdene. Seeing the village signposted as we drove back from Harrogate – a sadly unproductive visit – once it may have been a serious spa town but now it has given itself over almost completely to commerce & frivolity – I naturally diverted & enquired of a young lad the way to the Old Mill. He gave me most precise directions which brought me here. Are you now telling me that is not the Old Mill? –