Chameleon Read Online Free PDF Page B

and he bristled with indignation.
    Jamieson saw the woman stiffen in preparation to support her colleague in a fresh campaign of obstruction and decided to attack first. 'The Home Office, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Social Security, have sent me all the way up here to see your hospital secretary and you two have apparently decided to stop me. In the interests of what I might say about this in my report, I suggest that you ... re-consider?'
    For a moment it looked as if Cartwright was prepared to argue the point but then he capitulated and left the room. The woman avoided Jamieson's eyes and returned to her typing.
     
    A painfully thin man, well over six feet tall with a large, almost totally bald head, and wearing glasses that seemed too small for him entered the room and handed Jamieson back his card. He smiled and held out his hand. 'Dr Jamieson? I'm Hugh Crichton. I've been expecting you. You look soaked.'
    Crichton took Jamieson into his office and offered him whisky, an offer that Jamieson felt inclined to accept but decided not to at four in the afternoon. He noticed that Crichton's complexion had a distinctly yellow tinge to it and wondered if alcohol had played a part in that.
    'Something else perhaps?'
    'A parking permit would be nice.'
    Crichton threw back his head and laughed. 'Oh I see. You've had a brush with our Mr Norris. I'm sorry, I should have foreseen that. We'll fix that right away. Crichton pressed a button on his intercom and asked the woman at the end of it to make out a permit for Jamieson. He kept his finger down on the button and asked Jamieson, 'Tea? Coffee?'
    'Tea, please.'
    While they waited for the tea to arrive Crichton asked Jamieson what he would require in the way of facilities at the hospital.
    'A room, a telephone, access to medical records, possibly lab space.'
    Crichton nodded and said, 'Well I think I anticipated most of these. I've arranged for you to have an office in the administration block and Dr Carew, our medical superintendent has requested that individual consultants co-operate with you in providing suitable space for you in their domains should you require it. I've also taken the liberty of having the housekeeper prepare a room for you in the doctors' residency. I didn't know if you would want to stay in the hospital or not?'
    'I would,' agreed Jamieson. 'I'm grateful.'
    'Not at all. Perhaps you would like to go there now and dry off a bit before getting started?'
    Jamieson finished his tea and said that he would.
    'And then what?' asked Crichton. 'Where would you like to start?'
    'I'd like to have a word with Dr Carew first if that's convenient.' replied Jamieson.
    'I anticipated that too,' smiled Crichton. 'Dr Carew has pencilled you in for five.'
    It was Jamieson's turn to smile. He said, 'Perhaps you should just tell me what else you anticipated and we can work from there.'
    'I thought you might want to have a word with Doctors Thelwell and Richardson so I've organised a little get-together here in my office at six. You can get to meet people informally over a sherry and make your own arrangements for tomorrow.'
    'Fine,' said Jamieson.
    Crichton pressed the button on his intercom and leaned towards it to say, 'Dr Jamieson will be staying in the residency. Will you inform the housekeeper and ask Miss Dotrice if she would be so kind as to show Dr Jamieson the way.'
     
    Jamieson thanked the assistant who had accompanied him to the residency. He closed the door behind him and breathed out a long sigh. The room was depressingly spartan and functional but it had all he needed. A bed, a table, a chair, a telephone, a reading lamp - Jamieson switched it on to counteract the gloominess - and a small bathroom that had obviously been added fairly recently. It had been made by simply partitioning off a corner of the room. Jamieson ran himself a bath and took off his clothes. He felt the old, iron radiator and found it cold, the towel rail was equally arctic. There