Book Quotes
How long does it take a body to burn? He has no idea. That’s almost four hours now. He’s turned the furnace up to max but with no viewing window available, it’s hard to know if anything recognisable might remain. His watch says 5.30. Is it safe to leave? Maintenance staff arrive at eight. He must be well away by then.
“The diary had some torn pages. Confetti fragments fell to the floor as I flattened the remaining, most recent pages and read them in disbelief. My heart swelled. My brain whirled. Could I keep this to myself as she asked?”
“When did you last see a physician or surgeon? Were they charming, knowledgeable, reassuring and trustworthy? Are you sure? I’ve known some who are not as they seemed, they had other agendas.”
“Oddly, today, with death imminent, I’m not panicking. Not a damn thing I can do about it but have faith in my doctors and live for now. To the max. There are no second chances.”
“Ill-judged sex had horrendous consequences for some of our number: suicide, insanity or needing to dispose of an incriminating body in a hospital incinerator, to name but a few. This isn’t a tale for the faint-hearted”
“Yes. Well, you know, I think you are probably a girl who should be given a chance. My blood boiled – so most girls shouldn’t be given a chance? I regret to say, however, that by then I’d become so pragmatically downtrodden that I let it go. ”
“Compassion? Not in his bones. How in Hell’s name was this guy ever going to be any kind of medic? He was bound to come a cropper, surely?”
“‘That’s my boyfriend,’ I pointed, elbowing Tarquin’s right arm off as I did so. Dan waved back from afar, happily boozed-up already. Tarquin continued squeezing my buttock with his left hand and breathing nauseating stale whisky breath. I suddenly stiffened, stood up and tipped my seat to extricate myself. Nowadays I’d have removed his hand and slapped him, but then I fled to the loo to sit tearfully in a cubicle, seething. Gathering courage to return for the speeches, I moved my chair to face the top table – out of grabbing zone. My barely-touched chicken was long removed, my Meringue Glace out of reach. Bloody Tarquin. Did men have nothing on their minds other than sex?”