Chapters (67)
- Cover
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
‘Where will he go?’
‘Liam’s body will be taken to the hospital mortuary and it will be examined by two pathologists – neither of them had anything to do with the original post-mortem, though one is from the same hospital. This has to be got right and it will be. If Liam didn’t die of an overdose, or if he did but the drug was not self-administered but injected by another person, then they will find that out.’
‘Then what? What if the first report was right all along? It could be, that’s what everyone said, it’s what you said, Mr Serrailler.’
‘I did and if that turns out to be the truth, then our investigations will be at an end and you and your family will have closure, which is what you deserve, and Liam can rest in peace. But if there was something else, then we need to find out what, and if it involves another person we will find them.’
Listen to me, Simon had thought, listen to the patter, I could be standing in front of cameras reading from a prepared statement in the usual robotic manner, as if it didn’t really involve or concern me. I’m turning into a cop who sounds like cops sound and says what they say and who switches off at the end of the day. I tell my sister it’s what she should do and a lot of the time, when things are routine, she can and does, but at other times, she can’t, she takes it home with her and carries it about with her because she cares for people, not patients. It’s why she was never going to fit into being a manager or a team leader. She made a good fist at it but she wasn’t happy or fulfilled and now she is. And it takes it out of her, always has. Can I say that?
‘Mr Serrailler?’
He had come to.
‘Can I make you a hot drink? It’s such a bitter winter we’re having, my kettle’s barely off. Coffee?’
He’d glanced at his watch. He ought to go back to the station but there was no urgency.
‘I’d like that. I didn’t have my usual top-up this morning. Strong black, no sugar please.’
She’d seemed pleased. She wanted to go on talking about her brother because it was what people did, it helped them. He was a detective chief superintendent acting as family liaison officer, for the first time in many years. Too many. It ought to be a permanent part of the job, a skill they never forgot.