‘But nothing had ever happened between them?’

‘She said not.’ He paused. ‘For what it’s worth, apart from the protectiveness, I thought he was all right. He’s a decent bloke.’

‘When was the last time you actually saw Becca? Or spoke to her?’

‘I went round to her house once, a couple of days after we broke up, asked her to change her mind.’

‘But she didn’t?’

‘No, and she was right. The thing is, not long after, I got together with Jules. We work together – she’s in sales here. After Becca started at The Spot, I went out with the crew from the office a lot, Thursday, Friday nights, straight from here, and when we broke up, it just happened. I’d always assumed Jules was out of my league, to be honest, but luckily for me, she doesn’t seem to think so.’

Chapter Ten

By the time Robin arrived, the daytime business of the hospital was over, the outpatient clinics and surgeries long emptied, late visitors to the ordinary wards on their way out. The corridors felt muted, drowsy, as if the ventilation system were pumping them with a gentle sedative. She followed the signs, pushing through one set of double doors after another, thinking of valves, a series of valves, taking her deeper and deeper towards the heart of the place.

Intensive Care didn’t have visiting hours; people could come when they needed to, stay all night if they wanted, like Di had, Will had said on the phone, since it happened. She’d asked him whether Lennie could visit and his hesitation had been answer in itself. ‘Why don’t you see him yourself first then decide?’

She gave her name at the desk and waited for the receptionist to check the list. Worst nightclub in town.

The woman pushed her chair back. ‘Wait here, please.’ Rubbing her hands with sanitizer, she scanned herself through another pair of doors, making sure they locked again behind her before she disappeared down the pale corridor on the other side.

The only other person in the waiting room was a man in his fifties silently doing a crossword in the paper folded on his knee. A thermos flask protruded from a basket at his feet. A regular, she guessed, finding comfort just in being here, close to his loved one, protected by the order the place imposed on chaos.