Gareth shook his head. ‘He said he’d phone again when he had a better idea of the prognosis, but not to expect her in for the rest of the week. He sounded fucking terrified,’ he added with a sneer.

‘That’s not a great start to a new job,’ Rob said.

‘I don’t suppose she planned it.’ Gareth pushed off from the door jamb and turned back to the busy room. Unobserved, Rob gave a sly smile. Marie Mather’s big ideas had definitely been put on ice and he wasn’t in the least sorry about that.

Paula had felt her phone vibrate against her thigh while they’d been conducting their miserable ‘no comment’ interview with Tony Hill but she’d known better than to take it out in front of Fielding. The DCI was obviously right on the edge of losing her temper and Paula definitely didn’t want to be her target.

The interview had run into the sand when Fielding had started repeating questions. Bronwen Scott had leaned back in her chair and smiled with the weary charm of one who has seen it all before. ‘Charge my client or release him,’ she’d said.

Fielding had thrown her pen on the table. ‘We’re continuing our inquiries. We have search warrants for Dr Hill’s home and his office, and officers are conducting those searches right now. So we won’t be releasing your client just yet.’ She’d pushed her chair back and stabbed a finger at the recording equipment. ‘This interview terminated at 11.17 a.m.’ Then she’d stalked out of the room, leaving Paula to make an apologetic face and follow. She took the chance to glance at her phone and see a message from Carol Jordan. ‘Think the metal case might be portable anaesthetic unit? Check any missing? Check paramedics?’

Chiding herself for not having thought of that, Paula hurried to catch Fielding. ‘Bloody woman,’ Fielding snarled, climbing the stairs with the energy of fury. ‘And bloody Carol Jordan.’ She stopped in her tracks and turned on Paula and lowered her voice to a growl. ‘Don’t even think about leaking to Jordan.’

‘I’m not stupid,’ Paula said. ‘But I did have a thought while you were asking Dr Hill about hospitals. That metal case the killer is carrying in the CCTV footage? What if it’s portable anaesthetic apparatus? When he tips them into the car boots, he puts the box in and leans over them. We can’t see what he’s doing. What if he’s putting them under so they can’t escape or give the alarm?’