Had he had appendicitis? Tonsillitis? Any operations? He had no idea at all. He looked up at a row of information posters on the walls, but took none of them in. Memories of the surreal time he’d visited Sandy in hospital in Munich, when she was in a coma, were flooding back. Bruno surely couldn’t go in a similar way to his mother.

This nightmare was unfolding before his eyes. He felt bleak and close to tears. That poor, troubled little boy. Sure, he was strange, but wouldn’t any child be, after his upbringing with his erratic mother? Roy had really hoped that giving him a stable, loving family life would eventually change him. And it would, dammit. Bruno was going to survive this and if – no, when – he came out of hospital they would make even more of an effort with him, do whatever it took. Maybe, he wondered silently, he should quit his job and properly be around for him?

The door opened, interrupting his thoughts, and the nurse came back in with their drinks. She set the coffee down in front of him and said apologetically, ‘I’m afraid it’s from a machine – I added an extra shot of espresso to try to make it stronger.’

He thanked her, signed the consent form and explained about his lack of knowledge of Bruno’s medical history. She was sympathetic and told them not to worry. Just as she departed with the forms, a stocky, balding man in his early fifties, dressed in green scrubs, came in. He had a kindly face and a professional aura that instantly inspired confidence.

‘Mr and Mrs Grace?’ he asked with a trace of a Brummy accent.

‘Yes,’ Roy Grace replied. He recognized the man, they’d met before on a couple of occasions: once when his officer EJ Boutwood had been crushed by a van and badly injured, and the other time when the American hitman, Tooth, had been brought in here after being hit at high speed by a bicycle. Adrian Burton, Senior Intensive Care Consultant. ‘Good to see you again,’ Grace said.

‘I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances. I just wanted to let you know that your son is in the hands of four consultants here: a paediatrician, an intensive care specialist, an A&E consultant and an orthopaedic consultant. We’ve got Neurosurgery and Radiology waiting to review him.’

‘How is Bruno? What can you tell us about him, so far?’ Grace asked.

Burton wrung his hands together absently, which Grace, from all his knowledge of body language, did not interpret as a good sign. ‘Well, at the moment he is being assessed by the radiologist, who is carrying out a trauma CT. Your lad has head injuries and a possible fractured skull, but we don’t know enough at this stage. We need to see the extent of his internal injuries before I can give you a real indication of his condition.’

‘Can we go and see him?’ Cleo asked.

‘Not just at the moment. I’ll let you know as soon as you can, and I’ll take you to him.’