Chapters (49)
- Cover
- Table of Contents
- Also by Graham Hurley
- LIMELIGHT
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- 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
- AFTERWARDS
‘We’ve been able to access your medical records, Ms Andressen. Fentanyl is an opiate. It’s a very powerful painkiller. But you’d know that, of course, because it was prescribed when your condition was at its worst. Am I right?’
‘No comment.’
‘You used it after the operation to remove your brain tumour. You had savage headaches for a while. We understand Fentanyl took the edge off that pain but after a day or two, according to your consultant’s notes, you stopped using the drug. True?’
‘No comment.’
‘In the first place, you were given a month’s supply. We estimate you used only a tiny fraction of that prescription, yet a search of your flat at …’ He peers down at his notes. ‘Four hundred and three Greyfriars Court failed to find any trace of these tablets.’ He looks up. ‘What happened to them, Ms Andressen?’
Once again, I’m trapped. The truth is that the presence of the Fentanyl coincided with the lowest point of my son’s life. Malo was in his late teens. He was truanting full time, hanging out in very bad company, and getting stoned on whatever came his way. Fentanyl, from what I knew of the drug, would have been the end of him. And so I got rid of them.
I’m looking at Tony. He’s not interested in any explanation, just shakes his head.
‘No comment,’ I mutter.
‘Fine. At this point, for all our sakes, I’m afraid I’m obliged to reveal the findings of the post-mortem carried out on Ms Beaucarne. This took place at Wonford Hospital on the fourteenth of December. According to the pathologist’s report, Ms Beaucarne’s stomach contents were still intact. They revealed significant traces of Fentanyl.’ Bullivant looks up. ‘In other words, Ms Andressen, Fentanyl killed your friend. It also, I’m afraid, put paid to the dog. Do you have any comment?’
‘None.’
‘That might be something you regret. You can, of course, obtain Fentanyl via the internet. As you might imagine, we’ve been through Mr McFaul’s laptop and found no trace of even a Google search, let alone an order. He doesn’t have a smartphone, so he couldn’t have used that. Neither has his doctor or Ms Beaucarne’s issued any prescription for the drug. So, short of obtaining it from a street dealer in Budleigh Salterton, there has to be another source. You’re following this, Ms Andressen? You understand where this might lead us?’
‘No comment.’
‘I’m not sure I blame you. Let’s just pause a moment. Let’s try and assess exactly how bad this is looking for you. Annie?’