‘Good news,’ he said. ‘You father’s pulling through. We’re happy with the MRI scan and that the damage is temporary. He’s had quite a knock but it doesn’t seem to have caused a major event, just severe bruising. He’s going to be in a lot of pain for a while yet. He’s groggy, but he’d like to see you. If you want to follow me?’

Johnny squeezed her hand and they followed the consultant along a series of corridors. The smells, the noises and the sounds of the sick disturbed Kelly. In her job she saw the worst a human body could be put through, but she could never work in a hospital. The consultant stopped outside a private room.

‘Could you keep it to around ten minutes? He needs to rest.’

‘Of course.’

They went in. The room was dark, lit only by a small lamp. Ted lay propped up in the bed, his head bandaged. He turned slowly to the door and smiled at them. Kelly went to the bed and held his hand. June and Amber stood either side of her.

‘Can I give you a hug?’ Amber asked.

‘A gentle one.’ His voice was weak and Kelly was reminded of the frailty and vulnerability of the human body: they were all just an arrangement of flesh and bones that could be broken and torn. He had a black eye and the other one was bandaged.

‘We haven’t had a conversation about my sight, but I’m not daft. I think I’ll struggle with my left.’

‘You don’t know that for sure,’ Kelly said. ‘There’ll be masses of swelling; I can see it under the bandages. Just wait until all that goes down. I’m so relieved, Dad. I couldn’t believe it when they told me. Do you know who it was? Did you see them?’

‘No, it was a big mess and I didn’t see it coming. I thought I’d fallen. I only remember Johnny helping me up.’

Johnny took his hand and shook it. ‘Any time.’

‘This is a happy reunion; we must do it more often!’

‘Dad!’ His strength was diminished but his character was indomitable.

‘I know they’ve given you ten minutes, so come on, tell me you’ve cracked the cases, Kelly.’

‘Have you?’ asked June.

‘We got them. All of them. You were right, Dad. Ella was murdered randomly, and Keira was murdered by someone who knew her. For very different reasons, but I won’t bore you with that now. You need to rest.’

‘I knew you’d do it.’

Kelly didn’t mention the counter-corruption investigation.

‘It was such a shame about the march, because the whole thing was fabulous. Why do the few always have to spoil things? Is the organiser all right? The one who fell off the car?’ Ted continued.