Nikki nodded. ‘Well, I’ve just received the preliminary post-mortem report on Lisa Jane from your pet pathologist, so I’m going to be tied up for a while. Rather than hanging around like a bad smell, why don’t you get yourself back to the hospital?’

Joseph stood up. ‘Sure, and if he tells me anything interesting, I’ll ring you.’

‘You do that,’ said Nikki, opening the folder. ‘And by the way, what are Mickey’s favourite comics?’

‘’Fraid it’s the Beano and the Dandy. It seems not all twelve-year-olds are the violent thugs we believed.’

‘Excuse me, but have you ever taken a good look at Denis the Menace?’

‘Not for about twenty-five years.’ Joseph grinned. ‘But I’m secretly hoping to get a sneaky peek before I give them to Mickey. Bye.’

As he left, Nikki smiled. If anyone was going to get Mickey Smith to talk, it would be her new sergeant.

By eight o’clock that evening, Detective Sergeant Joseph Easter and Master Michael Nathan Smith, were on first name terms. Joe, as he now was, had read both comics to his captive audience, and although he wouldn’t have admitted it, he thoroughly enjoyed himself. Mickey had hardly noticed the carefully interspersed questions about himself, and as the boy dozed for a while, Joseph summed up what he had discovered.

Dysfunctional family with a father who used his fists when he’d had a drink, and the benders sometimes lasted for a week. Mother regularly disappeared, apparently to a sister, but from the way Mickey spoke, Joseph suspected she actually went to other arms for comfort. No siblings, and Mickey was very young for his age. Joseph wondered if he was trying to use his status as a child to protect himself from his father’s violent outbursts. That, or he was just not terribly bright.

He stared at the battered child in the hospital bed. It was strange, because kids who were treated badly often grow up quickly, learn fast to fend for themselves. It was a bad world out there and they needed to survive. It seemed that Mickey had gone the other way.

‘Sergeant?’ The sister in charge beckoned him to the door. ‘We are happy that he’s stable enough to move him from this unit now. His observation can continue in less frightening surroundings. We would appreciate your help with the transfer.’

‘Where is he going, Sister?’

‘There’s a private room in the general surgery ward. It’s next to the nursing station and would provide plenty of privacy, but also it would be easy for you to watch him.’

‘Sounds perfect. What floor?’

‘Top floor, Sergeant.’

Joseph nodded. ‘Even better. When is this going to happen? I need to keep my boss up to speed.’

‘In about an hour. The Bed Manager is breathing down our necks, I’m afraid.’