Chapters (73)
- Rabbit Hole
- Also by Mark Billingham
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Preface
- PART ONE
- 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
- PART TWO
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- PART THREE
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- EPILOGUE
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Back Cover
I’m about to knock on the door of the MDR when it opens and a woman steps out. I’m guessing she’s the ‘friend’ that Ilias was talking about and she’s certainly a bit more glamorous than French or Saunders. She looks a bit . . . Malaysian, or something? Long dark hair tied back with a red band and a snazzy skirt. I’m still wondering why three police officers have been deemed necessary when the woman holds out a hand and introduces herself.
‘I’m Dr Perera,’ she says. ‘Why don’t we talk outside?’
I shake her hand. ‘Oh . . .’
‘Don’t worry, I’ve already spoken to the ward manager.’ She smiles and gently turns me round. ‘Come on, it’s a nice day.’
We walk up towards the main hospital buildings and find a bench. The weather is pretty nice and there’s a few more people milling around in this part of the grounds than there are down where the unit is hidden away. We can see the entrance to A&E and, as you’d expect, there’s an old dear standing just outside the doors with an oxygen tank and a fag on. I think it’s compulsory.
Makes me wish I’d brought some tobacco and Rizlas out with me.
‘What kind of doctor are you?’ I ask.
‘I’m a forensic psychiatrist.’ Her voice is quiet, but she’s very well spoken. ‘I work with the police now and again.’
‘Oh, well.’ I nod back towards the unit. ‘This must be tailor-made for you.’
She smiles and she’s got perfect teeth. ‘You would think, right? Actually this is the first time I’ve been involved with a case like this. It’s normally crimes that are a little more . . . outside the normal range, shall we say?’
‘What, serial killers, that kind of thing?’
‘That kind of thing,’ she says.
I’m instantly jealous. ‘I so wanted to catch a decent serial killer case,’ I say. ‘Never had a sniff. Oh . . . I’m ex-Job.’
‘I know,’ she says.
I like that she’s done her homework and it makes me feel like we’re colleagues, so I can’t resist asking if she was involved in any of the big cases in London that I can remember. The killer couple from a year or so ago. The case with the cats from before that. I try to make it matter-of-fact so as not to sound like too much of a fan-girl.
‘Yes, I advised on both those investigations,’ she says.
‘Nice,’ I say.
‘Well, not particularly.’