Rory got up so quickly that he pushed his chair back with his knees and the legs screeched against the floor. He didn’t make eye contact with Thea as he quickly skirted around Delores. Thea stood in Ethan’s classic pose: arms crossed and feet planted firmly.

She’d be damned if she spoke first.

Delores took a few steps into the room and, behind her, the door closed noiselessly.

Beep.

Rosie’s alive.

Beep.

Alive.

‘Miss Denestrio is a very lucky girl, wouldn’t you say?’

Thea wasn’t in the mood for dancing around the subject. ‘You told people she fell. That’s a lie. Someone is in the monastery.’

‘So you’ve said. Many times. To the doctors, to Ms Stowe, to anyone who will listen to you.’

‘Have you even called the police?’

‘Miss Mackenzie, I fully understand your concern. This has been a blow to us all. Of course, accidents like this remind us why we discourage clients from leaving the safety of the Centre in the first place.’

‘But it wasn’t an accident, was it?’ Thea deliberately raised her voice. ‘Someone shoved her head into a wall so hard she’s actually swallowed some of her teeth.’

‘Yes, as you keep saying. To everyone. You’ve had an exhausting day—’

‘No, no, no. Don’t brush this off. I wasn’t imagining it. It happened.’

Delores walked around Thea to the bedside where she hovered a hand over Rosie, not quite touching her, an odd gesture as if in blessing.

‘And, at first light tomorrow, we will have a search party scour the monastery. If there is anyone to be found, we will find them. I don’t mean to make you sound delusional. It’s just, well, this is an island, Miss Mackenzie; it’s hard for someone to just sneak in.’

‘I don’t care. I saw it.’

Delores pressed her lips together briefly.

‘And what about Rosie’s family?’ Thea continued. ‘Have they been told? When is she going to be moved to a proper hospital?’

‘Miss Denestrio has no family. Her mother recently overdosed – cocaine, I believe. Of course, you probably knew that already. You two have become quite friendly lately.’

No, she hadn’t known that. There was so much she didn’t know and now may never get the chance to ask. Small talk. They had wasted their words on chocolate and strange cuckoo dreams when really their talk should have been much bigger, because one day they would be sat in a hospital wing realizing they didn’t really know anything about each other.

‘As for the hospital,’ Delores continued, ‘it is winter and it is to be expected that the boat service may be temporarily suspended due to weather. I believe snow is forecast. Our facilities here are world-class. Rest assured, Miss Denestrio will get better care here than in a grubby mainland hospital.’