‘We’ve still not updated the news outlets on McCracken’s progress,’ Beardmore said. ‘As far as they know, he could be stone dead. That’s probably a good thing. Lessens the chances of whoever hit him the first time coming back for another pop. Least, I hope it does.’

The night nurse, whose name badge read ‘Janice Reynoldson’, was waiting on the other side of the glass door. On seeing Beardmore, she hit a buzzer and the door clicked open. Beardmore passed through, Lucy in tow. He made sure to close the door behind them.

‘Janice,’ he said, ‘this is DC Lucy Clayburn. I’m posting her in here with you till we get additional units. You okay with that?’

Nurse Reynoldson looked wide-eyed and frightened but nodded.

‘Like I said before,’ Beardmore added, ‘the chances of anyone turning up here are highly unlikely. No one even knows that McCracken and his lady friend are being cared for in this unit. So all you guys need to do is make sure they don’t find out. Any phone-calls, don’t say anything. If there are any, they’ll most likely be the press – and they’ll be easily dissuaded, because they’ll be trying every hospital in Manchester, just to see. If anyone does turn up here, anyone you’re not sure about … in fact anyone at all who you don’t recognise, Lucy, don’t let them in. It’s that simple.’

‘Suppose, I mean …’ Nurse Reynoldson’s eyes widened even more as she wrestled with the potential problems that might still arise. ‘I mean … if they’ve got guns?’

Beardmore turned to the glass door. ‘Is this thing shockproof?’

‘Yes,’ the nurse said. ‘I mean, if someone bangs a trolley into it, or throws a chair. But bullets … I don’t know.’

‘It’s very unlikely it’ll come to that.’ But Beardmore’s expression was grave, and he hadn’t summoned a police firearms team to the hospital for nothing.

‘If someone tries to shoot their way in here, it won’t happen quickly,’ Lucy cut in. ‘We’ll easily have time to get on the blower.’

‘That’s true,’ the DI agreed. ‘Okay … I’m going to find out what everyone else is doing.’ He buzzed the door back open and stepped out into the waiting area. ‘You’ve got an alarm button behind your desk, I take it, Janice?’

She nodded again.

‘Good … don’t hesitate if anything bothers you. I know that’ll only call your own security personnel, but they can get a message to us quickly.’

‘But we won’t need to,’ Lucy said, attempting reassurance. ‘I promise you, Janice … no one in the history of Britain has ever tried to shoot their way into a hospital.’

Beardmore nodded again, pleased that Lucy was taking charge, then walked away. Lucy shut the glass door behind him and ensured that it was closed properly.