Ben wrapped his hands around the cup, needing only the warmth and the comfort of watching the movement of steam – anything to settle his impatience.

‘Kate says she saw you earlier today,’ said Matt. ‘Your car was parked on Scratter.’

‘Where?’

‘Scratter. The road between Wardlow and Monsal Head. That’s what they call it.’

Ben frowned. ‘Come on, Matt, get on with it.’

His brother sighed as he eased himself into a chair. ‘It seems Mum had a bit of a fall at the nursing home.’

‘What do you mean “it seems”?’

‘Well, all right – she had a fall. But the staff at Old School aren’t sure how it happened. And you know how confused Mum gets. I managed to speak to her before they sedated her, and she hadn’t a clue where she was.’

‘How badly is she injured?’

‘She’s broken her hip.’

‘Shit.’

‘I know. And they think she might have banged her head when she fell, too. She was very dazed, and couldn’t really remember anything.’

‘Somebody from the nursing home ought to be here,’ said Ben. ‘Why aren’t they here? It’s their responsibility.’

‘Ben, calm down. The senior nurse came to the hospital with her and stayed for two hours until I sent her back. The manager’s been on the phone twice to see how Mum is. They’re all concerned about her.’

‘So they should be. They’ve got some questions to answer.’

Matt took a drink of his coffee, but Ben didn’t even lift his cup. He found that his hand was shaking with anger, and he knew he would only spill it.

Someone had left a copy of the evening paper on the table, folded to the top half of the front page. Ben could see only the first inch of a photograph above the fold, but he recognized it straight away. He’d been looking at it for a large part of the day. At least Media Relations had done their job properly.

‘When will Mum be awake?’ he said.

‘They want to keep her sedated until they can do the X-rays and get her into theatre. Tomorrow we can talk to her, perhaps. But we can go and sit with her for a few minutes, if we ask the sister.’

Ben stared at his cooling coffee. It looked particularly unappealing now that the steam had vanished.

‘Let’s do that, then.’

‘It’s just a fall, Ben. A broken hip sounds bad at first, but she’s not all that old.’

‘Don’t you know what head injuries are like? Even a minor knock –’ Ben stopped, took a deep breath. ‘OK, I’m sorry. You think I’m overreacting.’

‘Yes, you are.’

‘Sorry, Matt,’ he said again. ‘Work, you know …’

‘Getting you down again?’

Ben didn’t like the ‘again’ part. As they walked back down the corridor towards the ward, he felt another surge of anger. He put his hand on Matt’s arm.

‘What’s the name of the manager at Old School?’

‘Robinson. Why?’

‘When I leave here, I’m going to go and see him.’