Chapters (78)
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Prologue
- 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
- 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
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Remarkable Praise for Nicci French
- Also by Nicci French
- About the Publisher
“I don’t think he’s from the hospital. I said you were working. He said he’d wait downstairs.”
Jude was puzzled. Who would come to her work? In the middle of the night?
“That’s weird. Was it something serious?”
The nurse shook her head.
“I don’t think so. He just said he’d wait. It didn’t seem so urgent. He’s down at the main reception.”
Jude looked up at the clock. Six-thirty. Half an hour left, and this was often the busiest part of her shift. She had to carry out all her usual duties while preparing to hand over to the incoming registrar and then actually handing over. At times it felt that some vengeful God sent in a really tricky case just as she was preparing to leave. The unconscious woman was proving complicated. It was probably a stroke but the woman had a multitude of other conditions and after a confusing and inadequate conversation with the carer, an inconclusive examination and a series of phone calls, Jude looked up and saw it was twenty past seven.
She walked into the little office where she kept her coat and her bag and her keys and, as she always did, she took a moment, letting her thoughts settle. Was there anything she might have missed? She couldn’t think of anything.
She got out her phone, looked at it and blinked. There was a faint aura around it as if it was glowing. Sometimes this was just tiredness but usually it wasn’t. Usually it was the sign that a migraine was coming. It almost never happened during work. It was as if her brain was politely waiting until she did what she had to get done. It would give her enough time to get home and then the headache would start. Sometimes the medication would stop it, if she took it in time. She started to check her messages.