Sharon needed to get back to being somewhere near to reliable and the only way she could see that happening started with Danny picking up his damned phone. She would need to try him again but it could wait until after that tea. The nurse who had left it for her now reappeared. She was east Asian in appearance, petite and timid with a strong accent. Sharon hadn’t seen her before but beyond the core of nurses looking after Callie, changes were common. Jamie sat on a chair on the other side of the bed, lost in a game on his mobile phone. Callie was still sleeping. Sharon was disappointed; she wanted Jamie to see something of his sister.

‘Is everything OK?’ Sharon said.

‘There are some people here to see you,’ the nurse replied.

‘People? What people?’

The nurse looked embarrassed. ‘They say they are police?’ The nurse had lowered her voice so Jamie couldn’t hear.

‘OK … Did they say what they wanted?’

‘Not to me. I’ll get them.’ The nurse moved out of sight for just a few seconds then came back pointing for the benefit of a man and woman. Even if the nurse hadn’t told her, Sharon might have known they were police officers. The man was mid to late thirties. He had a thick neck and a broad chest visible through an open jacket with a tie running down the gap. The woman was younger, probably pretty if she smiled. Her hair was tied back like it got in the way of her day job and she held her arms tight across her front to trap a blue book with a pen hooked over the top. Both of them had the same stern, professional expression that must be part of the training for all police officers.

‘Mrs Evans?’ The man spoke. His voice was both warm and authoritative, like he had spent some time practising his introduction. She had talked to a lot of police officers in her recent past, but she didn’t recognise this one.

‘Sharon Evans, yes,’ she said. She could feel the hackles rise on the back of her neck. An ancient instinct was kicking in. Something was wrong, she just knew it.

‘I’m sorry to bother you here. I need to speak to you. The nurse says there’s a room we can use …’ He faded out to half-turn back the way he had walked.

‘Can we not talk here?’

‘We can … Your daughter, I understand?’ He glanced beyond her for a moment.

‘Callie. She could wake any moment. I don’t like leaving her.’

‘Of course. It’s just—’

‘Here’s fine.’ Sharon snapped. The woman police officer gave a slight reaction but the man’s smile didn’t even shift. Sharon spun away to where Jamie was still staring over. ‘Jamie, you were going to the vending machine. I need to talk to the police.’