‘And did you carry out regular inspections?’
‘Of?’
‘The cottage. Surely you were concerned that a dozen or so children might damage your property?’
‘If they’d done any damage the church would have paid for it. Look, what has any of this got to do with why I’m here?’
‘That’s what I’m trying to determine, Mr Campbell.’
Something occurred to Jake … he pulled his phone out and moved towards the door.
‘See?’ Mason Campbell grumped. ‘Always on the portable phones.’
The door closed behind Jake as he re-entered the corridor.
‘Detective Hunter?’ Charlotte answered her phone.
‘Yes. Hi, Charlotte. Are you visiting Amelia today?’
‘I’m going over later this afternoon.’
‘I thought you might be. I wanted to let you know that Liam O’Brien, Ms O’Brien’s brother, is here at the moment.’
‘You’re there?’
‘Yes. Why?’
‘Amelia said she’d like to talk to you again.’
Jake hadn’t expected that. ‘I’ll see her soon, then. But back to Mr O’Brien …’
‘If he’s there, I should probably offer him my condolences? For Ms O’Brien?’
Politeness had won the day. ‘He would probably appreciate that,’ he said. ‘He’s visiting Mason Campbell in Ward 6B. And if I’m still here when you arrive, I’d like a word?’
‘Okay?’ she said.
‘Nothing to worry about, I just want to ask you about Ava’s house.’
‘No problem,’ she said.
Pushing the door to Campbell’s room open again, he smiled.
Three pairs of eyes looked at him curiously.
‘That was Charlotte. She’ll be here in the hospital visiting a friend soon. She’d like to come by and offer her condolences,’ he said, looking at Liam.
‘Which one’s that?’ Mason Campbell asked in a stage whisper.
‘Is that Charlotte from the supermarket?’ Max said at the same time that O’Brien said, ‘The youngest one.’
‘Right.’ Campbell relaxed back into his bed.
Jake was now itching for some privacy so he could listen to whatever was on the recording in his phone. O’Brien had said at the police station that he couldn’t recall the names of any of the girls in the home, yet he knew who Charlotte was by name. And Campbell cared about where she sat in the order of children. Should Jake see how they reacted to a different name?
‘Another one of the girls from the home is here too, if you’d like to see her? Amelia?’
Both O’Brien and Campbell stiffened slightly. That was the thing about older people when they attempted duplicity—their bodies tended to betray them.
‘No, no, one’s enough,’ O’Brien said, pressing one hand to his chest again. ‘I’m tired and will need to rest soon.’
‘I’ll take you back home then, if you like?’ Max said. ‘I’m leaving soon.’
‘That would be great, Max. Thanks.’
Jake returned to asking Mason Campbell questions about how he’d ended up on the floor of his kitchen. It became clear he had nothing further to offer.
He left the hospital and hurried to his car. Finally, he was able to play back the recording on his phone. He heard himself telling Campbell and O’Brien he was going outside to speak to a doctor, then …