‘You did nothing wrong,’ Rivka said, leaning across to take hold of Jodie’s hand. ‘You’ve always been too hard on yourself for something you had no control over.’

Jodie felt the warmth of the hand holding hers. She’d never wanted to tell her secret, but a weak moment combined with an excess of alcohol had lowered her defences and she’d spilled her sad tale to a group of nursing friends. They’d been understanding and supportive. The four of them were still friends but only Rivka lived close enough to meet up on a regular basis. ‘There’ll always be a little part of me that thinks perhaps I led him–’

‘Stop right there,’ Rivka said, squeezing Jodie’s hand. ‘You’d just turned fourteen, for goodness’ sake, you were a child. Victor was twenty-eight. An adult.’ Her face contorted in lines of disgust. ‘A rapist.’

Jodie nodded. It was easier. Rivka thought she understood but she didn’t… not really. ‘I won’t tell Flynn, not yet anyway, maybe someday.’ She shrugged. ‘I think a girlfriend who was fired for gross misconduct is enough for him to take on.’

‘That will be cleared up. I’m convinced of it. It’ll probably turn out to be that night nurse trying to cause trouble.’

Bessie Abbott? Jodie hadn’t given her much thought but it was she who had found the tablets after all. They’d had a good professional rapport, or at least Jodie had thought so, but maybe there was something nasty lurking beneath Bessie’s genial exterior.

‘We may never know. Taylor said it wasn’t his role to find out who left the tablets there, just to ensure I wasn’t held responsible for something I swore I didn’t do.’

‘So, the wrongdoer might get away scot-free?’ Rivka sat back and folded her arms. ‘That doesn’t seem right or fair.’

‘No, it doesn’t, but I can’t worry about that. I have enough on my plate between the medication issue and that package tied to my doorknob. It’s almost as if the fates were conspiring against me.’ She saw an alert expression on her friend’s face. ‘What is it?’

‘Maybe not the fates,’ Rivka said quietly. She unfolded her arms and leaned forward, her lips pressed in a tight line. ‘How difficult would it be for someone to gain access to that resident’s room in the nursing home and leave those tablets where they would be found?’

Jodie rubbed a hand over her mouth. How easy would it be? ‘Visitors have to sign in.’

‘And does someone check that they are who they say they are?’