The dull throb in Molly’s head ratcheted up a notch. She didn’t need it to be spelled out. ‘Someone pushed me.’ She nodded slowly. ‘Yes, I remember. I felt a blow to my back.’

Fanshawe leaned closer, his eyes meeting hers. ‘The car that hit you was a four-by-four with bull bars; if you hadn’t managed to turn as you did, if it had hit you full on, chances are we wouldn’t be talking now.’

A wave of nausea swept over her. She grabbed a kidney dish that had been left within reach and held it in front of her mouth. It was almost amusing to see how fast the two policemen moved out of the line of fire. A few deep breaths and the feeling passed. Her head was pounding, she needed the nurse to give her something to take it away. ‘Why would someone try to kill me?’

Fanshawe drew closer again. ‘They probably hoped it would look like an accident. There was a crush of people waiting; but the woman with the baby is one of us, a copper, she was quite clear about what she saw.’ He sat back and shook his head. ‘In the ensuing chaos, nobody saw anyone running away but there’s a CCTV camera on that corner and we’ve had a look at the footage. Directly behind you in the crowd waiting to cross was a hooded figure. They kept their head down so we couldn’t see their face, nor could we see the assault but as you went flying forward, he… or she… pushed through the crowd and hurried away. Trawling through footage from various CCTV cameras in the area didn’t show us where he went which is itself suspicious.’ Fanshawe nodded. ‘So, to answer your question, Mrs Chatwell, yes, we think someone tried to kill you. And as we don’t believe in coincidence, we think it must have a connection somehow to the murder of Lucien Pleasant. What we’re struggling to understand is what that connection could possibly be.’

Still in shock from the accident, reeling from the knowledge that it had been deliberate, Molly couldn’t handle any more. A sob started deep inside, a few hiccups before it came loud and pathetic. And she couldn’t stop.

She saw Fanshawe’s expression turn from sombre to sympathetic to helpless in a series of slight facial movements that she normally wouldn’t have noticed. She did now because in her whirling, swirling world, he seemed to be the only thing to anchor her.

He poked the unaffected Carstairs in the arm and whispered something Molly didn’t catch, but whatever it was made him leave the room. Moments later, he returned with the nurse in tow.

‘That’s enough,’ Edel said, holding the door open. She stood there with one hand on it, waiting for them to leave. ‘Any further questions will have to wait.’