Before I leave the office later that afternoon, I call the practice where Andrew Buckley works, asking to speak to him. When they tell me he’s busy with patients until at least seven, I tell them I’ll call back tomorrow. But knowing he’s occupied for a couple of hours means I have a clear window to go and see Elise.

She’s sitting up when I get to the hospital this time, and even though she’s alone, she doesn’t look pleased to see me. Pulling up a chair, I sit down near the end of her bed. ‘How are you feeling today?’

‘Sore.’ Her words bear more of her usual no-nonsense manner. ‘You shouldn’t be here. If Andrew sees you, he’ll be furious.’

‘He’s with patients until seven. I checked with his practice. Is that how he was yesterday when I left here? Furious?’ When she nods, I add, ‘I know how it feels.’

Her eyes glisten as she turns away. ‘So you said.’

‘Look …’ I pause. ‘I haven’t come here on police business. I’ve come here as another woman who knows what it’s like to be physically abused.’ I watch her take in my words before asking quietly, ‘How are you?’

Shaking her head, she sighs. ‘Honestly? You have no idea. I’d found a house to move into. I paid the deposit and three months’ rent out of my savings. When he found out, he went ballistic and I ended up in here. But it’s nothing new. He constantly threatens me. He thinks he can bring me down, just like that.’

I frown. ‘What do you mean – bring you down?’

‘Oh,’ she says softly. ‘He thinks that, if he wants to, he can bring the mighty weight of the medical profession crashing down on me. He’s told me he’ll get me declared insane, an unfit mother. I’ll lose my job, my daughter …’ Her voice cracks as she says daughter.

‘It’s a bluff, Elise,’ I tell her quietly. ‘He’d never get away with it. The police know what he’s capable of. I can’t tell you much, but we’re watching him.’

‘Really?’ There’s a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

‘How did he find out about your moving out?’

Her eyes are troubled. ‘Niamh told him. I don’t really understand why.’

I frown. ‘I imagine she’s as frightened of him as you are. She probably thought it would be worse if he found out later.’

‘Maybe.’ Elise nods. ‘It’s terrible that she knows what he’s doing to me. I need to get both of us away. But I don’t know how.’

Her distress is obvious. Getting out my phone, I bring up the number I found earlier. ‘If I found you someone to talk to, would you call them?’