A skeleton crew of staff cleared tables, polished cutlery and tried to make themselves look busy. Two middle-aged women – Kate guessed they were sisters – sat close to the serving area, two black coffees and a half-eaten sandwich between them. One of the women was crying, the other was staring into the garden through a rain-streaked bank of windows that ran along the far wall.

Kate thought about what the duty sergeant had said: this really was a depressing place to spend your nine-to-five. John rarely talked about his work and Kate rarely asked. Working in palliative care wasn’t like other jobs. When he got home at the end of the day, it didn’t feel right to say cheerily, Hi, honey, how was your day? When friends and family asked John about his work, he usually changed the subject quickly. For those few who pressed the subject, he had half a dozen meaningless clichés cocked and loaded in the chamber: It feels good to give something back; a lot of people don’t have anyone else; being around so much death just reminds you how precious life is.

Kate had figured he’d talk if he wanted to, but now she wondered if he had been protecting her from something. Was this one of the monsters they hadn’t talked about?

Holly returned, sat across from Kate and immediately looked at her watch.

‘I don’t have a lot of time,’ she said.

‘I only have two questions,’ Kate said. ‘I need to know why John resigned, and why he kept it from me.’

Holly frowned. ‘I’m not sure I can help you with the latter, but I might be able to explain the former. John’s resignation was my idea.’

‘You fired him?’

‘No. I pointed out what was at stake if he stayed.’ She steeped her teabag, twirled it on its string, then set it aside on the table. It landed with a wet thud. ‘John was doing good work here, and it was a shame to lose him. He was great with patients, the staff loved him and his research was yielding some very positive results. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that.’

‘No,’ Kate lied. John hadn’t mentioned anything to her about research.

‘I was very sorry to see him go,’ Holly said. ‘But I would have been sorrier if he stayed.’

‘What does that mean, exactly?’

‘Has John ever talked to you about spiritual distress?’ Holly asked.

Kate shook her head.