Steph turns back to Robin. ‘When he came in, was he muddled, disorientated?’

‘Yes, he was the same when he was in the van. Didn’t know where he was, couldn’t remember what happened.’

‘And he’s an alcoholic?’ she adds bluntly.

Robin nods.

Her head dips slightly. ‘I need to speak to his doctor,’ she mutters and walks quickly out of the room.

Robin watches her go, confused, then follows after her. Steph has paused, talking to a nurse in the corridor, who runs to a phone and makes a call.

‘What are you thinking, Steph?’

She’s still deep in thought. ‘When did Finn come in?’

‘Last Wednesday.’

‘So, nearly a week ago?’

But Robin doesn’t have time to answer her question, as a man joins them in the corridor.

‘Dr Harper? I’m Dr Blackstone, Finn’s doctor. I’m just doing my rounds. You want to speak to me?’

The man towers over Steph, not looking too happy at being summoned.

‘I’m sorry for calling you, but I was here with DS Butler,’ she begins, gesturing to Robin, who doesn’t even get a nod. ‘And I had some observations about Finn.’

‘Right…’ Dr Blackstone’s holding Finn’s chart in his hand and is quickly reading the pages, not looking at Steph.

‘He came in with symptoms of disorientation, memory loss—’

‘Both anterograde and retrograde, yes.’

‘Changes to his eyes and vision, ataxia, confusion, exaggerated storytelling and confabulation?’

‘Correct. Plus, symptoms arising from his alcohol withdrawal: shaking, anxiety, nausea, sweating. The usual.’

‘What were his thiamine and B1 levels when he was admitted?’

Dr Blackstone stares at Steph for a moment, then his eyes slowly drop to the chart. His fingers flick between the pages.

‘That can’t be right,’ he says under his breath.

‘Dr Blackstone?’ Steph prompts.

Robin watches as his face turns pale and he meets Steph’s gaze. ‘We didn’t test for vitamin B when he was brought in through the ED. It’s not part of the baseline bloods. You have to specifically request it.’

‘And you didn’t?’

‘No.’ He clears his throat, awkwardly. ‘We didn’t know about the alcoholism until later, and we didn’t suspect…’ His voice tails off as he stares at the chart again.

‘What’s going on?’ Robin asks, but Steph ignores him.

‘What did his MRI show?’ she asks.

‘Some damage in the dorsal medial thalamus and the mammillary bodies, but nothing significant. Shit,’ he mutters under his breath, then turns to the nearest nurse. ‘Please get Finn Mason started on thiamine. Now.’ The nurse rushes off and Blackstone turns back to Steph. ‘We’ll get the lab to run the tests ASAP.’

‘Steph?’ Robin repeats. ‘What’s going on?’

‘I’ll go and speak to his family,’ Blackstone says quietly, and leaves Robin and Steph in the corridor.

Steph turns to Robin. Her face is serious; he can tell immediately that it’s not good.