MURDER IN THE WINGS

DI ELLIS YORKSHIRE CRIME THRILLERS

BOOK 12

OLIVER DAVIES

Copyright © 2024 by Oliver Davies

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

PROLOGUE

Ijolted awake and groaned as intense pain flashed through my skull. I quickly touched the side of my head, but it didn’t help the sharp ache that proceeded to tear through me. After taking a deep breath to try to regulate the discomfort, I blinked my blurry eyes rapidly until my vision slowly restored itself. My hand dropped delicately to my side as I cautiously looked around me in horror and confusion.

I was in a hospital bed.

I blinked several times again, then looked down and groaned when I saw I was wearing nothing except a flimsy hospital gown. It was a hideous pale blue, and it hung loosely on me, making me look at least double my size. I grimaced at it unpleasantly before I started to take in my surroundings. There was no one in the room with me—no other patients or nurses—and the room was rather small and bare. There was literally only me, the bed, a table to my right, two chairs, and a few medical machines strategically placed behind me. My clothes were neatly draped over one chair.

I chewed my lip thoughtfully, trying to think back to how I ended up here. One moment I was rushing around the Wolf and Lamb Pub, searching frantically for any evidence that could help its owner, Larry Arnold, be exonerated for the murder of four women who had once worked with him. The next, I was waking up in this bed. I was missing the middle part, but try as I might, I couldn’t recall how I got there.

Just think for a moment, Sean! I thought to myself impatiently. Retrace your steps to this moment.

I sighed deeply, then with difficulty I took my mind back to the Wolf and Lamb. I remembered rushing there from the Bucking Bronco Pub after myself and my ex-colleague, Detective Superintendent Nadia Begum, received startling information that Larry had worked as a delivery driver for the Bucking Bronco and had been seen there on several occasions with his ex-employee and murder victim, Nadia Manir. After that, I raced after Nadia, who in her eagerness to arrest Larry, had charged off without me. I’d then arrived at the pub to find that, to my horror, Nadia had beaten me there and was dragging Larry out of his own pub in handcuffs.

Larry had then handed me the key to his pub, begging for me to try to find something that could help him. I took his words to heart and quickly got to work looking around. I’d eventually located a suspicious-looking folder.

I suddenly jolted up from my bed, my eyes widening in alarm.

The folder! I thought in dismay. I’d been about to look at the damned thing when I was hit from behind.

I kept upright and looked around me quickly. There was a small table beside my bed, and I hurriedly chucked the contents of it to the side, ignoring the crashing sound as cups and various other items hit the floor. There was no sign of the folder or any paperwork that could have potentially been taken from it. I went to stand up from the bed, but another wave of pain went through me, so I decided to slow down.

As I grunted in pain, the door to my room suddenly flung open. I looked up to see a young nurse walking quickly toward me. She was wearing blue nurse overalls, and her red hair was tied back tightly in a bun. As she approached me, her green eyes grew wide with worry and her thin lips looked even thinner when her mouth moved with concern.

“Is everything okay, Mr. Ellis?” she asked gently.

She placed a reassuring hand on the side of my bed as she crouched down to check me over. She then looked to the floor and raised a well-defined eyebrow at the sight of the mess I’d made. The nurse turned back to me, and although I expected a stern look, she continued to look at me gently.

“Were you in pain, Mr. Ellis?” she asked worriedly as she stood back up. “Is that why you were moving about?”

“Where’s my folder?” I asked gruffly, rubbing the side of my head in the hopes it would help the pain.

“It’s at the end of your bed, Mr. Ellis,” the nurse said warmly. “I’ll get it for you.”

She tapped my hand then walked toward the end of my bed. As she walked, I sighed in relief. It hadn’t been lost! However, the relief quickly vanished when she grabbed my medical file from the end of my bed and handed it to me.

“We just need to run a few more tests, Mr. Ellis, but the doctors feel relatively happy that⁠—”

“No,” I interrupted harshly as I shifted in my bed. “Not that folder. My folder!”

The nurse bit her lip, her eyes filled with concern. “I’m sorry, Mr. Ellis, but I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said in a slow, loud voice which instantly put my back up. “I think I’ll just grab a doctor to run a few more tests, then we can—Mr. Ellis, what are you doing!”

The nurse interrupted herself as I threw the thin sheet off of my legs and tried to climb out of bed. The moment my feet hit the ground, the sharp pain in my head returned, so I had to quickly grip the bed to steady myself. I gritted my teeth and didn’t resist as the nurse got to my side and helped support me. She ushered me back toward the bed and I sat down. Once the pain had subsided, I looked up at her with my hand still pressed to my forehead.

“Look, I get you mean well, but I really don’t have the time for tests,” I said in a slow, measured tone as I gently massaged my temple. “I’m working on an important case right now and I really need to get back to it.”

The nurse sighed sympathetically. She gripped my free hand then tapped it gently. “You’re just a bit confused right now, Mr. Ellis,” she said warmly as she let go of my hand and started to cover my legs with the thin sheet. “You’re retired now, so you don't need to worry about work! You have time to rest. I’d recommend you do so if you want your head to stop spinning. Just let us figure out if you’re okay, then we can let you go.”

I pulled my hand away from her harshly before she could try to touch it again. “I know I’m officially retired, I’m not bloody senile you know,” I snapped. “I’ve been working on a case unofficially with Detective Superintendent Nadia Begum. Feel free to call her if you don’t believe me.”

The nurse scratched the back of her neck in contemplation, but when she opened her mouth to reply she was interrupted by the sound of my door opening again. I turned and sighed happily when I saw who was walking through it.

My wife, Lylah, and my daughter, Faye.

Lylah got to me first. She gently brushed the nurse aside so she could stand beside me and hold my hand. I looked into her face and saw that her hazel eyes were wide with concern. Lylah was several years younger than me, late fifties, and the lines on her face weren’t half as severe as my own. Although her hair now had a considerable amount of white flecked through it, it was still mostly blond. When we’d worked together, Lylah had always dyed her hair to make the blond much brighter, but she hadn’t dyed it for several years now. It was also no longer styled the intricate way it used to be. Around ten years ago, Lylah had cut her hair, so now it was just above her shoulders.

She sighed deeply and pushed my hair out of my face. “What happened?” she asked in a quiet, frightened tone. “I received a phone call saying you’d been rushed to hospital with a head injury.”

I grumbled irritably and shot a glare at the nurse, who was now leaning casually against the wall while we spoke. “The hospital shouldn’t have worried you like that, love. I’m fine,” I replied as I squeezed her hand.

Lylah eyed my head and frowned. I hadn’t been able to see what my face looked like, but from the way she was furrowing her brow, I could tell my head must have been bandaged or shown some sign of serious injury. “It looks like it,” she muttered unhappily as she slowly took her hands back. “And it wasn’t the hospital who called me.”

I scratched my stubble in confusion. “Then who did?” I asked.

“I did,” Faye replied boldly as she stepped forward.

I turned to Faye and looked at her properly for the first time. It didn’t seem to matter how old Faye. In my mind, I still saw her as a child, but as she stood in front of me with a stern, serious expression it was one of those rare moments where I clearly saw she was an adult. Faye was now in her forties, and her tanned face showed the beginning signs of age. There were a few lines on her forehead and around her eyes, but they hardly stood out on her skin. Her brunette hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she was dressed in smart navy trousers and a white blouse that was decorated with blue flowers.

“How did you know I was here?” I asked cautiously as I crossed my arms. “Did the hospital call you?”

Faye shook her head. “No, I called the hospital,” she said with concern as she looked me up and down.

I raised a confused eyebrow, so Faye sighed impatiently and continued.

“You weren’t answering any of my calls, so I got worried,” she said anxiously, her face paling at the thought. “I knew you were working on that cold case, so I thought I’d track your phone and see if you’d gotten yourself into any trouble.” She hesitated for a moment, and to my surprise, smirked. “When I saw you were in a pub, initially I was a bit pissed off, thinking you’d rather get drunk than speak to me, but I decided to go find you, anyway.” The smirk fell quickly from her face. “And it’s a good thing I did. Christ only knows how long you’d been on that floor before I found you.”

I moved hastily in the bed, causing Lylah to jump in surprise beside me. “The folder,” I said quickly. “Did you see a folder?”

Faye pursed her lips. “Believe it or not, Dad, I wasn’t looking for a bloody folder when I saw my own father knocked out on the floor,” she said coldly as she crossed her arms. “I was more concerned with getting you to the hospital and making sure you stayed alive!”

I rubbed my face, ignoring the sharp stab in my head at the movement, then looked back at Faye. “Sorry, Faye,” I sighed apologetically as I grimaced. “I appreciate what you did, but I was attacked in the pub because of the folder I’d found. I’m certain of it.”

Faye opened her eyes wide in surprise, gesturing with her hand for me to continue.

“I need you to contact someone and see if they can go to the pub and look for that folder,” I said seriously as I sat up stiffly in the bed. “I think it’s important.”

I expected Faye to argue with me, but to my surprise she fished in her pocket and pulled out her phone. “I’ll go outside and call someone to look right away,” she said quickly as she made her way out of the door.

I thanked her, then turned to Lylah, who was looking at me with a bemused expression.

“I told you to leave this alone, but you just couldn’t, could you?” she asked with an exasperated sigh.

I held out my hand and felt relieved when she reached out to grab it. “I know you did, love, but I owe it to the memories of Angela, Lydia, Nadia, and Marika to figure out what happened to them,” I said passionately as I stroked the back of her hand with my thumb.

Lylah rubbed her face in confusion. “Marika?” she asked in bewilderment.

I quickly filled her in on how we’d figured out that Marika’s missing person case from several years ago was almost certainly connected to the murders. She swore softly under her breath.

“Christ,” she muttered with concern. She grabbed the free chair, pulled it toward the bed, and sat down. “It makes you wonder how many other women could have been killed by that monster.”

I gritted my teeth angrily at the thought. “Exactly, which is why I have to do this,” I said sincerely. “Being unable to solve it broke me at the time, and I can’t let it break me again now.”

Lylah folded her arms and looked at me dejectedly. “I know you want to help those girls, but look what’s happened to you, Sean,” she said worriedly as she jutted her head toward my own. “You’re lucky you weren’t killed!”

“Whoever did this to me must have known I was onto them, love!” I exclaimed keenly. I moved in the bed to face her and ignored the pain in my head as I moved. “Nadia just arrested Larry, but it can’t be him if someone attacked me after he was taken away, right?”

“Unless whoever attacked you did so because they were annoyed over Larry being arrested,” Lylah said thoughtfully as she played with her hands in her lap.

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if there was any possible way she could be right. I’d been convinced I was attacked because the folder I found was going to help lead me to the truth, but what if the folder was meaningless? What if I’d simply been attacked by a disgruntled punter who hated me for not helping Larry sooner? The men in the pub were initially incredibly irate due to what happened to him. Although I’d been convinced I’d managed to get them all calm, perhaps one member of the bunch hadn’t believed what I had to say.

Lylah took advantage of my silence and gestured to the nurse to come over. I jumped slightly in surprise at the sight of the nurse moving toward me. She had been so still and silent during our conversation that I’d almost forgotten she was still in the room with us.

“There’s nothing you can do right now, Sean,” Lylah said firmly as she fixed me with a serious look. “You best rest here and let the nurse take a proper look at you.”

The nurse went to grab my arm, but I jerked it away.

“No!” I exclaimed harshly as I turned my shoulder toward the nurse. “I don’t need to be examined. I need to get out of here!”

To my surprise, the nurse simply smiled at me. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone so skittish around a nurse,” she said jovially as she put my medical file back in the holder at the bottom of my bed. “You do know a nurse’s job is to help, right?”

“Not always,” I mumbled unhappily, pulling the sheet up protectively. The nurse put her hands on her hips. “Of course always!” she said with a slight giggle. “Have you ever met a nurse who’s done anything other than try to look after the ill or injured?”

I lowered the sheet slightly. I glanced at Lylah and saw she was giving me a knowing look.

“Actually, I have,” I said in a slow, glum tone. “One of the worst cases I ever worked involved a nurse who used her position to her advantage.”

The nurse stepped cautiously toward me, her expression filled with intrigue. “What case was that?” she asked me curiously. “I find it hard to believe anyone in this profession could even hurt a fly.”

I grimaced sympathetically at her naivety. “The nurse I’m thinking of did a hell of a lot of damage, and I’ll never forget it,” I said coldly, turning to Lylah as she gripped my hand reassuringly.

The nurse looked at one of the screens next to the side of my bed, then looked back at me. “How about you tell me about this nurse while I run some tests?” she asked kindly. “It could keep your mind distracted while I work, and I’d love to hear about it.”

I glanced at Lylah, and she nodded. “You have to wait for the doctors to give you the all clear before you can leave, so you might as well talk about the case while we get the tests done,” she said impassively. “And if this nurse can do them now, then she might as well.”

I nodded and looked back at the nurse. Her eyes kept moving speedily from the screens surrounding me to my face, and I knew she was ready for me to talk. I rubbed my wrist, and my mind went back to the case. The nurse in question had been one of the most vindictive people I’d ever dealt with, and I was still shocked to this day that she’d ever been able to make it into her profession.

The woman had been a cold-hearted killer and—except for the serial killer case I was now working on—I didn’t think I’d ever dealt with someone as cruel as her.

1

Inever thought silence could be so deafening.

I turned to face Lylah, then swallowed uncomfortably when I saw she was staring pointedly out of the window as I drove us to work. We’d been married now for a year and, while on many levels it had been the best year of my life, on other levels it had been horrendous. We’d had the most incredible wedding with all of our friends and family—made all the better by Elijah’s rescue—then the most unbelievable honeymoon in Italy… but then a hard reality had hit us a few months into married life.

We still hadn’t fallen pregnant.

I’d promised Lylah that once all the wedding stuff was out of the way, we’d try for a baby. I’d honoured that promise, but I had no idea it would be so hard. With Lizzie, she’d fallen pregnant when we weren’t even trying. We’d been young, foolish, and Faye had been the result of that. An amazing result and one I wouldn’t change for the world, but still not something either of us had planned for. However, now that I was actually trying to conceive a child, it just wasn’t happening.

I wasn’t overly concerned. I knew sometimes these things could take time, but Lylah had been making herself sick with worry, and she was constantly blaming herself.

Before we’d left for work, Lylah had taken another pregnancy test. She was devastated when it came back negative. I’d wanted to console her, but she had moved so hastily out of our flat and to the car that I didn’t get the chance. As I drove us to work, I kept looking at her, trying and failing to find the words to say. I gently moved my hand and placed it on her leg, but she didn’t react to my touch. I chewed my cheek uncomfortably, knowing I had to say something. After a few minutes of awkward silence, I finally found my voice.

“It will happen, love,” I said in a soft, reassuring tone as I stroked her thigh. “I know it will.”

Lylah turned to me slowly. Her eyes looked red and puffy, so I knew she must have been crying in the bathroom before getting into the car. “It’s easy for you to say,” she said emotionlessly. “You know you can have children.”

“Lyles,” I said gently as I squeezed her leg. “Let’s not⁠—”

“I’ve been telling you for a month… the issue is clearly with me. You’ve had a kid before, but oh no, you keep telling me not to worry and that everything will be fine,” she snapped. “Well, news flash, Sean, everything isn’t fine, and I’m tired of you trying to pretend that it is.”

Her eyes filled with tears as she spoke, so she quickly turned away from me and faced out of the window again. She crossed her arms tightly across her chest, keeping her back to me.

I sighed dejectedly. “You don’t know that anything is wrong, Lyles,” I said seriously as I pulled my hand away from her and placed it back on the steering wheel. “These things take time, you know?”

“Not as long as this,” she said flatly as she stroked her long, blond braid nervously.

“All we can do is keep trying, keep being patient, and⁠—”

“I’ve been nothing but bloody patient, Sean!” Lylah snapped, turning to me with a harsh glare. “I know you keep telling me not to worry, but the only way I’ll stop is if I book an appointment with a fertility specialist.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but hesitated. Lylah was convinced she was the issue, but what if the reason we hadn’t fallen pregnant was because there was something wrong with me? I may have been blessed with Faye, but I was seventeen when I had her. I was younger, had a less stressful job, and didn’t have the poor diet that I had now in my late thirties. While realistically I knew a man’s body wasn’t on the same timescale as a woman’s—you only had to look at men like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro to know that—but that didn’t mean my body hadn’t changed with age. Maybe something was wrong with me now.

I hated that Lylah blamed herself, but I feared the thought of seeing a specialist, getting confirmation of my own fears, and potentially disappointing her even more.

Suddenly, my phone rang, saving me from the conversation. The screen on the dash said it was Faye, and my fingers tensed on the steering wheel with worry.

Faye never rang me early on a workday, so seeing her name pop up instantly made me imagine the worst. Had something happened to her at work? Did she need my help?

Lylah’s cold exterior quickly thawed at the sight of Faye’s name. “Answer it!” she said impatiently. “Something might be wrong.”

Aye, that’s what I’m worried about, I thought nervously.

I nodded, then cleared my throat loudly before hitting the accept button.

“Mornin’, love,” I said in an impassive tone as I moved my hand to Lylah’s leg. Luckily, this time, she linked her fingers in mine. “Everything alright?”

“Hey, Dad,” Faye replied, her tone unusually slow. “Are you at work yet?”

“No, not yet,” I said cautiously as I squeezed Lylah’s hand. “I’m on my way there now.”

“Ah, right,” Faye said coolly. She was quiet for a few seconds before speaking again. “Am I able to see you before you start?”

I turned to Lylah, my eyebrows furrowing with concern. Lylah too looked worried. Her lips had formed a tight line and her eyes were narrowed.

“Of course you can, love,” I said gently as I turned my gaze back to the road. “Are you at home or at the station?”

Faye had been a PC for well over a year now. However, although we worked for the same sector, she worked in an entirely different station and department, so we very rarely crossed paths.

“Erm, I’m actually at the hospital,” she said sheepishly. “Can you meet me here?”

I tensed in my seat at her words. “The hospital?” I asked anxiously. “What’s happened, love? Are you hurt?”

“No!” Faye said sharply. “It’s nothing like that, it’s just—” she trailed off awkwardly. “Look, can you just get here, please? It will be easier to explain everything when you’re here.”

“Sure thing,” I said, attempting to be calm. “I will be there as soon as I can.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Faye said, her tone sounding relieved. “I’ll see you soon.”

Faye hung up the phone. Barely a second later, Lylah turned to me anxiously.

“We best get there right away,” Lylah said seriously as she sat up straighter in her chair.

I shook my head as I rubbed my stubble in contemplation. “I’ll pass the station on the way to the hospital, so I’ll drop you off there first. You can explain to the others where I am,” I said cautiously.

As expected, Lylah furrowed her brows, her hazel eyes shining fiercely. “You don’t think I’ll let you go without me, do you?” she asked sharply. “I care about Faye just as much as you do, you know!”

I grabbed her hand and kissed it. “I know, but we don’t know why she’s called me. I could be there all day, and we can’t afford to have both of us away from the station for that long,” I said slowly, considering each word carefully before I uttered it. “I promise I’ll keep you up to date. If it’s anything serious, you can come join me right away.”

Lylah huffed slightly. “Very well then, but you best keep me informed, otherwise I will be calling you,” she said bluntly.

I smirked at her and squeezed her hand. Over the years we’d been together, Lylah had grown very close to Faye, and the two women were now rather fond of one another. It meant the world to me that my new wife, and now Faye’s stepmother, cared so much for my daughter. I hated the thought of leaving Lylah in the dark, but until I knew exactly what Faye needed, I knew it was best if I went alone.

We soon arrived at the station, and I quirked a brow in surprise when I saw Nadia and Mae standing out front. The two women were holding Costa coffee cups and chatting animatedly. Mae joined our team as a DC just over a year ago, and had quickly settled in with everyone. She’d had a few days where, because of her treatment from fellow officers in the past, she felt uncomfortable around us, but with time, the trust had grown. It now felt like Mae had always been with us. Although Mae had warmed to all of us, she and Nadia had formed a particularly fast friendship, which I was happy about. Nadia had always gotten along well with us all, but I continuously had the feeling she sometimes felt a bit left out since Lylah and Elijah were so close. At least now she had someone she had a similar friendship with.

Mae spotted our car first and casually put up her free hand in a way of greeting. No sooner did Mae start to raise her hand did Nadia look toward us too. She smiled at us and nodded her head as I pulled my car into a space directly in front of them. As soon as I was parked up, Lylah opened her door and stepped outside. Once she was outside, she kept it open so I could hear everyone easier.

“Good morning, Ellises,” Nadia said playfully as she smiled at us both.

Lylah chuckled lightly. “Good morning, you two. I’ll be coming in now, but the other Ellis has something to do before he comes back.”

Nadia and Mae looked at one another with concern.

“What’s happened?” Mae asked hastily as she stepped toward the open car door to get a good look at both me and Lylah. “Is everything okay, sir?”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose and grumbled before replying. “Aye, I’m sure everything is fine,” I said impassively.

“He’s just received a call from Faye saying she’s in the hospital, so everything might not be fine,” Lylah said a bit irritably as she leaned her body against the open door and gave me a sharp look.

Mae’s dark eyebrows shot up into her hairline. “I’m so sorry to hear that, sir!” she exclaimed sincerely.

Nadia came to Mae’s side, looking around her to see me properly. “Did she say why she was there?” she asked quickly. “She hasn’t relapsed again, has she?”

Mae looked between us in confusion as Lylah’s mouth gaped open in surprise. I bit my lip thoughtfully as I rubbed the back of my neck. As soon as Faye had mentioned being in the hospital, one of my first fears was that she’d developed an unhealthy relationship with food again. I’d never forget the call I received from Lizzie several years ago, telling me to rush to the hospital. Faye had been taken there because her body broke down from lack of nourishment. I’d jumped on my motorbike and sped there as fast as my Ducati Multistrada would take me, being more frightened than I’d ever been in my entire life.

At the time, Faye had been struggling to eat due to her fears and anxiety about understanding her sexuality. She’d barely been fifteen at that point, so I found it hard to imagine that she would end up with another eating disorder. She was far past a teenager, and had grown into a confident woman. Was it possible that her new career was causing her anxiety to such an extent that she couldn’t eat? It was a terrifying idea, and I knew I had to hurry and get to her before my thoughts drove me wild with concern.

“I really hope not,” I said with a sad sigh as I pushed my hair back. “But I best get going so I can find out.”

Mae nodded solemnly and stepped away from the car. Nadia gave me a weak smile and wished me luck before walking off to join Mae. Both women waited near the front entrance for Lylah to join them. Lylah glanced over at the two before looking at me, her features etched with concern.

“Call me as soon as you know anything, yeah?” she asked nervously as she gripped the open door tightly.

I nodded. “You know I will, love,” I said reassuringly.

Luckily, the hospital wasn’t a far drive from the station, but it would have been easier on my motorcycle. Since living with Lylah, I only ever came to work in the car since we traveled together, but now I seriously wished I had my motorcycle. In the car, I had no choice but to wait in traffic, but with the motorcycle, I could easily veer around everyone and get to any location faster.

I grumbled impatiently as I waited behind rush hour traffic. My thoughts were consumed by Faye, and I was keen to get to her as soon as possible. I had no idea why she was calling me from the hospital, but I knew whatever the reason was, it wasn’t good.

2

After an annoyingly long drive thanks to the morning traffic, I eventually pulled into the hospital. I hoped Faye was okay and hadn’t been waiting too long for me. As always, the hospital was frustratingly busy, so I had to circle around the carpark a few times before I was eventually able to secure a parking space. Once I quickly parked, I dashed out of the car and then abruptly halted when I realised I had no idea where Faye even was.

York Hospital was massive and filled with different departments and floors, so Faye could have been anywhere. I grumbled impatiently as I walked toward the main building’s reception and called Faye. My phone was barely out of my pocket when I noticed Faye standing just outside reception. It was hard to miss her standing there in her PC colors. The moment she saw me, she raised a hand, gesturing for me to join her. As I cautiously approached, I was relieved to see she showed no sign of injury—she may have told me on the phone that she hadn’t been hurt, but I had to see it to believe it—and, although it was hard to tell in her work uniform, she didn’t look as though she’d drastically lost weight either.

I grimaced unpleasantly at the memory of how she looked before when she was unwell. I could still picture her bones protruding out of her skin, and the gaunt expression on her thin, lifeless face as she lay in that hospital bed.

I shivered and shook my head, attempting to remove the thought from my mind. “Morning, love,” I said to Faye cautiously as I approached her. I placed my hands in my jacket pockets and looked her up and down. “Is everything alright?”

Faye folded her arms across her chest and chewed her cheek thoughtfully. “I’m not sure,” she said, looking sheepishly around her. “Can we go get a coffee and talk?”

My stomach dropped nervously at her words.

“Sure, love,” I replied, hoping the anxiety I felt wasn’t clear in my tone. I gestured with my hand toward the entrance. “Lead the way.”

Faye took off her PC hat and ran her fingers through her hair. She looked around nervously again before putting her hat back on and walking through the door. I followed her apprehensively, my mind running wild. What could she possibly have to say that was making her so anxious? We passed the main reception and went right to a small Costa coffee. Faye approached the till and the man behind it eyed up her uniform nervously. His fingers jumped to the collar of his shirt, which he fidgeted with clear apprehension in his eyes.

“What do you want?” Faye asked me as she leaned against the counter.

The man visibly relaxed at her words.

“Just a regular latte, ta,” I said coolly, shrugging off my jacket.

Faye nodded, then turned back to the man. “One regular latte and one caramel latte, please.”

The man nodded nervously. “That will be £8.90, please.”

I scoffed. “Christ, no wonder young people are struggling to get houses these days. Coffee is too bloody expensive.”

Faye snorted as she tapped her card on the machine. She then turned back to the barista. “If we grab a seat, are you able to bring them over, please?”

The young barista looked around him, saw the place was dead, and nodded.

We both thanked him, then sat at a small table in the far corner. There was an awkward silence I tried to ignore. I didn’t want to start the conversation, so I waited for Faye to, but she kept unusually quiet as we waited for our drinks. After a few minutes, the barista walked over and finally put our drinks down in front of us. We thanked him, and then the awkward silence continued. After another minute of watching Faye run her hands over her coffee mug, I sighed and placed my elbows on the table, leaning closer toward her.

“What is it, Faye?” I asked with concern as I tilted my head to the side. “Are you not well or something?”

Faye bit her lip awkwardly, looking around her as though frightened someone was about to approach us.

“Faye, you can tell me anything, darling,” I said reassuringly. “Whatever is wrong, you aren’t alone, alright?”

Faye took a sip of her coffee then gently placed it down on the table. “There isn’t anything wrong with me, Dad,” she said in a quiet, contemplative tone.

I quirked a brow. “If there isn’t anything wrong with you, then why are we at the hospital?”

Faye looked around her nervously again. Once Faye seemed certain the room wasn’t suddenly going to burst to life with people, she looked at me. Her gaze was focused and serious, more serious than I’d seen her look in a long, long time.

“I came here before work to pick up Becky’s medication,” she started slowly. “Don’t worry, she’s fine!” she added quickly as I pursed my lips in concern. “She just takes Cerazette since her periods can be rather painful and heavy so—” She saw my disgruntled expression at the topic and cleared her throat awkwardly, her cheeks flushing bright pink. “Anyway, when I was waiting for the pharmacist to sort out her prescription, I sat in the waiting room. I overheard an interesting conversation between two nurses there.”

Her eyes lit up excitedly, but I furrowed my brow in confusion.

Surely Faye hadn’t dragged me out here to talk about some idle gossip she’d overheard between two staff members? I’d been worried sick about her for almost an hour, and now it seemed likely that it had all been for nothing.

Faye continued to look keen. Her eyes were wide saucers, boring into my own, but she sighed disappointedly when I didn’t match her level of enthusiasm or ask her what she’d overheard. As I showed no signs of jumping into the conversation, she continued.

“These two nurses were talking about a few patients who died recently,” she continued in a quiet, eager tone. “And when I heard that, it quickly caught my interest.”

I took another sip of my coffee, wiped the residue from my upper lip, then put my mug down. “But why?” I asked bluntly. “This is a hospital, Faye. Call me cold-hearted, but people die here all the time. You don’t exactly come here if you’re the picture of health.” I paused and looked at her with narrowed eyes. “Not usually, anyway.”

Faye huffed unhappily, but continued. “But this sounded really irregular!”

I pushed back my hair with a disappointed sigh. “Please tell me this isn’t why you called me out of work, Faye?”

Faye gaped her mouth open in shock. “Dad, I called you here because this sounds bloody serious!” she snapped. “If people are dying here even more than usual, isn’t that worth looking into? We’re officers of the law. It’s our duty to the public to look into things like this!”

I scoffed as I shook my head in dismay. “Faye, people dying in a hospital isn’t exactly breaking news, is it?” I asked sarcastically.

“It is when people are dying so much it’s concerning the staff!” she hissed unhappily.

“Faye,” I said sharply, fixing her with a piercing stare. “That’s just how it is in this sort of environment. One week you’ll see no patient deaths, the next you’ll see several.” I pulled my mug toward me. “Hospitals are filled with vulnerable, unwell people who often come here with the intent of dying in a safe environment.” I drained the rest of my mug, then slammed it down on the table. “If you really only want me to discuss this fantastical theory, then I’m out of here.”

I went to stand up, but Faye quickly flung her arm across the table to stop me. “Dad, please!” she pleaded, her eyes growing wet. “You can’t just go! We need to look into this.”

I pushed my chair back and sighed as I stood. “No, Faye,” I said in a blunt, chiding tone. “What we need is to go to work and do our actual jobs. Do your superiors even know you’re here?”

Faye avoided my eye contact. Although she didn’t speak, her vulnerable body language was enough to give me my answer.

“No, I didn’t think so,” I said coldly. I gestured for her to get up. “Faye, you’ve barely been in the job a year. You need to take it seriously.”

Faye stood up, her face red. “I take my job very seriously,” she said harshly as she put her hands on her hips. “Which is why I can’t ignore what I heard.”

“Look, it’s great you’re trying to use your initiative, but you can’t just call me out of work based on a hunch.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “People die in hospitals, Faye. It isn’t anything out of the ordinary.” I grabbed my leather jacket and started to put it back on. “I’m going back to work now, and I suggest you do the same.”

I started walking out of Costa, and Faye moved hurriedly to catch up.

“Dad, you can’t just go!” she hissed quietly as she tried to match my pace. “There’s something going on here that isn’t right, I’m telling you!”

I ignored her as I exited the hospital’s main entrance. She continued to walk by my side, begging me to listen to her, but eventually I lost my patience.

“Faye, that’s enough!” I snapped angrily as we stopped near my car. I turned to face her and crossed my arms unhappily. “You have no idea how worried I was when you told me you were here! Do you remember what happened the last time I came here to meet you?”

Faye’s shoulders slumped as she hung her head in shame. “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to worry you,” she said guiltily. “But I know I’m onto something here.”

I shook my head with a tired sigh. “I will talk to you soon, love, but please go to work before you risk losing your job.”

I climbed in my car while Faye watched me with crossed arms and an annoyed expression. “Just look into the place, Dad!” she implored. “Please! I’m telling you… something isn’t right.”

I drove away from Faye, filled with conflicting thoughts and emotions. On one hand, I felt guilty and dejected over leaving her like that, but on the other, I was annoyed with her for dragging me out on a wild goose chase.

Faye may have felt something was going on at York Hospital, but some casual gossip over a few deceased patients wasn’t anywhere near enough for me to go on. If I had the time, maybe I’d look into things, but I wasn’t going to allow my love for my daughter to send me down an impossible rabbit hole.

Faye was looking for an issue that wasn’t even there, and I had to get back to work and focus on something real.

3

She walked cautiously and inconspicuously down the wings of the hospital, trying desperately to ignore the adrenaline that was pumping through her veins. She didn’t quite know how, but she’d been getting away with murder for just over a week. She longed to push herself, to see how far she could go. In the space of a week, she’d managed to get away with killing five people.

Margaret Park, Dorothy Gill, William Russell, Jonathan Baker, and Malcolm Davidson.

All five had been incredibly unwell people, so killing them in their beds had been easy and left no one suspicious. After all, who would question the death of someone on death’s door, anyway?

She closed her eyes as she walked, picturing all of their faces as she swiftly ended their lives. They had looked so weak, so vulnerable… seeing them like that made her feel more powerful than she could have possibly imagined. It had all been so quick, so easy, and yet it left her yearning for more.

She’d started off cautiously and spread out the murders, but at the end of last week she’d killed two people in the same day, and the adrenaline had made her feel almost superhuman. She couldn’t wait one moment longer to strike again.

She was the angel of death, and today was the start of a new week. It was time for her to rise once more and send another lost soul out of this realm. She targeted the elderly, the sick, the vulnerable. In a way, she was doing a good, honourable thing by killing them. Like a true angel, she was stopping their suffering.

At least that’s what she liked to tell herself, anyway.

If she was being honest with herself, she didn’t care about ending their pain. All she cared about was receiving the great, intense feeling that flowed through her when she was in such a position of power and control. It was tantalising, addictive, and she knew she’d never be able to live without it.

She walked casually to one of the nurse’s computers. She smiled happily at her colleagues as she walked, even greeting them cheerfully on her way. The only thing she cared about was getting to that computer, but she knew she had to be smart, too. The woman knew the importance of playing a role, playing human. Even as a child, she felt no genuine emotions, and she’d learned how to fake a smile and act the part. She knew the importance of being someone you wouldn’t look twice at. It allowed her to continue what she was doing without being seen as suspicious in any way.

To the world, she was a kind, smiling girl. In reality, she was heartless. Worse, that didn’t bother her one tiny bit.

After a few minutes of walking and chatting, she eventually reached a reception desk with a couple of computers behind it. She sat down at a computer and cracked her fingers eagerly, ensuring her face was an impassive mask that didn’t show her desire and hunger for information. She logged into the system, then started to scroll through the list of patients that currently resided at the hospital. There were a hell of a lot of them, and although this meant it would be time consuming, she also knew it meant that there was a sea of potential victims ready and waiting for her to pluck out of the water. As she scrolled through the many patients, she quickly became disappointed. The majority of names were people she couldn’t get away with killing.

Kelly Drift. Thirty-two years old and recovering from an operation on her leg.

No. Someone that young and full of life would be impossible to kill without raising suspicion.

Michelle Anders. Fifty-three years old and waiting for a hip replacement due to take place that afternoon.

Hmm, maybe if she were patient and waited until after the operation. She could try to make it look like some form of issue with the anaesthetic, but that would be too risky if it went wrong.

Brian Smith. Sixty years old and recovering from sepsis poisoning.

She growled internally when she saw he was recovering well, and therefore couldn’t be her next victim.

She was growing more and more impatient when suddenly, a name caused her heartbeat to quicken.

Sheila Jonson.

Yes. Sheila was the one! She was elderly, and had been in critical condition for several days now. It would certainly not be suspicious if she died today.

The woman rubbed her hands eagerly as she read more about Sheila. She memorised the wing and room Sheila was staying in, knowing she had to go there right away. After a quick glance around to ensure she wasn’t being watched, she slowly rose from her chair and started to make her way there at a leisurely pace. As much as she longed to run, she measured her breathing and her steps. When she knew she was alone, she couldn’t contain the wide smile that spread across her face.

It was going to happen again! Who’d have thought the power over life and death would give such a thrill? It made her feel like a god.

As she made her way to Sheila’s room, she fought back the urge to groan impatiently over how big the hospital was. In reality, it would only take her ten minutes to walk there, but each minute felt like an hour. She was keen to see the life fade out of the old woman’s eyes. Eventually, she reached the right wing, breathing deeply as the anticipation hit her.

Sheila Jonson now had less than an hour to live, and she couldn’t wait to be the one to end her life.

4

By the time I arrived back at the station, the guilt I felt about my behaviour toward Faye had subsided, and I was left with nothing more than pure irritation. How could she have dragged me away from work for such a meaningless conversation? Faye was far from a stupid girl. She knew people died in the hospital on a regular basis, so it concerned me that she’d been so keen to make a case out of nothing.

Perhaps she’s more like me than I thought, I thought to myself curiously. I never saw her as overly ambitious, but maybe she wants to create a big case for herself. Maybe she wants the power and responsibility I used to crave when I was in her role.

I shook my head, wanting to understand her but feeling unable to. I was all for Faye doing what she could to gain recognition, but she was going the complete wrong way about it. She couldn’t just hang around at the hospital on a wild hunch and avoid her actual work, not when it could put her at risk of losing her job. It was reckless, and definitely not something I would have done as a PC.

I groaned as I climbed out of my car and made my way inside the station. I’d barely pushed the door to the department open when I jumped back in surprise at the sight of Rebecca standing right in front of me. She stood up with her arms crossed and the worry lines showing on her face. If I hadn't known any better, I’d have assumed she’d stood there the whole time, waiting for my arrival.

“What happened?” Rebecca asked worriedly. She put her arm around my shoulders and escorted me into the room. “Nadia told me you’d gone to the hospital to see Faye.”

Rebecca had barely ushered me a few steps into the room before Lylah, Nadia, Elijah, and Mae all rushed over to meet me.

“You told me you’d call and keep me up to date!” Lylah exclaimed in an accusatory tone. “I’ve tried to call you twice, and you didn’t pick up!”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and swallowed guiltily when I saw her missed calls.

“Sorry, I hadn’t seen them.” I sighed as I put my phone away. “I know I promised to call, and if there had been anything to say, I’d have called you right away,” I said tiredly as I started to slowly remove my leather jacket.

The team looked at one another in confusion, so I grumbled unhappily before speaking up. “Faye is absolutely fine,” I said in a loud, reassuring tone as I gazed around at everyone. “It turns out she wanted me to go to the hospital because she was worried something sinister was going on there.”

I looked around at everyone with wry amusement, but was surprised to see everyone looking at me so seriously.

“Sinister how?” Mae asked shrewdly.

I barked a laugh. “Let’s not give her wild theories any credence, alright?” I asked coolly, walking toward the coat rack to hang up my jacket. “She heard two nurses talking about a rise in patient deaths and it turned her into Miss bloody Marple. I told her to get to work, but she’ll likely be hanging around there all day, listening out for information that doesn’t exist.” I hesitated as I pictured the scenario. “That girl needs to get focused and serious if she wants to succeed in this industry.”

Lylah shook her head in dismay. “I can’t believe that’s why she called you out there. We’ve all been sitting here worried sick over nothing!”

Elijah tutted. “Silly girl, but at least we know she’s okay,” he said with relief.

I glanced at Elijah and took him in. He still looked effortlessly cool as he stood there, his elfin features hauntingly handsome as he played with his hair. It was nice to see Elijah was back to his usual self around the office, but after recently being kidnapped and left for dead by the serial killer Thomas Moore, it had taken him a while to adjust. Physically he healed quickly, but mentally it took him until only recently to start to get over everything he was put through.

I couldn’t say I blamed him. The man had been left hanging like a piece of meat, confined with a dead, decaying body in a tiny shed, then beaten within an inch of his life before being buried alive. He had been minutes away from death when I’d pulled him out of that dark grave. Elijah had been through a hell of a lot, and I was proud of him for trying to put it behind him. I knew most people wouldn’t have been able to return to work after going through such a traumatic event, but Elijah was strong. He wasn’t going to allow a man like Moore to ruin his career.

I turned away from him and looked at Mae, Nadia, and Rebecca, quirking an eyebrow at their silence.

“Well?” I asked harshly as I tapped my foot.

Nadia rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “What if she is onto something?” she asked nervously, avoiding my eye contact.

“It wouldn’t hurt to look into it, would it?” Mae asked thoughtfully.

Rebecca shrugged. “We aren’t exactly swimming in cases at the moment. We might as well look into the hospital to give us something to do, right?”

I “Seriously?” I asked in disbelief.

Rebecca smirked. “If nothing else, it could win you some dad points for at least trying,” she said jovially.

“Aye, I suppose so,” I said casually as I looked around at everyone. “It’s better than sitting on our arses and waiting for a call to come through.”

Mae pushed some of her braids out of her face. “I guess I better put the kettle on then,” she sighed as she walked toward the kitchen.

Elijah moved to follow her. “I’ll help you,” he offered politely.

Mae gave him a half smile as a sign of gratitude.

Mae had joined the team after Elijah was taken, so I’d been concerned over how the two would get along once Elijah returned, particularly as Elijah took an instant dislike to the last DC that joined our team. However, the two became thick as thieves as soon as Elijah came back, and Mae even helped him with his recovery. Mae showed him a lot of kindness and patience, and it was clear Elijah would likely never forget it.

I watched the two of them enter the kitchen before turning to the others. Rebecca had already jumped into her seat at her desk, and Nadia and Lylah were slowly walking toward their own. As Rebecca was closer, I sauntered over to her and looked over her shoulder as she got to work.

“You know this will all just be a waste of time, right?” I said bluntly as I crossed my arms.

Rebecca swivelled in her chair to face me. “Maybe, maybe not,” she said smoothly. “Who knows, maybe your daughter has uncovered a dangerous truth just waiting to be unfolded!”

I rolled my eyes. “Ha. Ha. Very funny, Rebecca,” I said sarcastically as I tapped my fingers on my elbows. “This is all just ridiculous, and we shouldn’t be giving it the time of day.”

Rebecca winked at me, then turned her chair back toward her computer. “It could be ridiculous, but I’d rather be doing something than nothing at all,” she said sincerely as she started typing on her keyboard. “I feel like your marriage has jinxed things, Sean. It’s like crime has gone into hibernation since you became a husband again.”

I snorted. “Maybe you should put more energy into getting Aisling to pop the question than ridiculous searches like this,” I said coolly. “If you did, you’d be married by now.”

Rebecca looked at me with a furrowed brow and a stern expression. “Don’t ever mention marriage in front of Jude,” she said sharply. “Do you understand me? Otherwise our crime lull will be over… I’d have no choice but to kill you.”

I raised a surprised eyebrow at her reaction. Rebecca and I had spoken a lot about marriage—particularly when she was helping me organise my wedding—but the more I thought about it, the more I realised she never mentioned it about herself. “I take it you aren’t interested in getting married then?” I asked impassively.

Rebecca relaxed slightly at my tone and looked back at her screen. “Not even a little bit,” she said bluntly. “I like Jude, and I like living with him, but that is as far as the relationship will ever go and he’s aware of that.”

I grunted in acknowledgement. “Whatever works for you both.”

Our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Elijah. He was holding two mugs of coffee, which he gently placed on the desk in front of us.

“Ta, Smith,” I said appreciatively, smiling at the milky consistency of the drink he’d made.

“My pleasure, sir,” Elijah said respectfully, patting my back before walking back toward the kitchen.

I grabbed my mug, then turned my attention toward Rebecca’s computer screen. She grumbled unpleasantly as she read information on the screen. “Christ, there're pages and pages of information on here,” she groaned.

“Good thing you’re so keen to keep busy then, isn’t it?” I asked cheekily, taking a quick sidestep to avoid Rebecca’s arm as she swung it out to hit me.

“Funny,” she said unhappily as she moved her hand to grab her mug. “Just give me a second, I’m sure there’s an easier way to look at recent mortalities at the hospital than scrolling through pages of useless crap.”

I took a sip of my coffee and gazed around the room. Elijah and Mae had now finished handing out drinks and were sitting at their own computers. I could tell everyone was hard at work, and I wondered who would be the fastest at figuring out how to find the information we needed.

After several minutes of silence except for the loud tapping of keys on keyboards, Nadia was the victor.

“You know what, Faye could be onto something,” Nadia said contemplatively as she moved her face closer to her screen.

I held onto my mug and walked toward Nadia’s computer. “What do you mean?” I asked in disbelief before taking a sip of my coffee.

“Naturally, you get a lot of deaths in hospitals, that’s sort of standard,” Nadia said casually as she scrolled through information on her screen.

“Aye, which is exactly what I said to Faye,” I retorted. “So what makes you think Faye has a point?”

“Well, it could obviously be a coincidence, but if you look here.” She stopped speaking and used her finger to highlight sections on her screen. “It shows names of deceased patients, and there seems to have been a few more deaths last week compared to most others.”

I pushed back my hair and chewed on my cheek. “Aye, but that doesn’t mean anything,” I said stubbornly. “Deaths are random, it isn’t like you can predict when people will die. Especially not in an environment like a hospital.”

“True, but when the number of deaths in the start of an autumn month is higher than what they had during the beginning of their winter months… that does seem a bit suspect to me,” Nadia said considerately as she rubbed her face.

I took another sip of coffee and looked at the figures Nadia was showing me. As much as Faye hadn’t convinced me there was anything worth considering based on the hearsay of some random nurses, to see a large jump in mortality from the start of other months was something that could be perceived as suspicious.

“Hmm,” I grumbled thoughtfully as I harshly scratched my stubble.

“I’m not saying she’s right, Sean, but it may be something worth looking into at least,” Nadia said gently.

“I agree,” Mae said casually.

As I hadn’t realised she’d moved to stand behind us, I jumped slightly at the sudden sound of her voice. I turned around to see her expressionless face looking at me.

“It could be something, it could be nothing, but I think it would play on your mind if you didn’t look into it,” Rebecca said knowingly from her desk.

I glanced at Elijah, who simply shrugged to say the choice was up to me. I then looked at Lylah, who gave me a curt nod that said she would respect and follow any decision I made.

I downed the rest of my coffee and considered my options. The realist in me was still convinced this was going to be a complete waste of time, but a small part of me wanted to call Faye and tell her we could look into the hospital together.

Once my coffee was finished, I put my mug down and sighed dejectedly.

“I guess my daughter and I will be working our first proper case together,” I said cautiously.

5

Ipulled my phone out of my pocket and regarded it thoughtfully for a second. I stepped away from Nadia and walked toward the door of my office. My hand lingered on the doorknob for a second, but I decided to keep outside. I didn’t know why I was hesitating to call Faye, but a large part of me was forcing my hand away from the call button. I heard the sound of steps and turned to see Lylah approaching me with a concerned look.

“What is it?” she asked me in a quiet tone so no one else could hear us.

I ran my thumb over my phone screen considerately. “I dunno,” I said with a tired sigh. “I’m not convinced by this information, and I don’t want to build Faye up if this is all going to come to nothing.”

Lylah nodded understandingly. “I get that Faye is your daughter, but you can’t always protect her,” she said in a slow, cautious tone as though she feared upsetting me. “You need to treat her like you would any other PC.”

“Aye, and any other PC wouldn’t be getting the time of day from me right now,” I said gruffly. “That’s what I’m concerned about. I don’t want to get her hopes up, aye, but equally I know if another PC had come to me with this I’d have shot them down within seconds. I certainly wouldn’t have been calling them to check things out.”

Lylah stroked her plait anxiously. “Could you look into this and just not tell her?” she suggested nervously. “Once you’ve got the information you need, you can call her then. At least that way she’d see you listened to her and didn’t just disregard her concerns.”

I shook my head and huffed. “I know I can’t treat her like my daughter, but I wouldn’t be able to look into this without informing her,” I said begrudgingly as I continued to stroke my phone’s screen. “The guilt would eat me alive.”

“Just call her and get to the hospital already,” Rebecca chimed in loudly, scooting her chair so she could look at me down the hallway. “Don’t overthink it and just see what there is to find. If there’s nothing, then just give up and come back.”

I glared at her before taking a deep breath and hitting Faye’s contact information on my phone.

The phone barely rang before Faye answered it.

“I knew I’d be hearing from you!” she said smugly. “I knew there was no way you’d ignore my instincts.”

“Hello to you too, Faye,” I said in an unimpressed tone as I started to pace next to my office door.

“Yeah, hi, whatever,” Faye replied impatiently. “I looked into the hospital as soon as I got to the station and⁠—”

“Faye!” I chided harshly. “You’re a new PC, for Christ’s sake. You can’t just jump onto the system and use it for searches without permission from⁠—”

“Yeah, yeah,” Faye interrupted boredly. “They’ll thank me once they see what we have to uncover on that place! Those nurses were right, Dad, the mortality rate really has jumped up recently. There has to be a reason for it.”

“Potentially,” I said cautiously, unwilling to get her hopes up. “But we won’t know unless we do some digging.”

“Yes!” Faye exclaimed. “I knew you’d be keen to do this. I’ll meet you back at the hospital in half an hour, okay?”

“Aye, alright, but just make sure you speak to your superior first to get permission to⁠—”

I stopped speaking when I realised Faye had already hung up the phone. I grumbled and put my phone away. “That bloody girl,” I mumbled as I shook my head. I gestured to Lylah, and we walked away from my office and into the main area of our department. “She’s going to lose that job if she isn’t careful, and it took her bloody ages to get it.”

“I doubt it,” Rebecca said shrewdly. I turned to her and saw she was wiggling her eyebrows at me. “They wouldn’t dare piss off the DCI by firing his daughter.”

I frowned and ignored Rebecca as she continued to smirk. I walked to the coat rack and grabbed my leather jacket. As I started to put it on, I hesitated in surprise when I saw that Lylah had quickly joined me.

“Can I come with you?” she asked quietly.

I furrowed my brows in confusion. I had no issue with Lylah coming with me, but I was surprised at her tone. It was almost as though she didn’t want the others to know.

“Of course you can come,” I said in an equally hushed tone. “But why are we whispering?”

“I want the others to think I’m coming based on the case, but I want to come so I can book an appointment with a fertility doctor,” she said quietly, her cheeks flushing red in embarrassment.

I cleared my throat awkwardly as I zipped up my jacket. “Are you sure that’s necessary?” I asked cautiously.

Lylah didn’t speak, but the sharp look in her eyes was all the reply I needed.

I turned to the others as Lylah grabbed her jacket. “Right, we likely won’t be long,” I said loudly to the team. “Contact us if there’s an actual case for us to come back for.”

Nadia and Elijah smirked, Mae nodded, and Rebecca rose slowly from her chair.

“Will do, Sean, and you keep us informed too,” Rebecca said casually as she stood.

“I always do,” I replied shrewdly as I gently touched Lylah’s upper back and gestured for us to leave.

Lylah gave me a small smile, then started to walk in front of me. I followed her out of the department, down the stairs, and eventually into my car.

I quickly noticed a chill in the air once we were buckled in. I knew Lylah wasn’t personally annoyed with me, but I could sense her sudden shift in body language. She suddenly seemed smaller in the car, as though she wanted to vanish and not be seen. I glanced at her, seeing the way she tapped her thighs anxiously, and I knew she was worrying about seeing the doctor. I opened my mouth to reassure her, but Lylah quickly spoke first.

“What do you think is going to happen with Faye then?” Lylah asked thoughtfully. “Do you think she might be onto something?”

I barked a laugh. “I think I’m going to end up with a very annoyed, very disappointed daughter,” I said honestly.

“So, you think this will all be for nothing?” Lylah pressed curiously.

I sighed and shrugged. “I really dunno, love,” I said tiredly. “People dying in a hospital isn’t exactly a case, you know?”

Lylah gripped her knees and nodded. “I guess, but Nadia did say the mortality numbers looked unusually high,” she replied with intrigue.

“Aye, they did, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything sinister caused it,” I replied. “Sometimes a lot of people can get ill and die at the same time, but that doesn’t mean it’s something to look into.”

“True, but as Rebecca said, it would have niggled at you if you didn’t look into it. You know it would,” Lylah said candidly. “You say Faye is clutching at straws by trying to make a case here, but we both know where she gets it from.”

I nodded. “Lizzie can be a bit stubborn at times, aye, there’s⁠—”

“I meant you, you clueless idiot!” Lylah interrupted with a slight laugh.

I turned to her, raising my thick eyebrows high. “Me?” I asked in surprise.

“Yes, you,” Lylah said with a slight giggle as she gripped my leg affectionately. “I love you, but this is exactly the sort of thing you’d do. You’d get a bit of a hunch, follow your gut, then follow a trail even if everyone else tried to tell you otherwise.” She looked at me with a nostalgic expression. “Remember how quick everyone was to disregard George Robinson? All of the evidence suggested he made up what he saw, and yet you ignored everyone. You were convinced he was right, and that there was a case there.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek thoughtfully as I thought back to that case. I remembered how frustrated I felt when it was clear none of the team were supportive of my decision to look into what George had claimed. Everyone was quick to disregard him, but if I hadn’t followed my gut, we never would have found Jasmine’s body or arrested her killer.

I stopped at a traffic light, my mind going to Faye. I’d been hurt when no one followed me, so was that how Faye felt when I walked away from her? Had she been convinced she was onto something, only for me to walk away from her and call her inexperienced? I sighed guiltily at the thought. I’d meant well, but my blunt honesty had likely made Faye feel one foot tall.

At least now she knew I was coming back to her.

“I guess you’re right, love,” I sighed. “I hadn’t really thought of it like that before.” I sighed. “I will try to keep my scepticism to a minimum and be more supportive of her theories from now on.”

I waited for Lylah to reply, but she kept silent. After a quick glance, it was clear Lylah wasn’t purposely ignoring me, more that she was lost in deep thought. I kept looking at her, eventually putting a gentle hand on her thigh to bring her back.

“Are you alright, love?” I asked delicately. “You were a bit unresponsive there for a moment.”

Lylah’s cheeks tinged pink, and she looked at me apologetically. “Sorry, I was just thinking about the chances of me getting an appointment today,” she said slowly.

I rubbed her thigh supportively. “I’m sure you will, Lyles. Give it an hour or two and you’ll be out of there feeling a lot better.”

Lylah rubbed her face, and I could tell she was fighting back tears. I held her hand and choked on my own emotion. “Don’t get upset, love,” I said softly as I stroked her hand.

“I’m just scared, Sean,” she said in a broken voice as she continued to hold back her tears. “What if there is something wrong with me? What if I get told I can’t have children?”

“That's the worst-case scenario, darling,” I said lovingly as I gripped her hand supportively. “There’s no point thinking of that until we need to.”

Lylah took a deep breath and nodded. “I know you’re right, but I can’t help but think the worst right now,” she said nervously.

There was silence between us for a moment as I continued to drive. After a bit, I tightly gripped her hand and pulled it onto my leg.

“We don’t know what is going to happen, Lyles, but I promise you that no matter what, nothing will change between us, alright?” I said confidently. “I love you so much, and nothing will change that.”

Lylah gave me a weak smile. “I love you too,” she said, her tone still full of sorrow.

I kissed her hand, then let go of it. The hospital was just around the corner, and I just had to hope that after our visit, I wouldn’t be leaving with the two most important women in my life feeling broken and devastated.

6

Iparked up outside of the hospital then turned to face Lylah. Her face was pale, and she was staring at the hospital nervously. I gently gripped her hand and pulled it into my lap again.

“Everything is going to be alright, my love,” I said supportively.

Lylah sighed and squeezed my hand. “I appreciate your words, Sean, but we both know you can’t promise me that.”

I gave her a small smile but kept quiet, knowing she was right. I longed to support her and make her feel secure, but equally I knew I couldn’t get her hopes up, either. While I was relatively confident everything was going to be okay, it was impossible to know for sure until she had the tests.

“Would you like me to come in with you?” I offered gently. “I can tell Faye we’ll start our investigation after that. She’ll understand.”

“Thanks for offering, but I’ll be okay,” she said softly, her voice shaking slightly with nerves. “I think this is something I’d be more comfortable doing on my own.”

I moved closer to give her a gentle peck on the lips. “I understand, love,” I said affectionately as I placed my forehead against her own. “Just know I’ll be around if you need me, alright?”

Lylah’s eyes watered as she pulled away. “I love you, Sean,” she said emotionally.

I ran my thumb under one of her eyes and wiped away a tear. “I love you too, Mrs. Ellis,” I said playfully. Lylah giggled, causing me to smile with pride. She looked at the hospital again and sighed. “I guess I better get this over with,” she said apprehensively.

I nodded. “Just remember, I’m only a phone call away,” I said supportively.

Lylah nodded anxiously as she opened the car door. I could tell by her body language that she even wanted to walk in alone, so I got out of the car and hung back a bit to call Faye. Same as before, she answered almost instantaneously.

“Hey!” she said keenly. “Are you here yet? I got here five minutes ago.”

“Hey, love,” I said. “I’m standing in the main car park.”

“Okay, I’ll make my way there now!” she said quickly before hurriedly hanging up the phone.

I paced in the car park for a minute or two before I heard Faye calling my name. I turned around to face her, and as she sauntered over I was surprised to see she held a folder in her hands. She waved the folder eagerly in the air. I sighed tiredly and got into my car, gesturing for her to do the same. She climbed in beside me and gave me a curt nod.

“Good idea, speaking in here first,” Faye said agreeably. “We were too exposed in Costa. At least here we can’t be overheard.”

“Alright, calm down, 007,” I said coolly as I rolled my eyes. “This isn’t exactly mission impossible we’re working on, now is it?”

Faye pursed her lips unhappily. “If you’re only here to take the piss, then what was the point in agreeing to see me?” she asked, her tone both hurt and annoyed.

I grumbled and squeezed the bridge of my nose. I remembered the promise I’d made to Lylah to be less of a sceptic, so I cursed myself for breaking it within the first few seconds of being with Faye. “Look, I’m here to see if you may have been right, but that doesn’t mean I’m entirely convinced just yet,” I said honestly as I folded my arms and looked at her. “But I’m here.”

“You must partly believe me, right?” she pressed hopefully.

I looked into her wide, imploring eyes and felt my cold exterior melt.

“I’ll admit the numbers from last week looked higher than usual, but there are many reasons why that could be the case,” I said seriously as I looked into her eyes. “Out of one hundred possible reasons, only one or two of them could be sinister, but since we have no other cases at the moment, I was willing to check things out.”

Faye didn’t look entirely happy with me, but she nodded. “Before we start, I just saw Lylah,” she said, concerned. “She told me she wasn’t here for the case and had something personal to do, but she didn’t say what.”

“Ah, right,” I said awkwardly as I scratched the scar on my lip.

“Is she okay?” Faye pressed, moving her body slightly closer to mine.

“Aye, she’s just having a check-up,” I lied quickly, ignoring the stabbing feeling in my heart from lying to my own child. I knew Lylah could be a private person, and I didn’t want to risk her potential wrath by telling people about her personal life. “Did you get permission from your superiors to be here?” I asked quickly, attempting to change the subject.

Faye pointedly looked anywhere but at me.

I swore. “Jesus, Faye,” I said in disbelief as I shook my head. “Did you even ask?”

Faye slumped her shoulders and shook her head, acting like a child being scolded. “No, but I was scared they’d say no!”

I sighed in defeat. “I should tell you to get in your car and drive straight back to your station,” I said in an authoritative tone. “But as we are already here, we might as well get started. If need be, I can call your superior and say I asked for you urgently.”

Faye breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Dad,” she said appreciatively.

I gestured toward the folder. “So, are we getting started then or what?” I asked with a slight smirk.

Faye beamed at me enthusiastically and rubbed her hands together. “Yes, we are getting started right away!” she said keenly.

“Alright then, so what have you got for me?” I asked curiously as I eyed up the folder again.

Faye eagerly grabbed the folder and thrust it into my lap. “Take a look at this,” she said smugly. “Let’s see you continue to be sceptical after you see what’s inside.”

I glanced at her, holding back a snort at how much she was looking and acting like me. I knew saying that to her would have rubbed her up the wrong way, so I kept quiet. As I looked at her, I knew Lylah was right—Faye and I were scarily alike. I knew I had to give her a chance because if I were in her shoes, I’d appreciate having someone believe in me. Faye was risking a lot by putting her time and energy into looking into the hospital, so I had to support her.

I pulled the folder open and found two pieces of paper. After a quick read, it was clear Faye had found the names of all the patients who’d died at York Hospital last week and printed them with various bits of information. I turned to her and quirked an eyebrow in surprise.

“You’ve been busy since I saw you this morning, then?” I asked her in an impressed tone.

Faye sat up straight and nodded. “Of course I have!” she said energetically. “I’m always willing to put in the work when I know there’s something out there to find. I wasn’t about to half arse this, you know.”

I nodded approvingly, then started to read the list. The majority of them were names Nadia had pointed out to me before. According to the documents, nine people had died in the space of last week. The first name I saw was Margaret Park, an eighty-year-old woman who had died peacefully in her sleep. The woman had been old, unwell, and died without a struggle, which was far from suspicious. There was then Harry Flint, a twenty-year-old man who had died in surgery after being in a car accident. According to the file, the car accident had been severe, and the surgeons had done all they could to save him. I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, knowing it was unlikely anyone could have gotten away with killing Harry on purpose since he was in a busy operating theatre when he died. It would have been far too risky for anyone to try anything that exposed. After Harry’s name was Dorothy Gill, a seventy-two-year-old woman who had died from cancer. Cancer was a constant killer, so nothing about that seemed to raise my suspicions or cause my gut to react. Next was William Russell, a fifty-two-year-old man who had also died from complications from cancer. I then saw two other names, sixty year old Harriet Smith and forty-six-year old Andrea West. Both also died from cancer.

I looked at the four cancer deaths and scratched my scar considerately. Cancer took many lives, but was it suspicious that it had apparently taken four lives so quickly? It was hard to tell.

That left the final three mortalities of last week: Jonathan Baker, Boris Cleveland, and Malcolm Davidson.

Jonathan Baker had been a thirty-nine-year-old man on life support for the past six months after an accident on his construction site. He had been in a coma since then, but died in his sleep last week. I thought of Jonathan and felt a tug at my heart. The man had barely been older than me when he suffered such a tragic accident. Was it possible he hadn’t died in his sleep? He’d been in a coma for months, so it was hard to imagine why someone would have suddenly made the decision to end his life after that long.

Boris Cleveland had been a seventy-four-year-old man who had been rushed to the hospital after having a heart attack. Once he got to the hospital, the medical team tried to help him, but there wasn’t much they could do. The man had experienced a heart attack before he got to the hospital, so how likely was it that something else happened once he arrived? It was always possible, but not probable.

That left the final name on the list. Malcolm Davidson had recently celebrated his eighty-ninth birthday, but after suffering from a fall at home, he’d been stuck in the hospital for three months. Since then, his health had only declined. He went from his fall, to getting a chest infection, to then slowly deteriorating over time until he eventually died. I heard stories like this all the time—an older person went to the hospital based on something small, and due to their age and vulnerability, picked up illnesses that slowly drained the life out of them. It was a common thing, so again… nothing to be overly concerned about.

I flicked through the pages again, knowing that was it.

“Well?” Faye pressed impatiently. “What do you think?”

I passed the folder back to her. “Not a lot, if you want honesty.”

Faye blanched. “How can you say that?” she asked in disbelief. “Nine deaths in a single week, Dad! Surely that’s a lot?”

I nodded as I crossed my arms and relaxed in my chair. “Aye, it is a lot,” I said agreeably. “And if it happened anywhere else, I’d see it as unusual, but this is a hospital we’re talking about here. None of the deaths seemed overly suspicious to me.” I stared at Faye pointedly. “Did they to you?”

Faye nodded. “Yes!” she said eagerly. She opened the folder and started pointing. “Four cancer deaths in the space of a few days. That sounds a bit too convenient to me.”

I sighed and pushed my head back. “Aye, maybe, but one in two people get cancer, Faye, so it isn’t exactly impossible,” I said candidly.

Faye sighed and slammed the folder shut. “So, what?” she asked grumpily. “That’s it now, is it? You don’t think the deaths sound suspicious enough, so you’re calling it a day.”

I grumbled irritably. “Don’t put words into my mouth, young lady,” I scolded as I glared at her. “The deaths are all easily plausible, but we won’t be leaving quite yet.”

Faye’s eyes lit up hopefully. “So what now?” she asked excitedly. “Will we go in under cover and scope the joint?”

I snorted. “Christ, you watch a lot of shitty American crime shows,” I said with amusement.

Faye looked ready to snap at me, so I quickly continued.

“We won’t be going undercover, but we will be going in,” I said quickly, before she could explode at me. “I suggest we speak to one of the hospital’s main doctors and see what they have to say.”

Faye’s anger quickly evaporated, and she smiled keenly again. “That’s a good idea!” she said happily.

I winked. “I’m not a DCI for nothing, you know,” I said smugly.

Faye groaned and pushed her car door open. “Come on,” she said with disgust. “Let’s go in before I’m sick everywhere.”

I chortled as I opened my car door. We both climbed out and started walking toward the hospital. I had no idea what we were going to find in there, but my team was right.

There was no way I’d be able to sit idly by when there was even a one percent chance that innocent people were being hurt.

7

The woman saw the door to Sheila’s room, and it shone to her as if a golden beacon had been placed above it. If there was a heaven on earth, it was what was awaiting her behind that door.

It beckoned with the promise of a perfect, glorious opportunity. It would grant her the power to end another life.

She was ready and eager to get to work, but she had to ensure no one was around first. As much as she longed to get started, patience was a virtue, and she had to make sure her tracks were covered at all times.

She lingered near Sheila’s room, but at the sound of footsteps, she moved casually away and pretended to read a patient chart near an opposite door frame.

Good thing I didn’t charge in there like an idiot, she thought with relief. Whoever that is would have definitely seen me enter the room.

“Hard at work, I see?” a deep male voice asked happily.

The woman turned around and kept an impassive face at the sight of Dr. Kher. He stood there with a warm smile and crossed arms.

“Of course, Dr. Kher,” she said smoothly as she placed the patient chart back down. “I always like to ensure that all patients are well looked after.”

Dr. Kher nodded approvingly. “That’s what I like to hear! I’ll leave you to it then, but you know where I am if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Dr. Kher,” she replied, offering him a respectful nod. “And please come and find me if there is anything I can do to help.”

Dr. Kher stroked his beard and smiled. “I will do, thank you,” he replied appreciatively. “See you soon.”

The woman watched him leave. Once he disappeared around the corner, she smiled to herself and walked casually once more toward Sheila’s room. She picked up her chart, pretending to flick through it while listening out, but soon put it down when she felt certain the coast was clear. Once she was inside Sheila’s room, she shut the door swiftly behind her. With the door firmly shut, she slowly walked toward Sheila, her heart beating rapidly with each step she took.

There was no denying it. Sheila looked like a poor, frail thing.

The hospital bed was only a single, but Sheila had lost so much weight that she looked tiny in it. The thin sheet around her looked like a large, thick duvet in comparison to her small frame. The patient gown she wore completely drowned her, and her face was so drawn that it aged her an additional ten years. Her short, white hair looked wilted and horrible, and her thin lips looked sore from dehydration. The woman knew that the nurses and doctors tried hard to keep all their patients hydrated, but when they got to the condition Sheila was in, it was impossible to keep their hydration levels up. Sheila couldn’t move anymore. She simply lay in the bed sleeping, barely breathing.

Perfect.

Sheila was already halfway through death’s door, so would it really matter if the woman gave her a final nudge through?

The woman put on some medical gloves then fingered a small, glass bottle in her pocket as she stared at Sheila. The old woman had no real way of life anymore. All she did was sleep and use up precious oxygen, so wasn’t it a mercy to kill her?

Mercy or not, the woman knew she’d have killed her anyway, but it was nice to at least try to make it seem like she was doing this for Sheila’s benefit.

The woman looked cautiously toward the one window in the room. She casually walked toward it, looked through the glass to ensure no one was out there, then hesitantly closed the blinds. Once the blinds were shut, she sighed in contentment, her fingers still stroking the tiny glass bottle in her pocket. She turned back toward Sheila, a wide smile playing on her lips.

“Hello, Sheila,” the woman said in a quiet, delicate tone as she leered over the woman. “It can’t be nice living like this, can it?”

The woman walked around Sheila until she was standing at the other side of her bed. “It would be nice if someone sped things along a bit, wouldn’t it?” she asked in a sickly sweet tone as she pulled the glass vial out of her pocket.

She turned it over in her fingers, smiling at it. The vial was filled with potassium chloride, and if she were to inject it into Sheila’s IV, it would speed her death along. She didn’t know, nor did she care, if it would cause Sheila any pain. All she cared about was that it was untraceable. If anyone were to try to look into Sheila’s death, they wouldn’t find a thing.

Not that anyone would want to look into it. Who would think twice about the death of an elderly, unwell woman? It was all too perfect.

She slowly grabbed a needle from one of the medical drawers. She knew she couldn’t waste a lot of time, but she was desperate to savour every moment of the kill. It always happened far too quickly for her liking. With the needle in hand, she stuck it through the lid of the potassium chloride, then watched as the needle filled up. The woman licked her lips eagerly as it did, feeling keen and overwhelmed at the thought of what she was about to do.

Once the needle was ready, she sauntered over toward Sheila and leaned over her with a wide smile. “Thank you, Sheila,” she said to her softly. “You were my first of many kills this week, and I won’t ever forget you.”

She then grabbed Sheila’s arm, found the IV, and inserted the needle. She trembled with anticipation as she pushed down the bottom of the syringe, watching in awe as it slowly emptied into the woman’s bloodstream. As soon as the syringe was empty, she hastily pulled it out of the IV and shoved it into her pocket with the now empty glass vial.

For a moment she stood there and watched Sheila. She longed to stay there and watch her die, but she knew she had to be far from the room before Sheila’s machines started to bleep loudly and bring the entire medical team.

With a sad sigh, she walked away from Sheila, opened up her blinds, then walked toward the door. She pushed it open, hesitating to look back at Sheila for another moment, before exiting the room and walking away.

She smiled happily when she saw the area was still empty and kept walking. Now that Sheila would soon be gone, she had to move quickly to dispose of the needle and empty vial before anyone had the chance to find them on her.

Luckily, hospitals were filled with medical bins, so she could easily dispose of them without drawing any suspicion.

As she walked, the high she felt in Sheila’s room started to quickly disappear. It was such a rush to do what she was doing, and all she could think about was when she could do it again.

She had no idea who her next victim would be, but she knew she wouldn’t wait long to find them.

8

As Faye and I approached York Hospital’s main reception, I chewed the inside of my cheek and contemplated how we were going to start things once we got inside. We still had no idea if the nine deaths from last week were nothing more than a coincidence, so we couldn’t exactly charge in there with our guns blazing and accuse the staff of negligent or sinister behaviour. This was going to require a more delicate hand.

I glanced sideways at Faye, caught the eager look in her shining eyes, and knew I’d have to warn her to be careful. I gently grabbed her arm, causing us both to stop.

“Before we get in there,” I said in a slow voice filled with warning. “Just be mindful of how we go about things.”

Faye bit her lip as she raised a thin eyebrow in confusion. “What do you mean?”

I glanced at the main door, then looked back at Faye. “We don’t know anything is going on just yet, so we have to be cool and ask questions casually while we try to figure things out,” I said with authority as I crossed my arms. “We don’t want to risk upsetting anyone by charging in there and asking invasive questions. It’s not an easy job working in the healthcare industry, and they deal with a lot of shit on a daily basis. Let’s not add to that by going in there and being accusatory.”

Faye put her hands on her hips and huffed, but after a second or two she begrudgingly nodded. “Okay, fine, I promise to follow your lead and not verbally attack anyone,” she said unhappily.

I nodded to her gratefully, then started walking toward the door again. Faye kept just behind me, but I could feel her presence like a looming shadow with each step I took. Once we were inside, I saw a bald, middle-aged man sitting behind the reception desk, reading something on his computer. The moment we approached, he turned away from it and looked at us with a wide smile. His brown eyes flickered slightly at the sight of Faye’s uniform, but he still smiled pleasantly.

“Good morning!” he said in a surprisingly energetic voice. “How can I help you both today?”

“We would like to have a word with one of your lead doctors here, if that’s possible?” I asked nonchalantly.

“Well, we have many leading physicians here, but Dr. Kher has been here the longest,” he said thoughtfully. “He is in today, so I could see if he’s available to speak with you?”

“Aye, that would be great,” I said appreciatively as I leaned against the desk.

The man smiled. “If you’ll just excuse me for a moment,” he said politely as he rose from his chair. I watched him open a door to the right of the reception, where he entered a private section just beyond.

“This hospital must be full of doctors,” Faye said shrewdly as she placed her hands on her hips and looked around. “How do we know this guy will have much to say?”

I shrugged. “We don’t, not really, but if the guy’s been here a while, he’ll be the best place to start,” I said confidently.

Faye huffed. “I suppose,” she said unconvincingly.

After a few minutes, the man stepped through the door and walked back toward his chair. He sat down with a groan, but soon smiled again once he was seated. “I have good news for you,” he said happily. “Dr. Kher is available to speak to you both right now, but he won’t have too long. It gets rather busy here.”

I nodded understandingly. “Of course,” I said with a small smile. “We appreciate him giving us a few moments.”

I stepped away from the receptionist and stood with Faye, looking around the area as we waited. I kept repeating the doctor's name in my head. I didn’t know why, but something about it felt familiar. However, I was certain he wasn’t the man I dealt with when Faye was here. After a few minutes of waiting, a tall man of Indian descent stepped around the corner and approached us, his white coat billowing behind him. The moment I saw him, I knew why he looked familiar.

He was the doctor who took care of Natalia, the drug dealer, several years ago.

As he came toward us, I took him in and was envious over the fact he clearly hadn’t aged a day. He was as effortlessly handsome as when I last saw him, and his brown eyes still had a warm, inviting feel to them. His beard was long but neat, and he wore the same white turban as before. I couldn’t tell how old he was, but I’d have assumed he was in his forties. Once he was in front of us both, his smile matched the warmth of his eyes.

“We meet again, it seems!” Dr. Kher said with a slight chuckle.

He held out his hand, and I shook it. “Aye, it’s good to see you,” I said respectfully.

Once I let go of his hand, I gestured toward Faye. “This is PC Ellis,” I said confidently.

Dr. Kher looked between us and smiled, though I noticed his eyes look over the folder Faye held curiously. “Ah, another Ellis,” he said with another chuckle as he shook her head. “A relative, I take it?”

Faye nodded, keeping her expression neutral. “Yes, I’m his daughter,” she said candidly as she took her hand back.

Dr. Kher looked at me and wiggled his eyebrows slightly. “Good to see you’re keeping the profession in the family,” he said respectfully as he looked back at Faye. “It’s hard to find good officers these days. If you’re anything like your father, they’re lucky to have you.”

Faye nodded passively.

I knew she disliked being compared to me, so I quickly stepped in.

“We were wondering if we could have a word with you in private, Dr. Kher?” I asked respectfully as I crossed my arms.

Dr. Kher raised a thick eyebrow with intrigue and rubbed his dark moustache. “Of course. I must admit I’m rather curious as to what you want to talk about,” he asked, his tone tinged slightly with excitement. He gestured to the hallway on the left. “If you’d both like to follow me, I’ll take us to a private room.”

We both thanked him, then followed his lead. As we walked, he continued to talk.

“Call me Zahir, please,” he said kindly as he looked over his shoulder to address us. “I believe we should be on more familiar terms by now.”

Good, I thought cautiously. It’s good to be on friendly terms with the bloke, but we don’t want things to be too friendly. Not when we have serious matters to discuss.

I walked through the door, Faye close at my tail, and approached a comfortable-looking seat against the wall. Zahir grabbed a chair next to Faye and dragged it so that he was sitting in front of us. He held his doctor's coat gently as he sat down, then quickly got comfortable and faced us. He spread out his hands wide and smiled.

“Let’s hear what you have to say,” he said happily.

I looked at Faye, then gestured for her to give Zahir the folder. At first she hesitated, her hands clinging to it like it was her newborn child, but after a second she passed it to him apprehensively. Zahir grabbed a pair of glasses that were hanging from his front coat pocket, put them on, then opened up the folder. As he opened it, I decided to speak.

“PC Ellis was here earlier to collect something, and she happened to overhear a couple of nurses speaking,” I said as I watched Zahir take the pages out of the folder and start to read them. “They expressed their concerns over several patients dying last week.”

Zahir simply nodded as he read the papers, so I continued.

“Initially, when PC Ellis brought it to my attention, I thought nothing of it, but once I got back to the station and did some digging… I must admit I was rather surprised by the number of deaths in the space of a week,” I said boldly as I crossed my arms. “Naturally it could be nothing, given the environment you work in, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t at least check into these matters.”

Zahir put the pages neatly back into the folder, closed it, then passed it back to Faye. Once the folder was in her hands, he turned to face me. “Of course,” Zahir said respectfully as he removed his glasses. “From an outside point of view I can see why it would have been a bit suspicious to you, but to be honest… these figures don’t alarm me at all, especially after reading the causes of death.” He put his glasses back into his pocket and sighed. “It’s never a good day when you lose a life here, but there aren’t many days that pass without a loss.” He rubbed his cheek, his expression passive. “It’s part of the job, unfortunately.”

“So nine deaths in a week isn’t at all concerning to you?” I pressed.

“Obviously it’s upsetting, but it’s far from surprising,” Zahir said bluntly as he looked between us with a grimace. “Cancer, accidents, dying on life support—these are all frequent killers. I’ve learned to do my best for my patients, but I also accept that some people are beyond saving.”

“Surely the numbers must be high to you?” Faye pressed rapidly, earning her a quick, sharp look from me, which she pointedly ignored.

Zahir looked between us nervously for a second before replying. “No, they aren’t,” he said coolly as he crossed his right leg over his knee. “There are times when we see a massive rise in patient deaths, such as during the COVID pandemic. We could barely go an hour without at least ten people dying from it, but⁠—”

“Yes, but we aren’t going through anything on that scale at the moment,” Faye interrupted impatiently. “There’s nothing that could be causing such an unusually high number of deaths in the space of a few days.”

I bit my tongue, although I longed to scold Faye for her behaviour. It was completely inappropriate to be interrupting Zahir and speaking to him in that tone, but I knew I couldn’t say anything until after Zahir was gone. I didn’t want to risk undermining her.

“I think what my colleague means, Zahir, is that we’d expect there to be more of a lull in patient deaths at this time of year, especially with no serious diseases currently being spread around,” I said casually as I tapped my fingers on my knee. “So nine deaths in several days seems a bit high. We did compare it to other weeks and found it odd that it was higher than what you even saw last winter.”

Zahir nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, to be honest that is strange, but also not unheard of,” he said sincerely. “Things like cancer deaths aren’t exactly seasonal, you know?” He stretched out his arm and looked at his watch. “Unfortunately, I have to go soon, but I can assure you nothing you’ve said has caused me any concern. I will certainly keep a close eye on things, but death is a regular part of my job. I simply don’t find these numbers alarming.” He rose from his seat, and I followed his action, but Faye remained seated. “I appreciate you bringing this information to me. I hope I’ve helped put you at ease.”

“Aye, that you have,” I said respectfully as I shook his hand.

Faye stood up rapidly and chucked the folder onto her chair. “I can’t say I’m feeling at ease,” Faye said stubbornly as she gave Zahir a stern look. “I think there must be more to it, and you aren’t leaving until we get the answers we came for!”

Zahir gawped at Faye in surprise. He eventually cleared his throat and went to speak, but I gently put a hand in front of him to stop him.

“Stand down, PC Ellis,” I said sharply. I looked at her with wide, angry eyes, effectively cowing her. “Dr. Kher is a busy man. If he says he needs to go, then we have no right to stop him.”

Faye frowned at me, but didn’t speak.

I turned back to Zahir and nodded. “I apologise for that, Zahir,” I said sincerely. “We do appreciate your time.”

Zahir nodded and looked between Faye and I apprehensively. “Of course,” he said cautiously. “I’m often busy here, but if you ever want to come back and talk… I’ll try my best to make time for you.”

I thanked him, then watched as he left the room. Once he was gone, I crossed my arms and gave Faye a look of pure fury.

“What the hell was that!?” I hissed angrily.

9

“What the hell was what!?” Faye snapped moodily as she bent down to pick up the folder.

I gestured wildly toward the door Zahir had just exited. “That!” I said with dismay. “So much for not verbally attacking anyone!”

Faye scoffed as she pulled the folder close to her chest. “We weren’t getting anything out of him, so I had to try something.”

I shook my head in consternation. “That doctor was kindly giving us his time, and you treated him like a bloody suspect. How do you expect us to get anywhere if you’re going to snarl at anyone willing to speak with us?”

Faye glared at me. “People are dying, Dad!” she retorted, her knuckles whitening on the folder.

“Aye, but we have to go about things a hell of a lot more carefully than you just did,” I hissed. “Zahir could be right—this could all be nothing to be concerned about. We won’t know that if we harass everyone and try to force answers out of them.” I looked at her angry, unflinching face and sighed. “We have to be smart here, kiddo.”

Faye recoiled like I’d slapped her. “Don’t call me kiddo!” she snapped. “I’m your colleague, not some child that needs babysitting.”

I pushed my eyebrows together. “Then stop acting like one and start acting like a policewoman. You’re lucky I didn’t say anything when you were talking to Zahir! You were completely out of line.”

Faye shrugged. “If we got the answers we needed, would it have mattered how?” she asked coolly, her harsh grip on the folder slackening.

I crossed my arms and tilted my head at her. “Faye, if you were any other PC, I’d have stopped this insanity before it even began,” I replied, attempting to calm my tone with difficulty. “You’re my daughter… I’m trying to support you, but your behaviour right now tells me I shouldn’t have humoured you.”

“Humour me?” she asked in shock.

“Don’t try to make me out to be the bad guy, here,” I sighed as I moved to leave.

“Where are you going?” Faye spat, holding her arms out to block the door.

“Back to the station,” I said calmly. “I never should have come here today.”

I went to move past her, but Faye started to behave frantically. “Dad, please!” she begged. “You can’t do this to me.”

“Do what to you?” I asked.

To my surprise, Faye’s nostrils flared, and her eyes brimmed with tears. I looked at her wet eyes and felt my anger deflate.

“Faye, what is going on here?” I asked with worry as I saw her worsening emotional state.

“Nothing,” she blurted as she shuffled awkwardly on her feet.

“You need to start being honest with me,” I said seriously as I bore my dark eyes into her own. “I can tell there is something you aren’t telling me.”

Faye slowly stepped closer toward me. She looked to the ground and shook her head. “That’s not true,” she said cautiously.

I sighed and scratched my neck. “You either talk to me or I’m going, Faye.”

Faye continued to look sheepish, but she didn’t speak. I swore impatiently, but the moment I started to move toward the door again, Faye jumped in front of me with wild, panicked eyes.

“Okay, okay!” she said quickly, her lip quivering slightly.

I stopped moving, crossed my arms, and gestured for her to continue. Faye placed the folder back down on the chair and rubbed her face nervously. I kept quiet and didn’t move, allowing her the time to prepare herself. Eventually she swore under her breath, then looked toward me. Although her face was looking directly at me, her eyes avoided my own.

“I haven’t exactly been honest with you about… how well things have been going for me,” she said, her cheeks flushing.

I quirked a brow. “What do you mean?” I asked cautiously. “I thought you loved your job?”

Faye’s eyes went wide. “I do!” she sputtered. “Really, I do.”

“Then what are you trying to say?” I said with concern.

Faye took off her hat and rubbed her hair nervously. “I told you my team thinks highly of me, that I’m already given a lot of jobs and responsibilities—” she said quietly before her voice trailed off.

“And you haven’t been?” I sighed, trying to keep the annoyance out of my tone.

Faye shook her head.

I squeezed the bridge of my nose and huffed. “Then why did you tell me otherwise?”

“Because I know what you’re like, Dad,” she said guiltily. “I knew if I told you I kept being looked over… you’d charge in and say something.”

“Damn right I would!” I exclaimed as I threw my arms up.

“Exactly, Dad!” she cried. “Which is why I knew I couldn’t say anything.” She sighed and turned to face me with a firm expression. “Most people think I only got the job because of you. I didn’t want to get more opportunities purely because you came in and made it happen.”

My body relaxed slightly, and I rubbed the back of my neck thoughtfully. I was always going to be an overprotective father, but I could see Faye’s point, too. The girl was trying hard to make it on her own, stand on her own two feet, and that wouldn’t be possible with me charging in and forcing things to happen for her.

“I’m sorry, love,” I said sincerely as I stepped toward her. “I can see why you didn’t tell me.”

Faye nodded awkwardly. “Thank you.”

I squinted. “But I don’t get what this has to do with anything?”

Faye’s cheeks flushed as she looked away from me again. “I’ve just been so tired of being overlooked by everyone. Most shifts, I’m just the tea girl, or the girl who answers the phone, but I never get in on any action.”

“But I’ve seen you out on the field a couple of times, love,” I said in confusion. “You were in the car with that PC when I ordered a tail on Max Drone, and he was a dangerous guy, and you were with the other PCs at Moore’s house.” I squeezed her shoulder. “Not many people would have been given such responsibility so early in their career.”

Faye snorted and looked at me, cuddling her chest with an emotional expression. “Every PC in York was called to Moore’s house, Dad,” she said dejectedly. “They couldn’t exactly get away with leaving me behind.”

“But you followed Max?” I repeated with a slight smirk. “It took everything I had to not jump out of my car when I saw you to pull you away. Ask Nadia.”

Faye’s lip lifted slightly, but she still looked serious. “I only sat in the car, Dad. The guy with me did all the actual work. When I asked him how I could help, he told me to just keep quiet and look out.”

I felt my neck reddening in anger, but I cracked my fingers and calmed myself down. “It might not feel like you did much, love, but lookouts are pretty boring if there isn’t much to find.”

Faye sighed. “I guess, but I’ve been a PC for almost two years now, Dad. Those two times are the only times I’ve actually done anything besides sit at a desk.”

I sympathised with her and squeezed her shoulder again. “These things can take time, love.”

Faye shook her head and looked at me. “Not for everyone else,” she said bitterly. “The others get asked to be involved. I’m the only one who doesn’t.”

I chewed my cheek thoughtfully as I took my hand back. “I’m sure that can’t be true, it must just feel like that.”

“I didn’t expect you to believe me,” she scoffed.

“I didn’t mean it like that. You know I didn’t,” I said sharply.

Faye’s eyes moved to the folder on the chair. She lifted it up and held it to her. “I know,” she said with a slow, sad sigh. “I just thought today could be my big break, you know?”

“So you’ve been wanting to work on this case to benefit yourself and your career?” I asked, glancing at the folder. Did she really have a case? Or was she just fishing for something and using me in the process?

“Mostly, yeah,” she said honestly.

My phone suddenly beeped loudly in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a text from Lylah, telling me her tests were over. My heartbeat quickened, and I knew I had to see her and make sure she was okay. I put my phone away and looked at Faye, hating the disappointment I felt as I stared at her.

I understood more than anyone the desire to stand out and build your way up the ladder, but now I didn’t know if she genuinely cared for the patients or believed their deaths were suspicious. What if she was simply using their deaths to make herself look good?

“That was Lylah,” I said quietly. “I’ve got to go.”

“Is she okay?” Faye asked worriedly as she started to follow me out of the room.

“Aye, I think so,” I said with uncertainty as I made my way toward the reception. “I’m not sure.”

“Good, I’m sure she’s fine,” Faye said happily. “So… you can give her your car key and stay here with me, then?”

I shook my head and barked a cold laugh. “You’re unbelievable.”

“What?” she asked in shock as she struggled to match my pace.

“I’m going back with Lylah, Faye,” I said coldly. “She might need me.”

I continued walking, unwilling to look back and see the disappointed expression on my daughter’s face. I knew she was going to be upset with me, but at that moment, I felt like a fool. I’d allowed my child to push me into something just for her own benefit.

The deaths didn’t look suspicious, and Zahir had been unfazed by the information, so after hearing about Faye’s desires to stand out, I now wanted her and this hospital as far away from me as possible. I wouldn’t close the case, not until I was completely certain there was nothing to find, but from now on, I’d be working with my team and keeping Faye out of it. Faye had shown me she wasn’t ready, and as much as it would destroy me to let her down, I had to do what was best.

10

“Dad, you can’t just go!” Faye exclaimed in shock. “I need you!”

I ignored her pleas until we got outside, then as she continued to beg, I stopped walking and turned to face her with a glare. “That’s enough, Faye. The doctor didn’t find the number of deaths last week suspicious, and he’s been here long enough to know that. We have no reason to be here.”

“I can’t believe you’re just giving up on this!” Faye replied, throwing her hands up in irritation. “I thought you never gave up on anything.”

I quickly snatched the folder from her. “I never said I was giving up on it,” I said shrewdly as I tucked the folder under my arm. “I said we have no reason to be here.”

Faye rubbed her brow and looked confused. “So, what? We are just working from your department from now on?”

I shook my head. “No,” I said coldly. “I will work from my department, and you will return to your station.”

Faye stared at me in horror. “Are you seriously taking this away from me? You wouldn’t even be looking into this if it wasn’t for me!”

I sighed and fixed her with a harsh look. “I get that, but after what you said inside, I have serious reservations about your involvement. You’ve admitted this was to boost yourself, and that concerns me.”

Faye walked speedily to get in front of me and block me. “Yes, I want to show my team I’m worth something, but that isn’t the only reason why I want to do this,” she replied in a hurt voice as she crossed her arms. “Do you honestly think I’m that heartless?”

I crossed my arms in return, keeping a firm grip on the folder as I did so. “Heartless, no, ambitious, yes,” I said honestly as I looked straight into Faye’s eyes. “I remember how it felt to be in your shoes, and I get wanting to do well, but you’re trying to get involved in something you simply aren’t ready for.” I uncrossed my arms and looked at Faye guiltily. “I’m at fault here. I never should have called you to come back, but I just hated the thought of hurting you by cutting you out of this.”

“Yet now you don’t care?” she asked, lowering her arms and allowing her shoulders to slum dejectedly.

I rubbed my stubble and avoided her eyes. “Of course I still care, but I’m a DCI and I have to do what is best for the case. Right now, that means continuing this without you.”

Faye’s eyes watered, and I could tell she was holding back her tears. She scratched at her face awkwardly before speaking. “I seriously can’t believe you’re doing this to me, Dad.”

“I promise you, if the team and I find anything, I will let you know, but you need to get back to your station before you end up losing that job,” I intoned, jerking my head toward the car park.

Faye huffed and shook her head. She looked ready to continue arguing with me, but to my surprise, she sighed in defeat. I chewed my cheek thoughtfully, figuring out the best way to reason with her, but before I had the chance, Faye spoke again.

“I understand your concerns, really I do, but I swear to you now this case isn’t just an ego boost for me,” she said, her eyes shining brightly. “I can’t deny that part of me wants to make a case so I can prove myself, but I also want justice for the patients who died here.”

I continued to look into her shining, determined eyes, and my gut purred contentedly, telling me she was being genuine. Initially, I’d had no intention of bringing her back if I found something, but one look in her eyes told me she did genuinely care. I’d be wrong to cut her out completely. I held out my little finger toward her, causing her to laugh.

“I pinky promise I will call you and bring you in if there is anything,” I said confidently, offering her a small smile.

Faye hesitated at the sight of my finger. “Christ, Dad, we haven’t done that since I was a kid!” she said with a quick laugh.

“Aye, but neither of us ever broke one of these, now did we?” I said with a wink.

Faye snorted, then wrapped her little finger around my own. “True,” she said with a small smile. “So let’s hope you don’t break one now.”

I pulled my finger away and nodded. “Now please go back to your station before you get into trouble.”

Faye nodded and started to walk away. After a few steps, she looked over her shoulder to address me. “Give Lylah my best! I hope she’s okay.”

“Aye, I will,” I said appreciatively.

Once Faye was gone, I grabbed my phone and called Lylah. After only a couple of rings, she answered.

“Hey,” she said in a quiet, tired voice. “Where are you?”

“I’m outside near the front of the main reception,” I said quickly, moving my head around to look for her. “Where are you?”

“I’m waiting near your car,” she replied. “I’ll meet you there, okay?”

“Alright, love, I’m coming now,” I said before hanging up the phone.

As I walked to my car, I thought about Lylah and wondered about her tone. Was it possible that she’d received the test results right away, and that was why she sounded so deflated? I’d have assumed it would have taken time for the results to come in, but in a way, it would be good if we had the answers immediately. At least then we could figure out our options.

I took a deep breath as I approached my car, and it wasn’t long until Lylah was in my line of sight. Once she saw me, she raised her hand in timid greeting, then simply stood there, waiting for me. She looked thoughtful, but not upset, which was a good sign. I unlocked the car door, and we both climbed inside. I noticed Lylah eye up the folder I held, but she didn’t say anything. As soon as we were both comfortable and on the road—I passed the folder to Lylah to hold while I drove—I glanced at Lylah and stroked her knee.

“How did it go?” I asked gently.

Lylah sighed. “I was able to get an appointment, which is good, but they couldn’t tell me when the results would be in.” She tapped the folder on her knee, clearly agitated.

“I’m sure it won’t be long until they contact you, love,” I said reassuringly as I gripped her knee.

“I really hope not,” Lylah whispered, barely stroking my hand. “Every hour is going to feel like days until I know what the results are.”

I nodded sympathetically. “I get that, love, but I have a good feeling about this. I’m sure everything will be alright.”

Lylah bit her lip sheepishly as she gradually stopped stroking my hand. “But if my tests come back okay, then why aren’t we getting pregnant?”

My hand tensed on her leg, and I cleared my throat uncomfortably. I knew what Lylah was hinting at, but didn’t feel comfortable enough to say.

She meant, “If my tests are clear, then the issue is with you.”

“I’m sure it will happen for us, love, it just hasn’t happened yet,” I said cautiously as I took my hand back and put it on the steering wheel. “All we can do is wait for your results. If they come back clear, I guess I’ll have to look into getting tested myself.”

Lylah looked at me in surprise. “Are you sure you’d be okay doing that?”

In all honesty, the thought of doctors prodding and poking at me made me feel incredibly uncomfortable, but Lylah meant everything to me. I’d do anything in my power to help us become pregnant.

“Aye, you know I would,” I whispered, turning to her with a slight smile. “But let’s not try to think about it all too much now, alright? We can focus on the case. Hopefully that will help time to tick by while we wait to hear back.”

Lylah nodded, then scratched under her lower lip thoughtfully. “How did it go with Faye, anyway?”

“Not the best,” I said with a groan. “She turned up all prepared with that.” I hesitated as I pointed to the folder. “But things quickly took a downward trajectory.”

Lylah moved the folder in her hands curiously before looking back at me. “So what happened?”

“We went in, had a chat with a doctor called Zahir Kher, but he said he wasn’t at all fazed by the deaths,” I replied.

“Not overly surprising,” Lylah said impassively as she started to open the folder. “You felt the same way initially.”

“True,” I replied, tapping on the steering wheel thoughtfully. “I could see completely where he was coming from, but apparently Faye couldn’t.”

Lylah slowly raised her head from the folder and looked at me with pursed lips. “God, what happened?”

I sighed. “She started kicking off at the doctor, demanding answers and declaring we wouldn’t leave without them,” I said tiredly as I shook my head. “I apologised to the doctor and sent him away, then had some harsh words with her.”

“I can imagine that went well,” Lylah said with a knowing smirk as she returned her eyes to the contents of the folder.

I snorted. “You know her well.”

“How did you leave things with her?” Lylah asked slowly as she read the pages.

“I told her to get back to her station and leave this to us,” I replied. “Though I promised I’d inform her if we found anything.”

Lylah sighed and looked at me with a pout. “You shouldn’t promise her things like that, Sean.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Lylah clicked her tongue. “I get Faye is your daughter, but if she’s behaving in an unprofessional manner, is it really a good idea to let her know if we find anything? We should probably keep her at a distance for now.”

I furrowed my brow. “I see your point, love, but I really don’t think I could do that. When we first left that doctor, I had every intention of telling her she was completely off the case, but she seemed sincere when she told me she genuinely cares about the welfare of the patients.”

Lylah played with her hair thoughtfully. “And she probably does care, Sean, but equally she needs to learn how to behave on the job. If you let her get away with things, she’ll only continue to do them,” she said in a hesitant, awkward voice.

I gritted my teeth in annoyance, but I kept my mouth shut in order to stop myself from saying something I’d regret. I understood Lylah cared about Faye and wanted to help, but at the end of the day, she was my daughter. I was going to be the one making the decisions when it came to her.

We drove for a while in silence, but as we drew closer to the station, Lylah spoke. “Clearly you aren’t happy with what I had to say, but I don’t regret speaking my mind,” she said as she gripped the folder. “If this was any other PC you’d be behaving differently—you said so yourself before we left the station. I’m just trying to remind you to separate your professional and private lives, that’s all.”

I scoffed. “Like I do with you, you mean?”

No sooner had the words escaped my mouth did I regret them. I regretted them even more when I saw the hurt expression on Lylah’s face.

“What, you’re saying you treat me differently than the others?” she snapped, turning to face me with crossed arms and a stern expression.

I sighed. “Forget it, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Lylah laughed harshly. “No, you shouldn’t have, but it’s too late to take it back now,” she said, turning to face out the window so her back was to me.

“Lylah, please⁠—”

“Call me DC Ellis,” Lylah interrupted as she continued to stare pointedly out of the window. “You don’t want to be seen as being too personal with me, would you?”

I swore and shook my head. “You’re just being ridiculous now.”

Lylah didn’t respond, just continued to stare awkwardly out of the window until we arrived at the station. No sooner had I parked up was she unbuckling her seatbelt and jumping out of the car. I hurriedly got out of the car so I could catch up to her.

“Lylah, wait,” I huffed.

“Sorry, sir, but I want to get back to work before my superior decides to kick off at me,” she said coldly as she continued to walk.

I bit back a swear word. “You know I wouldn’t do that, Lyles. Stop being silly. Look, I’m sorry, alright? You just rubbed me the wrong way about Faye. That’s all.”

Lylah stopped walking, turned to me, and clicked her tongue. “There was no need to be so defensive.”

I put my hands on her shoulders and rubbed them. “I know, love, and I really am sorry,” I said, offering her a small smile. “You’re right, and if Faye does anything else like she did today, I assure you she will be kept as far away from this case as possible.” I hesitated. “As things stand, we still don’t even know if we have a case.”

Lylah smiled in return. “Let’s get inside and find out then, shall we?”

“Sounds good to me, DC Ellis,” I replied cheekily, earning myself a gentle slap on the arm.

We walked through the station’s front door, up the stairs, and into our department. Once we were inside, I held back a smirk when I saw the rest of the team. Rebecca was sitting at her chair, spinning on it slowly with a bored expression on her face. Elijah was standing in the kitchen, looking at something on his phone—likely his own reflection from the way he kept moving his head—and Nadia and Mae were talking at Mae’s computer. Both women looked happy to be in one another’s company, but equally restless.

“Afternoon, team,” I said loudly as Lylah and I entered the room.

Rebecca stopped spinning and looked relieved to see me, Mae and Nadia smiled politely, and Elijah scarpered to his chair so quickly it was like he’d been electrocuted.

Rebecca jumped out of her chair and stepped toward me, watching impatiently as I slowly took off my jacket. “Well?” she asked. “How did it go?”

Lylah took off her jacket, and I politely took it and hung them both up. Lylah, with the folder still in hand, walked toward Nadia and Mae and let them look at it. Elijah moved toward them quickly to get involved, but Rebecca kept close to me and stared at me intently.

“It was alright, but we didn’t get much, to be honest,” I said disappointedly as I finished hanging up our jackets. “We spoke to a doctor there, and he didn’t have much to say at all.”

Rebecca huffed. “Standard.” She looked at the others and pursed her lips. “What have they got over there?”

“Faye printed off the names and causes of death of all the patients from last week,” I replied as we walked.

Rebecca nodded approvingly. “It’s good to see her taking it so seriously!”

I grimaced, but as I opened my mouth to speak, Rebecca crossed her arms and spoke first.

“What was that face for?” she asked shrewdly.

I exhaled. “Don’t get me wrong… Faye is taking it seriously, but she clearly has more invested in this case than I realised.”

Rebecca raised her eyebrows in surprise. “What? Did she know one of the victims?”

I quickly shook my head. “Nah, not like an emotional investment,” I said. “More like a professional one. It came out that she’s felt rather overlooked on her team, and she’s desperate to find something that will make her stand out.”

Rebecca rubbed her chin and grimaced. “Yeah, desperate is never a good word when it comes to important things like this.”

I sighed. “Aye, I know, which is why I told her we’d be taking over for now,” I said, hoping the guilt I felt over what I’d done to Faye wasn’t clear in my tone.

Rebecca jerked her head toward the kitchen, and I followed her. She was silent for a moment as she filled the kettle up and turned it on. Once it was brewing, she started to grab mags and kept glancing at me as she moved around. “That can’t have been easy for you, but you’ve done the right thing by putting the case in our hands,” she said respectfully. “These deaths could be something or nothing, but we can’t have the case be affected by a rookie wanting to stand out.”

I leant against the kitchen counter and chewed my cheek. “True.”

Rebecca started making teas and coffees for the entire team, and I kept looking at her sheepishly. After the earache I’d just had from Lylah about bringing Faye back in, I wasn’t ready for another one, but I knew I had to let Rebecca know where I stood.

I watched Rebecca grab the milk, then cleared my throat. “Faye went a bit far at the hospital, but after we spoke I could tell she does genuinely care about the patients. I… promised her that, if we did find anything out, I’d let her know… bring her back on.”

Rebecca’s hand froze mid-pour as she looked at me with a pout. “And you think that was a good idea?”

I pushed my hair back. “Possibly not, but we wouldn’t have started this without her. It feels wrong to exclude her if it does come to something.”

Rebecca continued to pout thoughtfully as she poured milk into each mug. Once she was done, she put the milk in the fridge and returned to me with a concerned expression. “I think you need to be careful here, Sean. Faye is your daughter, I get that, but it never works when you allow personal feelings to mix in with a case.”

I grabbed my mug and pulled it toward me. “Aye, I get that,” I said, my voice trailing off as I spoke, unsure what to say.

“I’m not trying to tell you what to do by any means,” Rebecca continued politely as she grabbed a couple of mugs to take to the others. “I just think you need to be mindful and not let your relationship affect your decisions.”

I nodded appreciatively as I let go of my mug and grabbed Lylah’s and Mae’s. “Aye, I get what you’re saying. I’ll definitely bear it in mind.”

Rebecca didn’t look completely convinced, but she nodded and stepped away with the mugs. I followed her to approach the others, my mind feeling foggy and conflicted. Both Rebecca and Lylah had warned me about my feelings for Faye affecting this case, but the two women clearly didn’t know me as well as they thought they did. I loved Faye, and as much as I could, I’d always try to keep her involved…

But solving this case was my priority, and nothing was more important to me than ensuring justice for those who’d died. Even if it did mean that further down the line, I might have to cut Faye from it completely.

11

She sashayed down the wings, a small smile tugging at her lips. To anyone who looked her way, they thought she was simply happy, with a kind, approachable face. A face that she had honed for as long as she could remember, ensuring the monster inside of her remained hidden.

They had no idea that there had been murder, or that she was smiling because she was getting away with it.

It had been over a week now, and each passing day and each new victim felt like a gift to her. A gift she was impatient to unwrap and enjoy.

Sheila—her latest—was still alive, but she knew soon enough there would be a rush to get to her room. Any second now, the machines would start to screech. The doctors would try to save her, but there would be nothing they could do to stop the death that the woman had served her.

Her gloved hands were in her pockets, her fingers continuing to caress her murder weapon. She wasn’t happy that she would soon need to dispose of it, but she knew she had to prioritise protecting herself over keeping any form of trophy. While she was gutted that she didn’t have physical trophies for her to look back on fondly, she did have impeccable memory. She would always remember the faces. They were printed behind her eyes like tattoos, and that thought was enough to placate her.

She continued to walk down the hall confidently but slowly, not willing to move too quickly or draw attention to herself. She had to find a random medical bin to dispose of her items in, possibly two so she could separate the needle and the now empty vial of potassium chloride. While she didn’t for one second think anyone would snoop inside the bins, or even see the two items as suspicious if they were found, she was always alert, overly cautious. Keeping under the radar was well worth the extra effort.

She approached an area of the hospital that she knew was often quiet, hoping that would be the perfect place to ditch her weapon, but as she continued on her way, the confident demeanor she had soon faltered at the sight directly in front of her.

Dr. Kher was walking toward her and trailing just behind him was a man who looked to be in his late thirties and a young woman dressed in a police uniform. She didn’t know who the man was, but he walked with authority and purpose, which told her might be some sort of detective.

Her heart galloped against her ribcage as they all stepped closer and closer toward her.

How had the police found out what she’d been doing? She’d been so careful! She could argue a case for why a lone police officer would be there, but to see her walking with a clearly important man was enough to make her feel frightened for the first time since she started her wave of murder.

Her fears intensified when she realised with horror she was still clutching the murder weapon in the front pocket of her nurse’s uniform. If they tried to speak to her, they’d very quickly realise what she held. A small bit of research into the items would give the police everything they needed. She had done so well, been so careful, and she couldn’t believe everything was going to be over. She had such plans, such dreams, and yet she’d barely lasted a week before the carpet had been pulled out from under her, leaving her lost.

She took a deep breath and continued walking, hoping if she kept focused and kept moving that they wouldn’t look in her direction. Dr. Kher instantly caught her eye, gave her a curt nod, then much to her delight, he and the two people with him walked past her as though she didn’t even exist.

She didn’t dare relax too much, not when they could always turn around or try to stop her, but she risked a subtle look over her shoulder and saw Dr. Kher had taken them into a room. They were now out of sight.

It took everything she had to not scream out in delight. She didn’t know why the police were here, but clearly it had nothing to do with her. She thought about the size of the hospital, how they often had dangerous patients, and cursed herself for letting her imagination run wild. It was lucky she was sensible and played it cool, otherwise she’d have given herself away.

The smile quickly returned to her lips as she took a turn to the right. She followed a corridor and entered a wing which had some medical bins. She approached one of them, casually looking around her to ensure it was still quiet, then once she was certain she was alone, she gently tossed the needle into one of the bins. After that was disposed of, she left the wing, entered one two corridors down, and safely disposed of the glass vial.

Once they were disposed of, she pulled off her gloves and kept them in her pocket as she made her way to the staff room she often frequented. The staff room was a ten-minute walk away from where she stood, so as she walked, she was able to relish getting away with yet another murder.

Sheila would soon be dead, and she was impatient to hear a code blue announcement. The staff room was luckily not too far from Sheila’s room, so once the announcement was made, she’d be able to hear it. She knew the lethal injection could take time to take effect—sometimes minutes, sometimes hours—so she walked to the staff room, buzzing with adrenaline and anticipation.

Once she arrived, she was greeted pleasantly by a few nurses and one doctor. She exchanged some quick, meaningless pleasantries with them before putting the kettle on and subtly looking toward the door whenever she could. As she made her coffee, she couldn’t help but think of that handsome detective and the pretty policewoman, who were likely still strolling around the hospital. Although they hadn’t stopped her, that didn’t mean they weren’t still going to be hanging around for a while. She sighed irritably at the thought.

Rationally, she knew that as long as the police presence was here, she’d be a fool to strike another victim, but her adrenaline was now so high she just didn’t know if she could stop. She poured the hot water into her mug, a wide smile spreading across her face as she did so. Although she knew she should behave, she couldn’t help the thought that kept chasing itself around her mind.

Five—almost six—people down.

Many more to go.

12

“Right, has everyone had the chance to look at the folder I brought back with me?” I asked in a commanding voice as I tapped my fingers against my mug.

“Yes, sir,” Mae said coolly as she leant back in her chair.

“I looked at it earlier, sir,” Lylah replied, biting back a smile. I was glad our argument in the car seemed over with.

“I have, sir,” Elijah said quickly as he sat up in his chair, looking alert and keen to work. Nadia simply nodded, her expression looking pleasant as she looked toward Rebecca, who was now approaching her.

Rebecca gently grabbed the folder from Nadia, then walked with it to her desk. “I haven’t yet, but I’ll be looking at it as you speak to us.”

I nodded to her gratefully. “Right, for those who had the chance, you’ll know it holds some brief information on our nine patient deaths from last week,” I said as my eyes continued to swoop over the team. “It’s a hospital—people die—but nine deaths in a week does seem on the higher end, so I recommend we treat each of these deaths as suspicious for now.”

Mae slightly raised her hand, so I stopped speaking and looked at her. “Aye?”

“I read through the files, sir, and the deaths all seem standard to me,” she said, flicking some of her dark braids over her shoulder. “Cancer, old age, accidents.” She trailed off as she thought to herself. “None of them seem like anything out of the ordinary, do they?”

I shook my head. “Nah, they don’t, but it’s the frequency of them that is causing me concern,” I said. I took a sip of my tea, then continued. “These deaths could be natural, but we wouldn’t be doing our duty as detectives if we didn’t at least look into them.”

I watched Rebecca close the folder, knew she was up to speed, and continued. “There are nine people who have died, and I suggest we split these names up and do some research. Rebecca, you can look into Margaret Park and Harry Flint Hodge, can you look into Dorothy Gill for me?”

She gave me a curt nod, and I read through the final names. “Smith, can you find out what you can about William Russell?”

Elijah sat up straight and nodded enthusiastically. “Certainly, sir!” he said keenly. “What sort of things are we looking for here?”

“Anything and everything we can find,” I answered. “Find out their history, particularly medically, find out if they had any connections to any of the other deceased patients, anything that can shed some light.”

Elijah smiled. “I’ll get right on it, sir!” he exclaimed happily.

I thanked him, then looked back at the names. “Right, I will look into both Harriet Smith and Andrea West. So that leaves Jonathan Baker, Boris Cleveland, and Malcolm Davidson.” I rubbed my chin thoughtfully before replying. “Nadia, you look into Jonathan and Boris, and Ellis, you can look into Malcolm.” I paused and looked around at everyone. “Is everyone happy?”

Everyone muttered in agreement, so I walked to Rebecca’s desk, grabbed my mug, then made my way to my office. I quickly got myself settled at my computer so I could get to work as soon as possible. As I waited for my computer to load, I downed the rest of my tea, then shoved the empty mug away. The moment the computer was loaded, I hastily got started.

I decided to look into Harriet Smith first. I already knew that she’d been sixty years old when she died from cancer, but I needed a lot more than that to go on. I looked first into her medical files and wasn’t surprised to read that she’d been suffering from breast cancer for a long time. She’d first had it when she was in her late forties, but it went into remission before coming back three years ago. The cancer had spread during her final years, and it was clear she was in a considerable amount of pain before she died. I then moved from her medical information to her personal life and found nothing that stood out there, either. Her husband and children, if anything, had praised York Hospital for the care they gave Harriet and said they felt lucky to know she was there during her final moments. There weren’t any obvious connections to her and the other patients, either. I rubbed my stubble and grumbled thoughtfully.

Next, I typed in Andrea West’s name, and annoyingly found nothing helpful there, either. The only suspicious thing about Andrea’s death was that she’d been diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was forty-five and died a year later. Although it was more suspicious than Harriet’s death, I was aware that cancer could be a quick killer. Just because Andrea only survived a year didn’t mean there was anything dodgy. After looking into her personal life, I found Andrea had been married for fifteen years to her wife, Belinda, and they had adopted a baby girl five years ago. After perusing social media and a couple of articles, it was clear Belinda was devastated when Andrea died, but it didn’t look as though she questioned her death, either. Although she didn’t praise the hospital to the extent Harriet’s family did, she did have a social media post that thanked York Hospital for doing what they could. I looked away from the family and tried to figure out any connections between Andrea and the other dead patients, but similar to Harriet, there was nothing to find.

I leaned back in my chair and pushed my hands through my hair in frustration. There was nothing obvious that made either Harriet or Andrea’s deaths seem suspicious, which made me wonder again if this was all just a waste of time. Zahir said the death toll for the week was normal—or at least not a number that gave him cause for concern—the deaths themselves were all easily explainable, and there was nothing standing out to me.

I groaned, got out of my chair, and decided to see how the others were getting on. If none of them found anything, it would be time to put this case to rest and let Faye know we were giving up.

“Right, how is everyone getting on?” I asked as soon as I entered the department, my hands shoved into my pockets. “I’ve got nothing.”

“You were as successful as me then,” Rebecca replied in a tired drawl as she stretched her arms above her chair. “Harry’s death was tragic, but not suspicious.”

“And Margaret?” I pressed without much hope.

Rebecca lowered her arms and shrugged. “She was an eighty-year-old woman in hospital, Sean,” she replied bluntly. “She died in her sleep, and I think most people would be pretty happy if they went that way and at that age.”

I rubbed the scar on my lip. “Aye, she was an older woman, but that doesn’t mean there couldn’t have been something that contributed to her death.”

Rebecca’s face remained passive, and it was clear she was unconvinced. “Maybe, but if there was…. It was nothing traceable. They didn’t bother to do a postmortem on her, but no one complained or tried to cause a stink over it.” She hesitated as she crossed her legs. “I think the family was just glad she died painlessly. They trusted the doctors when they said she died in her sleep with no complications.”

“And did either Harry or Margaret have any connections to the other patients?” I asked.

Rebecca shook her head. “None that I could find.”

“What about you, DC Ellis?” I asked Lylah, my lip twitching slightly to avoid a smile.

We’d been married for a year now, but it still felt weird referring to her by my surname, especially in a professional environment. I was the one used to being called Ellis.

Lylah smiled lightly, then quickly turned serious. “I couldn’t find much on Malcolm,” she said disappointedly as she pulled her blond plait forward and played with it. “He suffered a fall at home and then his health got worse when he was in the hospital. The poor guy ended up getting infection after infection until one of them ultimately ended his life.” She hesitated, biting her lip thoughtfully. “I looked into any connections with the other patients, but there was none to find, and it seems like he didn’t have much in the way of family either. The poor man had no visitors when he was in hospital.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek, trying not to think of an unwell, elderly man dying alone in the hospital after being there for three months.

I sighed before turning to Elijah. “Smith? Tell us about William.”

Elijah sat up straight in his chair and cleared his throat. “William was another cancer death, sir.”

“Aye, we all know that lad, but what did you find out?” I asked, my tone trying and failing to hide a bite of impatience.

Elijah’s cheeks flushed as he rubbed his neck awkwardly. “Right, sorry. Erm, he’d been diagnosed with prostate cancer about two years ago. Oddly enough, his medical files suggest he’d actually seemed a lot better near the start of last week, so it is a bit surprising he ended up dead a few days later.”

I pursed my lips in intrigue. “Aye, it is.”

“I know cancer is obviously unpredictable, but it’s strange he started to get better, then suddenly croaked it,” Elijah repeated curiously. “The doctors hoped he could recover, but equally didn’t find his sudden deterioration unusual. Neither did his wife, who seemed to accept his death. I also didn’t find anything to suggest he knew the other patients.”

I sighed irritably as I crossed my arms.

“Not to sound like a broken record, my search came back with nothing too,” Nadia said with a wince. “Boris’s heart attack can’t really be blamed on the hospital, and Jonathan had been fighting for over half a year before he finally died.” She bit her lip. “Jonathan’s death was awful and slow, but he’d been in a coma for six months before he died. I can’t imagine he was suddenly neglected that last week, not when the medical team had all fought so hard to keep him alive.”

I rubbed my neck and grumbled agreeably. “So really no one found out anything then? I know it was always a long shot, but at least now we can all say that⁠—”

“Actually, sir, I may have found something,” Mae interrupted me sheepishly.

I turned to face her and took a few steps in her direction. “Aye, go on?”

“Dorothy’s death itself didn’t seem too unusual to me, as it was cancer related, but from what I found… her daughter has been very vocal about it since Dorothy died a week ago.”

“Really?” I asked eagerly as I rubbed my hands together. “What’s been her issue?”

“Well, according to Claudia, her mother was starting to get better, and she was certain she would be going home with her soon,” Mae answered. “Claudia insists she visited her mother that morning. She said she seemed to be doing a lot better, so she’s been questioning the hospital over her death since then.”

“What, so she’s actively been blaming the hospital?” I asked with surprise as I rubbed my neck.

Mae nodded. “So it would appear. She’s been asking the doctors for answers and been very vocal on her social media accounts about the hospital hiding things from her.”

This, out of everything, caught my interest and made me think maybe we truly were on to something. When I’d seen Dr. Kher, he hadn’t mentioned that the daughter of one of the deceased patients had been complaining about the hospital. I couldn’t understand why.

Was there a reason he’d played down what I’d shown him? Did he have concerns over the hospital himself, or worse, was he the one behind these deaths?

“Excellent work, Hodge!” I exclaimed. “We had nothing to go on before, but now we might just have reason to continue.”

To my surprise, Rebecca scoffed. “Claudia could easily just be a grieving child looking for someone to blame,” she said pointedly, fixing me with a stern look. “It’s not a huge amount to go on.”

“Aye, but it is something,” I said confidently as I stepped toward Rebecca. “I don’t know what it is, but a few small things don’t seem right to me.” I raised my hand and started ticking things off. “Claudia insists her mother was getting better when she suddenly died, and that story is similar to William’s.” I started pacing. “It seems a bit more than a coincidence that two of our patients improved and then suddenly died, doesn’t it?”

Rebecca sniffed, her expression void of movement or emotion. “Potentially,” she replied, sounding anything but convinced.

“And when I spoke to Dr. Kher, he never once mentioned Claudia’s complaints, even though he saw the folder with her mother’s name in it,” I said shrewdly. “Why would he have kept it from me?”

“Possibly he saw it as irrelevant, or maybe he was just trying to protect the hospital,” Rebecca said in an unbothered tone. “Who knows?”

I sighed. “I get that it isn’t much, but I still think we should look into it, don’t you?” I asked, turning around to get the opinion of the entire team. “We can chase this up with Claudia, and if it comes to nothing, we can close this case knowing we exhausted all resources. I can't close this when I know there’s a woman out there seeking justice for her dead parent.”

Rebecca clicked her tongue and rose from her chair slowly. “I suppose we don’t have a lot else to do right now.”

The others all agreed, so I gave them each a grateful smile.

“I take it you’ll be calling Faye, then?” Rebecca quipped, fixing me with a stern look.

“Aye, I will,” I replied. “She should be there when I speak to Claudia.”

Rebecca made a Marge Simpson worthy groan in the back of her throat, but I was glad she didn’t say anything. I caught Lylah’s eye and saw she too was shooting me a warning look, but I quickly looked away from her. I could understand why they were both concerned, but I knew what I was doing.

Faye needed this case, and I was only too happy to help her if I could.

I pulled out my phone and called her. It was no great shock that she answered quickly.

“Hello?” she said in a rapid voice.

“Hello, Faye,” I replied, trying to sound more professional in front of my colleagues. “We’ve done some research into the dead patients and found that the daughter of one of them has been making some complaints about the hospital.”

“I knew it!” Faye said eagerly. “I knew something was dodgy there.”

“Aye, maybe, but we won’t know until we speak to her,” I said casually. “Are you able to get to my station so we can go see her together?”

“Thank you!” Faye exclaimed. “You won’t regret this. I’ll tell my superior and be on my way now.”

She hung up the phone, leaving me feeling proud that she was finally going about this in the right way by speaking to her superior. I pocketed my phone, then turned to Mae.

“Fancy coming along for the interview, Hodge?” I asked.

Mae stood up from her chair quickly, her usually immoveable face showing signs of a small smile. “I’d love to, sir. Thank you.”

“Right, Hodge and I will go with Faye to speak to Claudia,” I addressed the other. “I know there isn’t much for you to be doing, but I’d recommend some research into the hospital. Maybe see if anyone else has put in a complaint recently.”

Rebecca crossed her arms and made a noise in her throat again. “Yes, we might as well look into things and see what we can find,” she said coolly before making her way to the kitchen.

I turned away from her and walked to meet Mae at the coatrack. As we waited for Faye, I asked Mae to look for Claudia’s address, and she immediately got to work. I knew Rebecca wasn’t happy with me, but she didn’t have a child and didn’t understand the difficult situation I found myself in. She also didn’t know Faye like I did. I was certain that no matter how eager she was for this case to come to something, she wouldn’t let me down.

13

Ten minutes later, I received a text from Faye saying she was waiting outside, so I gestured to Mae that it was time to go. Together, we exited our department and made our way hastily toward the station’s main exit. No sooner did I push it open did I see Faye standing to the left of the station, her eyes wide with excitement. When she saw Mae just behind me, she looked slightly surprised, but not disappointed.

“DC Hodge was the one who found the lead, so I invited her to join us,” I said.

Faye nodded and smiled at Mae. “Of course! It’s nice to see you again, Mae.”

Mae smiled back. “And you.”

I smacked my hands together to get their attention. “Right, shall we get going then?”

The two women nodded, and we walked to the car. Mae politely went to the back, and I noticed Faye quickly joined her there. I climbed into the front on my own, then turned to Mae. “Have you got the address, Hodge?”

Mae nodded. “Yes, sir, she lives in Heslington,” she replied as she fished her phone out of her pocket. She quickly read something on it, then continued. “At number 3, Hall Park road.”

I quickly typed the information into my satnav. I sighed contentedly when I saw that Claudia’s address was less than a ten-minute drive away.

“Perfect!” I grinned. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Good!” Faye chirped as she vibrated in her seat. “Let’s see what she has to say!”

No sooner did I pull away from the station did Faye start asking questions about the case.

“Did you find anything else when you were looking into the patients?” Faye pressed.

Mae clicked her tongue. “No, not really.”

“Hodge is right, there wasn’t much else to go on except for what she found,” I said, glancing at Faye’s disappointed reflection in the mirror. “One of the other patients was described as getting better, then suddenly dying, but that isn’t unheard of.”

“Still a bit suspicious though, right?” Faye asked hopefully.

“Potentially, aye,” I said, not wanting to get Faye’s hopes up. “But right now the main thing to focus on is Claudia. If we don’t get much from her, then we don’t have anything else to go on.”

“Well, we can’t just give up!” Faye exclaimed passionately. “Not when someone could be seriously neglecting or hurting patients.”

I nodded, but didn’t reply. I glanced at Mae in the mirror and saw she was pointedly keeping to herself.

Smart girl, I thought with respect. Best to keep out of it.

We travelled the rest of the journey in silence, but luckily it was short. We reached Heslington, and it wasn’t long until Faye eagerly pointed out a sign that declared that Hall Park road was on our next right. I took a turn and had barely entered the road before I saw Claudia’s house.

“I guess this must be it,” I said as the satnav turned itself off.

I parked the car, then gestured for Faye and Mae to get out, which they both did quietly. I got out and looked to the opposite side of the road where Claudia’s house was. Claudia lived in a small, two-bedroom home. At the front of her house was a porch, which must have been new as the bricks were a different shade than the rest of the house. The front door also looked new, and it was a dark, shining brown. To the left of the front door was a small garage with a bright blue Renault Clio parked in front of it.

I turned to Faye and Mae. “Are you both ready for this?”

“Yes, sir,” Mae said confidently.

“You know it,” Faye smirked.

I nodded, then crossed the road, Faye and Mae close at my heels. As soon as I reached the front door, I knocked loudly. No sooner did I knock did I hear the loud, unmistakable sound of an agitated dog. The dog had a gruff bark, which made me assume it was relatively big. After a few moments of hearing nothing but barking and the scurrying of footsteps behind the door, it finally opened, revealing a woman.

“Sorry about that,” she said in a breathless voice. “It takes a while to get Bruno to shut up.”

I smiled appreciatively as I looked at Claudia. She was a short woman with a brunette bob haircut and small brown eyes. Her hair was flecked with a considerable amount of gray, so I assumed she was in her early fifties. She was wearing a black and white polka dot dress that had brown dog hair all over it.

“That’s quite alright,” I replied. “I take it you’re Claudia Gill?”

Claudia raised a thin eyebrow as she placed her hands on her hips and looked between the three of us. “Yes, who is asking?” she asked suspiciously.

I put my hand in my leather jacket and pulled out my badge. “My name is DCI Ellis, and I’m here with two colleagues,” I said, watching Claudia eye up my badge. “Is it alright if we come in?”

Claudia rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I guess the doctor wasn’t making idle threats then,” she said tiredly. She sighed, then stepped to the side. “Yes, please come in.”

I nodded, trying to ignore the curious pang I felt at her words. Claudia held her hand toward the door, but hesitated.

“I hope none of you are allergic to dogs?” she asked cautiously. “Bruno’s fur gets everywhere.”

“Aye, none of us are allergic,” I replied.

Though I don’t relish the thought of a big dog jumping all over me, I thought to myself.

We filed inside, and as soon as the four of us were in Claudia’s main hallway, I heard the scampering of feet. I bit back a smirk of surprise when Bruno ran around the corner, barking loudly.

He sounded like a large, powerful dog from his bark, but in reality he was a miniature long-haired dachshund. As much as I wasn’t a dog person like Rebecca was, I couldn’t deny he was sort of cute in his own way. Even if the yapping would drive me mad after more than a minute in its company.

As soon as Bruno was in front of me, he started jumping up my leg, crying out desperately for attention. I gently shook my leg to try to get him off, but he ignored me. Once Claudia shut the door behind us and turned to face us, she sighed at the sight in front of her.

“Oh, for Christ’s sake, Bruno!” she exclaimed disparagingly as she bent down to pick him up. “Will you leave people alone!” She turned to me sheepishly once Bruno was contained. “I’m so sorry, Detective!”

I smiled. “It’s alright. It’s not like he’s a great dane.”

Claudia snorted. “Honestly, I think a great dane would have been easier to manage!” she said in a tone that was half humour and half sincerity. “I’ll just shut him in the kitchen so we can talk.” She pointed to an open door to my left. “Please make yourselves comfortable, I won’t be long.”

We all thanked her, then entered what appeared to be Claudia’s living room. Considering the house was on the smaller side, the living room was surprisingly spacious. She had two dark green sofas, so I gestured to the women for us all to sit on one. Apart from the sofas, the living room was filled with several large bookshelves, a medium-sized television, and a large table in the centre of the room filled with a variety of coasters. They looked random, as though Claudia had collected them from various places.

I was pulled from my examination of the room by the sound of approaching footsteps. I looked toward the source of noise and found Claudia returning to us. She pushed her hair back and sighed tiredly before smiling weakly at us all.

“Sorry about that, can I get anyone a drink before I sit down?” she offered.

While part of me craved a coffee, I took one look into Claudia’s tired face and knew it would be best to let the woman sit down. I politely declined, as did Mae and Faye. Claudia, with a poorly hidden look of relief, sat down on the other sofa and turned to us. She looked slightly nervous, and her hand kept moving between playing with her hair and caressing her dress.

“I know why you’re all here, but I have no regrets,” she said. I could tell from her tone and posture she was trying to speak confidently, but her voice was tinged with nerves. “I was doing what I had to, and I will continue to do so until I get answers.”

I moved forward in my seat and held my hands in my lap. “When we first arrived here, what did you mean about the doctor and his threats?”

Claudia looked between the three of us with wide, surprised eyes. Her neck started to redden, and the color slowly extended to her face. “You mean you aren’t here because Dr. Kher sent you?” she asked in shock.

I shook my head. “Not exactly. But it could be connected to why we’re here. We’d like to hear about it, please.”

Claudia tightened her lips and the red on her neck embarrassment intensified. “My mother was staying at York Hospital for a few weeks as she wasn’t feeling very well,” she said in a slow, shaking voice. “I made sure I visited her every day to ensure she was okay, and I was happy when I saw she was slowly getting better.” She hesitated, shuffling in her seat slightly. “Anyway, I went to see her last Monday, and I couldn’t believe it when I saw that she was basically back to her old self! We even spoke about her coming home soon and I rushed back here to get things ready for her.”

For a few moments she didn’t speak again, but I kept patient and waited for her to continue. As she hesitated, I couldn’t help but feel bad for the woman. She shook from a mixture of anger and upset, and it was clear the grief she felt was weighing heavily on her.

She looked between us all, her angry shaking shifting to stiff resignation. “I’m divorced, you see, hence why I’ve gone back to my maiden name,” she said glumly. “My only daughter lives in Australia, so I never see her. All I had was my mother. She was staying in a care home before she went to the hospital, but I was getting things ready here so she could move in once she was better.” She sighed and moved her hands slowly to grip some of her dress. “I was here getting things ready when I got a phone call from the doctor. Of course I was worried when I heard it was him, but I never imagined he’d be calling me to say my mother had died!”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said sincerely.

Claudia shook her head and rubbed her face. “It makes no sense to me. My mother was fine, absolutely fine, then suddenly a few hours later she’s dead!” She shook her head again, only this time the movement was more rapid. “No, something isn’t right there. I know it.”

Mae edged forward in her chair, pushing some of her braids out of her face as she moved. “That still doesn’t explain why you thought the doctor had called us?”

Claudia went red again and rubbed her hands nervously. “I asked the doctor how she died, and he said she’d gone peacefully in her sleep, but that didn’t feel right to me,” she said in a slow, measured tone. “How could she be fine one moment, then dead the next? I asked him for more information, and he said that was all he could give me.” She shuffled in her chair again. “I wasn’t going to accept that, so I’ve been going to the hospital most days asking for answers, but the last time I went the doctor got annoyed with me and told me he’d be calling the police for harassment.” She scoffed. “Harassment? All I want is to know the truth! If he’d just give that to me this could all be done with.”

“You believe there is more to your mother’s death than meets the eye, yea?” Faye asked.

Claudia nodded. “I know there is. There’s no way she died in her sleep after how she was when I saw her that morning. That doctor tried to tell me that some patients really pick up just before they die, but I don’t believe that for one second.” She hesitated and looked between us all. “My mother was fine that morning. There’s no way she just suddenly died.”

Again I found myself surprised at Zahir. I was perplexed about why he hadn’t mentioned Claudia’s unhappiness with the hospital, and that feeling only intensified with the knowledge that he was the one to deal with her. Why had he not brought it up when I went to see him? Something felt wrong, and I knew I needed to speak to Zahir again.

“What do you think happened to your mother?” I inquired.

“I can’t be too sure, but I think maybe one of those doctors made a mistake, gave her the wrong medication or something, and now they’re working their arses off to try to cover it up!” Claudia exclaimed hastily.

“That’s a serious statement to make, Ms. Gill,” I said, keeping my face void of emotion. “Do you have any proof?”

Claudia shook her head sheepishly. “No, I don’t have proof, at least not yet. I understand the seriousness of my words, Detective, but I hope you can understand it isn’t something I would say lightly,” she huffed. “I have had nothing but respect for the NHS ever since I was a young girl, but I am confident that place is hiding something from me. I refuse to back down or be silenced until I know the truth.” She inhaled deeply, trying to hold back her tears. “My mother may have been old, detectives, but that doesn’t mean her death shouldn’t be taken as seriously as a child’s or teenager’s would be.”

“I agree, Ms. Gill, and I assure you I take every death I look into incredibly seriously, no matter the age,” I said earnestly.

Claudia’s eyes went wide, and she gave me a hopeful look. “Wait, is that why you’re here?” she asked in disbelief, squeezing her hands tightly together. “Are you looking into her death?”

I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, trying to figure out what to say. I didn’t want to get her hopes up or add fuel to her already burning fire by mentioning the other patients, but I also knew I had to offer her some form of honesty.

“Aye, we are,” I said. “An anonymous comment was made, which has made us… curious. Right now, we haven’t got a huge amount to go on, but I can assure you we will be looking into what happened to your mother. I will give you any answers once we have them.”

To my surprise, Claudia burst into tears. She put her face in her hands and sobbed loudly for a few moments. As she cried, I could hear Bruno going frantic at a door to get to her. I debated on getting up to comfort her, but luckily she stopped and wiped under her eyes.

“That bloody dog,” she said with a slight chuckle. “He’s a nightmare, but I don’t know what I’d do without him. He's very loyal and loving, and he’s all I have left now.”

I turned to Faye. “Let the dog through so he can see Ms. Gill.”

Faye raised her eyebrows in surprise, but she quickly rose from her chair and left the room. I heard the sound of a door opening, then the quick scurrying of small paws. No sooner did Bruno get free did he charge straight to Claudia. He jumped into her lap and started lapping at her face happily. Claudia laughed and held Bruno close to her. She gave me a grateful look, then stroked Bruno.

“I’m just so glad to hear someone else is looking into that place,” Claudia said emotionally as she tickled Bruno behind his ear. “I was wondering if maybe I was just getting carried away in my grief, but it must be something if the police are getting involved.”

The realist in me knew there was always the potential that Dorothy’s death had been natural, or that Claudia was using her vendetta against the hospital as an outlet for her grief, but right now there were too many coincidences to ignore.

For Claudia’s sake, as well as Dorothy’s, I knew I had to continue looking into that hospital.

“I need you to promise me something, Ms. Gill,” I said as I rose from the sofa.

Claudia stood up too, still clutching Bruno. “Anything, Detective,” she breathed.

I felt Mae and Faye rising from the sofa, but I kept my focus on Claudia.

“While we are looking into this, we really need you to take a back seat,” I said in an authoritative tone as I crossed my arms. “I get you want justice for your mother, but the best thing you can do is keep away from the hospital and wait for us to call you.”

Claudia chewed her lip thoughtfully, her eyes widening. “You promise you will look into this?” she asked worriedly. “I don’t want to keep away from that hospital if I’m the only one fighting Mum’s corner.”

I looked into her eyes firmly and nodded. “I give you my word. I will contact you when we have more information. If we end up with nothing, feel free to continue as you were.” I hesitated. “A word of advice, though? I’d be careful when it comes to the hospital staff. You might not get the justice you seek if you charge in there ready to antagonise.”

Claudia’s cheeks flushed as she cuddled Bruno to her. “I hope you don’t think ill of me, Detective,” she whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. “I can assure you… I’m usually someone who keeps to myself, but I love Mum more than anything. I feel like I wouldn’t be a good daughter if I didn’t fight for her like she fought to protect me my entire life.” She sighed. “It isn’t in my nature to harass or antagonise anyone, but the hospital staff kept ignoring me and I got desperate, you know?”

“I understand that, Ms. Gill,” I said with a reassuring smile. “Just leave the detective work to us now, alright?”

Claudia laughed. “I will do, Detective, and thank you again for looking into this,” she said gratefully as she started to walk us to the front door. “People may think I’m crazy, but I just know that the hospital is responsible for what happened to my mother. I’ll be glad to know the truth so I can close this chapter and actually focus on grieving her.”

I touched her shoulder lightly as she let us out the front door. “We will be in touch, Ms. Gill.”.

Claudia thanked us all. Once she shut the door behind us, Faye turned to me eagerly and started gripping my shoulders. “I knew I was onto something, Dad!” she exclaimed as she jumped up and down.

I shot her a warning look to get her to quiet down. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here,” I whispered, looking over my shoulder to ensure Claudia wasn’t watching us. “She admitted she had no proof of her claims. Right now, all we have is her theories.”

“That just so happen to coincide with our own, Dad!” Faye said excitedly as she let me go. “The fact that we are all thinking the same has to count for something, right?”

“It is odd the doctor you saw before didn’t mention that Claudia had made complaints,” Mae said shrewdly as we walked.

“Exactly!” Faye exclaimed. “I know you didn’t like how I spoke to him, Dad, but this just proves he was lying through his teeth!”

I rubbed my stubble considerately. “He didn’t necessarily lie, Faye, but I can’t deny he withheld information from us.”

“Semantics!” Faye retorted. “The fact is, he was trying to hinder our investigation, and we have to find out why.”

We all climbed into my car, and after I got my seatbelt on, I looked at Mae in the mirror. “Hodge, if you don’t mind, I’ll drop you off at the station before Faye and I go to the hospital?” I asked respectfully. “That way you can bring the others up to speed on how everything went with Claudia.”

Mae nodded. “Sure thing, sir.”

We then drove in silence, giving me the time I craved to think about everything. Although Zahir hadn’t lied to us, Faye was right. He had kept things from us that could have helped our investigation. I still didn’t know what we would find in this case, but I knew there was no way I could do anything else but speak to Zahir again.

The man had purposely avoided telling us about Claudia’s complaints, and I was desperate to know why.

14

After a hurried goodbye to Mae, Faye climbed into the front seat with me. We then made our way back to York Hospital for the third time that day. The day so far had felt long and exhausting, but in reality it was only three in the afternoon, and I knew we still had plenty of time to investigate before I called the working day to an end.

As we travelled to the hospital, Faye was full of questions again.

“Do you reckon that doctor is hiding something?” she pressed.

“Maybe, but whether he’s protecting himself or the hospital is hard to tell at this stage,” I replied as I tapped my fingers on the wheel.

She perked up excitedly. “Do you think it’s a doctor or nurse making mistakes? Or do you think someone is purposely going out of their way to hurt people?”

“This isn’t anything to be excited over, Faye,” I snapped. “People are dying.”

Faye relaxed and stopped vibrating beside me. “Sorry, you’re right… I’ve just never worked on anything so high profile before.”

I nodded. “Aye, I get that, but you need to remember that people have died. We can’t ever get jovial over serious cases,” I scolded. “It’s disrespectful to all of those involved.”

Faye nodded in return, keeping her expression passive. “I promise to keep calm. I just can’t believe we’re finally getting somewhere.”

“Hopefully,” I said conservatively as I checked my mirrors.

“You’re so infuriating at times,” she grumbled.

“When you’ve been in this job for as long as I have, you learn not to take anything for granted,” I said gravely as I turned to look at her. “We still don’t have any solid evidence that someone from the hospital did anything,” I hesitated as I stopped at a junction. “I know you want this case to help boost your career, but we have to keep level-headed until we find something solid.”

I expected Faye to argue, but to my surprise, she didn’t. “Yes, you’re right,” she said dejectedly. “Let’s just hope we get some answers after speaking to Dr. Kher again.”

I nodded, leaving us to travel in silence. The closer we drew to the hospital, the more I started to think about what was going on behind those doors. Were the patients simply dying from natural causes? Was there someone working at the hospital who was either incredibly incompetent or simply negligent? Or, worst of all, was there someone lurking the halls who was taking life and death into their own hands? I couldn’t imagine someone at the hospital could be so heartless that they’d go out of their way to kill people, but I’d been a detective for long enough to know that there were some truly evil people in the world.

When we finally arrived back at York Hospital, I pushed back the annoying feeling of déjà vu and found a parking space. In no time at all we were walking toward the main reception area. I watched as the automated doors opened, and together, Faye and I approached the bald receptionist again. As soon as he saw us, he gave a hesitant smile.

“Back so soon?” he asked cautiously.

“Aye, that we are,” I said, leaning on the desk and looking down at him. “It’s imperative we speak to Dr. Kher again.”

“Of course, I’ll put a call through right away,” he said with a nod.

All of his enthusiasm from earlier had vanished, and now he looked nervous as he walked away from us at a steady, thoughtful pace. He glanced over his shoulder a few times as he approached the door, entered the small room, and closed it behind him. I watched as he grabbed a phone and started making a call. Once he was on the phone, I turned to Faye.

“He certainly has lost his earlier giddiness, hasn’t he?” Faye asked suspiciously.

I nodded. “Aye, something seems to have him spooked.” I gave Faye a small smile. “Likely us.”

Faye smirked. “I certainly hope so.”

The receptionist came out, dabbing at his sweaty, glistening head with a small handkerchief. “Dr. Kher is on his way, but he told me to make you aware he is exceptionally busy. He can only offer you a minute of his time,” he huffed, looking keen to get away from us.

“A minute is all we need, ta,” I said before turning back to Faye. “Let’s hope he has a good explanation for earlier.”

Faye nodded, keeping her eyes peeled for Zahir to arrive.

Last time we only waited a little while, but after twenty minutes of waiting, I grumbled impatiently and walked back to the reception. “Is Dr. Kher coming or not?” I asked irritably. “We aren’t standing around here all day waiting for him.”

The receptionist dabbed his forehead nervously again. “A-As I explained earlier, he is an exceptionally busy man.”

I leaned closer to him and gritted my teeth. “As I am.”

The receptionist shook nervously, so I tutted and moved away from him. I looked at Faye.

“I have two minds to charge around this hospital and look for him,” I snorted as I tapped my fingers on my elbows. “He has some nerve to keep us waiting like this.”

“His absence looks very suspicious to me,” Faye agreed. “It’s like he’s avoiding us.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but stopped at the sound of loud, hurried footsteps. I looked over my shoulder to see Zahir charging toward us with raised hands and an apologetic expression.

“I am so sorry to keep you both waiting!” he said sincerely as he looked between us both. “I got called into a medical emergency that took longer than I expected.” He sighed, then gestured behind him. “Please follow me.”

“Surprised to see us again so soon?” I asked as I tried and failed to match his pace.

“I am, yes,” he said as he continued to walk briskly. He led us back to the same room we spoke in before and let us in. “I’m not sure what else there is to say, but I don’t have long to speak with you… unfortunately.”

After Zahir closed the door behind and faced us, I crossed my arms and looked him up and down. “Are you sure you don’t know what else there is to say, Zahir?”

Zahir quirked a thick brow. “No, should I?”

“I dunno,” I replied, pacing in the room. “I showed you the list of patient names, and I’m sure you’d know if there was anything to say about any of them, right?”

Zahir stroked his thick beard cautiously. “Right.”

I made a tsk noise repeatedly before looking at him. “I have to say I’m disappointed, Zahir,” I said as I stopped my pacing and stood directly in front of him. “You know I’m the sort who does my research, so I think you know what I’ve found out.”

“I really don’t,” Zahir said, perplexed.

“We looked into the dead patients, and we found out something interesting about Dorothy Gill,” I said nonchalantly. “It seems her daughter hasn’t been thrilled with you, now has she?”

Zahir’s eyes lit up with understanding. “Ah, that. I-I don’t want you thinking I was lying to you, Sean.”

“Then explain yourself,” I said, shoving my hands into my pockets.

Zahir exhaled and took a seat. He gestured for us to do the same, so we all sat down. It took Zahir a few seconds, but eventually he started speaking.

“It’s never easy to lose a patient, but it happens a lot more often than I’d like,” he said in a measured tone. “It was upsetting to lose Dorothy, but she was a frail, elderly woman who ran out of fight. It happens. The issue here is that her daughter refuses to accept that.”

“She seems determined that her mother was getting better,” I pressed. “We just went to see her, and it’s clear she isn’t willing to let this go.”

Zahir grumbled as he rubbed his face. “The poor woman is grieving, I understand that. I told her to leave us alone, or I’d go to the police, but I never actually intended on doing so. The woman has been through enough. She doesn’t need a criminal charge.”

“What makes you think we’d side with the hospital over her?” I asked shrewdly.

“Surely you don’t think anyone here did something to Dorothy?” Zahir asked in horror.

I shrugged. “We found the death toll last week suspicious, and now we have a blood relative of one of the deceased claiming foul play.” I sucked on my teeth. “It certainly makes you wonder, now doesn’t it?”

Zahir turned to me with wide, focused eyes. “I stand by what I said before, Sean. I don’t see those deaths as suspicious. I feel sorry for Claudia, but what she needs is help, perhaps bereavement counselling.”

“Can you honestly say there isn’t any part of you that would consider what happened to Dorothy unnatural?” I pressed.

Zahir shook his head. “None at all, Sean,” he said confidently. “Dorothy lived a long, good life. When we found her, she looked peaceful, you know? It isn’t like anyone attacked her or neglected her care in any way.” He sighed. “Death is a natural part of life, and it was just her time.”

I felt Faye fidgeting next to me, clearly struggling to hold her tongue. I was proud of her for learning from her mistakes from before, but I could tell she was getting restless. I had to hurry this conversation along before she exploded at him again.

I knew I wasn’t willing to give up this case yet. I didn’t know why, but my gut was still telling me there was something to find. I couldn’t hand in the towel until I’d figured out what it was. As I tried to figure out what to say, I jumped slightly in my chair as loud alarms began blaring.

Zahir jumped up quickly. “That’s a code blue!” he said hurriedly. “I have to go see what’s going on.”

I moved out of my own chair quickly. “Aye, let’s go!”

Zahir hesitated, giving me an uncertain look. “I can’t allow you in the room when my team is trying to save a life, Sean, but you can keep close by if you must.”

I could tell from his tone that he wasn’t keen on the idea of me hanging around, but I knew I couldn’t leave. Someone else was fighting to survive, and I had to make sure someone from the medical team didn’t leave them to die.

15

Zahir instantly got into work mode. He rushed out of the room, not even waiting to hold the door for us, and sprinted in the direction of the commotion.

Faye and I charged after him, my thoughts filled with concern for the dying patient. Logically, I knew you often had seriously unwell people die in hospitals, but after everything I’d found out that day, my mind was filled with suspicion and mistrust. A hospital was supposed to be a place you felt safe in, a place you knew people would protect you, but right now, all I wanted to do was get to that patient and ensure they were treated properly.

After a brief run, we arrived at a room swarming with various nurses and a couple of doctors either looking at the patient or looking at the machines bleeping beside them. The room was so full of people that I couldn’t get a good view of the patient. Zahir went to move inside, but stopped when he sensed we were just behind him. He turned to me, and I was surprised to see how stern his face had become.

“Stay outside,” he ordered. “I need to save this patient, and I can’t do that with you two breathing down my neck.”

I wanted to argue with him, but one look into his dark eyes told me that would be a foolish decision, so I quickly backed down. I watched Zahir run into the room, and I quickly gestured to Faye for us to get to the patient’s interior window so we could watch everything from just outside. We got into position, but no sooner were we standing did I realise how futile it was. The medical staff were numerous, and they were all working so rapidly it was impossible to see a thing.

“What do you think is wrong?” Faye asked.

“I dunno,” I said honestly, transfixed by the work of the medical staff.

The team worked like a well-oiled machine, doing everything they could to save the patient. I’d have assumed it was too crowded, and they’d have stepped on one another's toes, but it was like each person knew exactly where they needed to be and what they needed to do.

“Everyone in that room is clearly doing everything they can to help whoever is in there, but that doesn’t mean someone wasn’t causing that patient harm before the code blue was announced,” Faye surmised shrewdly as she watched the team work. “Maybe that someone is in their right now!”

“Aye,” I answered. “This death could be natural, or a coincidence, but I, for one, have never believed in coincidences.” I scratched my stubble in contemplation. “That’s yet another patient left to die, and I think if they survive this, we need to watch the room carefully, ask them questions when they’re up to it.”

“If being the optimum word there, Dad,” Faye said worriedly. “With how frantic that team looks, I don’t think it’s likely they’ll make it.”

“Let’s pray they do, Faye. They may be the only one who can give us the answers we need,” I said hopelessly.

To my surprise, Faye slowly edged her free hand to grip my own. I gave her a side glance and saw the clear concern she had for the patient there. I looked away and returned my focus to the patient, instantly feeling bad for my previous negative thoughts about my own daughter’s intentions. She was ambitious, yes, but she cared too, and I knew she had the best interests of the patients at heart.

I inhaled dramatically when the frantic movement of the staff and the beeping of the machines suddenly subsided. Faye slowly let go of my hand, and I felt my shoulders slump when I saw the dejected faces on the staff members.

They had failed to save the patient.

Meaning we now had another body, as well as losing a potentially invaluable witness.

The medical team started to slowly disperse, looking broken as they exited. As they walked past me, I couldn’t help but wonder if one of them had somehow been responsible for the patient’s death. My thoughts were interrupted by Zahir as he stepped out of the room slowly, his head hanging low as he pulled off his gloves and muttered miserably under his breath. He looked up, saw me standing there, and for a moment, a flash of anger went across his face. I expected him to yell at me, but that look vanished as soon as it appeared and was replaced with one of sorrow.

“I was too late to save her,” he said bitterly as he tossed his gloves into a bin.

Now that the medical team had dispersed, I could finally get a view of the patient. She was an elderly woman, likely in her eighties, and looked oddly peaceful on that bed.

I tilted my head sympathetically. “You all did your best.”

Zahir sighed. “I know we did, but that doesn’t make it any easier.”

“Who was she?” I pressed.

“Sheila Jonson,” he said flatly. “She’d been getting progressively worse over the last few days, but you always hope for a bit more time, you know?”

I nodded understandingly, my eyes still fixed on Sheila.

“That’s another death then,” Faye sighed.

Zahir looked at her with a stern expression. “Are you seriously trying to make this a thing right now?”

I protectively stepped forward in front of Faye. “Look, I get that you want to protect your hospital and team, but in the space of over a week ten people have died and a few of them have suddenly got worse out of nowhere,” I said, fixing his dark, unsettled eyes with my own. “I think we’re at a point now where you can’t keep saying there’s no chance there’s anything going on.”

To my surprise, Zahir huffed and looked toward Sheila. “Her death seems natural to me, but I know I can’t stop you from looking into it. I will always protect my team and honour my job, but I respect that you have to do the same too.”

“Thank you, Zahir,” I said. “PC Ellis and I will need your staff to keep away from this room and the dead patient while I get my team to look at her.” I hesitated at the unhappy look on Zahir’s face, but soon pressed on. “I know you have protocols and systems in place for when a patient dies, but we will need full reign and privacy if we have any chance of getting to the truth.”

Zahir huffed but conceded. “I don’t want my team to feel disrespected, but do what you have to do.”

“Can you ask the remaining staff in there to clear out?” I pressed. “From now on, this is a potential crime scene.”

Most of the people had gone now, but Zahir quickly moved into Sheila’s room and ushered the rest out. While Zahir spoke to them, I turned toward Faye.

“Call Rebecca immediately,” I ordered. “Tell her to get down here and bring someone from pathology with her.”

Faye didn’t reply to me, but instead walked off at a fast pace while she grabbed her phone.

“I told them to pass on the message that this room is to be left while you work,” Zahir said tiredly as he exited the room.

I thanked him, then crossed my arms seriously. “Did Sheila have the same people look after her, or did it vary?”

Zahir smirked slightly. “We very rarely have the same nurses designated to a patient here,” he said honestly. “We try to when we can, but with such a big hospital and limited staff… we tend to move people about a lot.”

Bugger, I thought irritably. How can I figure out who harmed or neglected Sheila when anyone could have been in there?

“What about today?” I inquired.

Zahir adjusted his turban. “We had four nurses working on this wing, so any of them could have been in that room today.”

I nodded. “Who are they?”

Zahir walked to the side of the hall and grabbed a clipboard. “Let’s see,” he said slowly. “There’s Abigail Byrde, Stella Jackson, Gail Ruskin, and Jennifer Glass.”

“I’ll need to speak with all of them once my pathologist gets here,” I said.

Zahir nodded and moved to put the clipboard away. “Of course.”

“What is your opinion on them all?” I asked. “And please be honest.”

Zahir snorted. “I’m always honest, Sean. Good nurses are hard to come by, but those four haven’t given me any cause for complaint yet.” He hesitated thoughtfully. “Stella sometimes has an attitude, but she does her job well, and I’ve never had any patients complain about her.” The corners of his lips lifted slightly. “As long as her attitude is only directed toward me, I don’t mind.”

I nodded. “And what about doctors?” I asked cautiously. “How many of them did she see?”

Zahir put his hands on his hips confidently, raising a thick eyebrow. “Only one. Me. Will you be wanting to question me, Sean?”

I gave him a slight smirk. “Aye, I will,” I said unflinchingly. “Will that be an issue?”

Zahir smiled slightly in return. “Not at all, feel free to ask me anything you want. Like you, I took an oath to protect the public. I have nothing to hide.”

I glanced around, noticed Faye was still on the phone, then turned back to him. “What can you tell me about the deceased?”

Zahir started to stroke his beard. “She was admitted several days ago,” he started. “Her neighbour called for an ambulance after they heard a noise, and according to the paramedics’ report, it seems she must have had a fall. She had some scans which showed that one of her hips was broken.” He hesitated and sighed. “I was seeing her twice daily, but it was clear during each visit her health was only getting worse and worse.”

“What makes you say that?” I queried.

“It was almost like she’d lost the will to live from the moment she got here,” Zahir responded sadly as he placed his hands into his coat pockets. “She grew less and less responsive, seemed to be getting frailer considerably quick, and just wasn’t responding to any treatment.” He hesitated a moment as he looked in Sheila’s room with a morose expression. “I put her as critical last night, but I still didn’t expect her to die as soon as she did.”

I nodded respectfully. “So you thought there was a chance she could have recovered?”

Zahir sucked his teeth thoughtfully. “Thought? No. Hoped? Yes.”

“So, in your professional opinion, you believe Sheila’s death was due to natural causes?” I probed.

“Most definitely,” Zahir said without missing a beat. “I know you have to do your job and look into everything, but she was an elderly, unwell woman who was quickly deteriorating before my eyes. If she hadn’t died today, she’d have likely died in another day or two.”

I bit my lip as I rubbed my face. “Did you notice anyone behaving suspiciously around her at all?” I asked without much hope.

Zahir’s eyebrows moved closer together as he mused. “No, not that I can think of,” he eventually replied. “I saw some of the nurses checking on her earlier, but that is what they are paid to do.” He smirked slightly.

I didn’t smile back. “Aye, that’s true. Can you think of anything that could help?”

Zahir leaned against the wall and shook his head. “You know my thoughts on this, Sean,” he said cautiously. “But if there is something to find, then I seriously hope you find it.”

“Ta, Zahir,” I said gratefully. “Could you please round up the four nurses so we can speak to them? I’ll interview them one at a time, but I don’t want them running around the halls while I’m speaking to their colleagues.”

Zahir pursed his lips slightly. “That is going to leave me down a considerable number of staff, Sean. Are you sure that’s necessary?”

“Unfortunately it is,” I insisted. “I hate to leave you understaffed, but I can assure you I will try to move through the interviews as quickly as I can.”

Zahir grimaced unpleasantly at the thought, but conceded. I thanked him once more, then watched as he walked away. A few minutes after Zahir went, Faye soon came back with a keen expression.

“Rebecca asked a lot of questions, but she said she would get a hold of someone from pathology and make their way right here,” she chirped with her hands on her hips.

I smiled. “Good work, lo—Faye,” I corrected myself awkwardly. I cleared my throat, then continued. “I spoke to Zahir—he was the only doctor looking after her—but he said he’ll find the four nurses who were watching this wing today and get them for us.”

Faye exhaled. “Let’s just hope one of them has something helpful to say.”

I grimaced, feeling unsure what to think.

There was always the chance that Sheila’s death was nothing more than a genuine tragedy, but something didn’t feel right to me. Zahir seemed trustworthy, which meant, if someone had done something to affect Sheila’s health, then it had to be one of the four nurses he mentioned.

I just hoped we’d identified the four potential suspects quickly enough to stop any more death that day.

16

Now that Zahir and the others had gone, Faye and I guarded Sheila’s room while we waited for Rebecca to arrive with a pathologist. I’d been unable to get a look at Sheila through her window, but now that I was in her room I was able to see her properly. I found I was unable to look at her for long. Although she still looked relatively peaceful close up, she also looked incredibly frail and small in the bed.

Her white hair looked thin, as though a single gust of wind would break it off at the roots. Her skin looked drawn out, her lips were cracking from dehydration, and the thin sheet over her appeared to drown her.

It was a sorry sight to see.

“Poor woman,” Faye said solemnly. “It’s hard to see her like this.”

I nodded, my face looking toward the door for Rebecca. “Aye, it is.”

“Do you think she could have ended up like this from neglect?” Faye inquired sorrowfully. “It looks like she hasn’t had water or food since she’s been here.”

I sighed as I continued staring pointedly at the door. “It’s hard to say, Faye. It could be from negligence, or it could just be natural.”

Faye took a deep breath. “It’s hard to see any of it as natural. Someone did this to her, Dad. I won’t rest until I figure out who allowed this to happen.”

I nodded sympathetically but didn’t reply. I trusted that Zahir had given her the appropriate care—it was clear he cared deeply about his job—yet it was possible his good, hard work was being damaged by the carelessness of one of his nurses.

We stayed in that room for over half an hour with no word from Rebecca. I knew half an hour wasn’t long, but standing in a room with a dead body, even after all my years as a detective, still gave me an unsettled feeling. Especially being around one that looked like Sheila did. Faye clearly had nothing else to say. She kept as still and quiet as the body, and I kept awkwardly looking away from it, hoping and praying to see Rebecca move into my line of sight.

I sighed in relief when my phone rang, and Rebecca’s name flashed on-screen. I quickly hit accept and put my phone to my ear.

“Hello, Rebecca,” I blurted. “Where are you?”

“Hey, Sean,” Rebecca responded. “I’m here with Samantha. I take it you’re still in the same wing Faye mentioned on the phone?”

I quirked an eyebrow curiously at the name Rebecca mentioned. “Aye, we’re still there,” I replied. “Just get here quickly, alright?”

“Will do,” Rebecca assured me. “Bye!”

“I take it they’re here?” Faye questioned hopefully once I’d hung up.

I turned to her and nodded. My eyes flickered to the body, then back to Faye. “Aye, and she mentioned a name I’m unfamiliar with, so it must be a new pathologist.”

Faye furrowed her brow with concern. “Let’s hope they’re good then. We can’t afford a rookie messing this up for us.”

I smirked slightly. “Sometimes we have to give rookies a chance, right?”

Faye’s cheeks flushed as she nodded.

“I do really appreciate this, you know,” she said with embarrassment.

I looked at her sheepish expression. She rubbed her arm awkwardly, then continued.

“I know you’ve got a good team, and you easily could have done this without me, but I’m grateful for the opportunity,” she said sincerely. “I know people will scream nepotism at me for being here, but I don’t care. I’m just glad to have the chance to prove I know what I’m doing.”

I fixed her with a confident gaze. “I won’t allow anyone to accuse you of getting a leg up because you’re my daughter. None of us would be looking into this right now if it wasn’t for your instincts. Hell, even I doubted you at first, but because of you… we could be stopping a potentially dangerous person.” I smiled at her. “I’m proud of you, Faye. Even if this all comes to nothing and we realise there’s no case, you should be proud of yourself following this through to the end.”

Faye blushed again, and she rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably. “Thanks, Dad.” She then stood up a bit taller. “To be honest, I am proud of myself. If nothing else, working with you has shown me that I can do this, and I won’t let anyone on my team make me feel small ever again.”

I nodded, ignoring the choking feeling in my throat as I looked at her. I’d been a huge skeptic when we started this case, but I couldn’t deny that I was now also convinced something was going on. Faye was good at her job, and I was only too happy to watch her grow as the case progressed.

The emotional moment between us was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. I turned back to the door and saw Rebecca and a young woman approaching us.

“Finally!” Rebecca said in a breathless, relieved tone. “I thought knowing the wing would make finding you easier, but this place is a bloody maze.”

I laughed slightly. “Aye, we found the same. This is a big hospital.”

Rebecca nodded as she stepped further into the room. She then moved to the side, allowing Samantha to enter the room behind her. I took one look at her and was surprised by what I saw.

Most pathologists I’d worked with were either middle-aged or close to my age, like Hannah, but this woman looked like she was at least a decade younger than me. She was in her early to mid-twenties, meaning she couldn’t have been a fully qualified pathologist for very long. She had brunette hair with dramatic red highlights, which was tied back in a thick ponytail. Her ears were covered in various piercings, and she had a small golden hoop hanging from her right nostril. Her eyes were large and brown, making her look even younger, and her top lip was double the size of her bottom one. At a closer look, I could see she had healed piercing marks under her bottom lip. She was wearing short sleeves, which showed off a variety of dark tattoos on her arms and hands. She put down a large case and approached me, her hand outstretched.

“It’s good to meet you, DCI Ellis,” she said, her voice surprisingly husky. “I’m Sam Davies.”

I took her hand and shook it. “Good to meet you, Sam. Ta for coming here on such short notice.”

“My pleasure,” she said curtly. “Hannah thought the experience would do me some good.”

I nodded, then gestured toward Faye. “This is PC Ellis.”

Sam gently shook Faye’s hand, and the two women exchanged pleasantries. Sam didn’t react to us sharing a surname, so I assumed Rebecca had likely filled Sam in on the way here.

Sam looked at Sheila with an expressionless face. She bent down to her case, opened it up, and put some gloves on. Once she finished, she walked calmly toward the body, pulled down the sheet, then began her examinations. As she looked over Sheila, she continued speaking to us.

“So what brings me here today, then?” Sam asked. “DI Tumber gave me a quick debrief in the car, but I’d like to hear it from your point of view, if I may.”

I put my hands in my pockets and moved to the side so I could watch Sam work but equally give her space to do so. “This morning PC Ellis overheard a conversation between two hospital staff members commenting on the number of deaths last week,” I stated. “She brought this to my attention right away. At first I wasn’t convinced there was cause for alarm, but the more we looked into things, the more I started to grow suspicious.”

“I see,” Sam said as she continued looking over the body. “Go on.”

“We’ve been investigating what we now consider a range of suspicious deaths. We were discussing this with one of the hospital’s lead doctors when we were interrupted by a code blue,” I said. “Now her death could easily be natural, but after everything that’s been going… on I wouldn’t feel right leaving the body unexamined.”

“I see,” Sam repeated in the same monotone voice. “So this woman’s death could be natural, or it could be what, exactly?”

I sighed. “At this stage, we don’t know. Potential negligence, maybe some corrupted hospital equipment, which is harming the patients, or potentially⁠—”

“Murder,” Sam interrupted impassively.

“Aye, or that,” I agreed.

“Does anything on the body suggest murder, Sam?” Faye asked in a quiet, cautious tone as she peeked at the body.

Sam took a step away from the body and shook her head. “From what I can see here her death looks natural enough, but in my experience a person’s insides can often tell a different story to their outsides. I think it would be best to run a post mortem to see what I can find,” she said before turning to me. “Do we have permission from the hospital to run tests?”

“I’ll double check, but Dr. Kher said he wouldn’t stand in the way of us doing what we needed to do to get results,” I responded.

“Are you sure her death looks natural?” Faye probed nervously as she looked over Sheila. “She just looks so frail.”

Sam smiled at her. “I know, but nothing about her outward appearance looks suspicious to me,” she said gently. “The woman was clearly suffering before she died, but without tests, it’s impossible to say if any harm was being caused to her.” She went into her case and started rifling through it. “A tox report should hopefully show us more.”

I approached Rebecca and stood next to her with crossed arms. “What are your thoughts?” I probed.

Rebecca pursed her lips as she tucked her short hair behind her ears. “Honestly?” she queried. “I don’t know what I think right now. This could all be a big waste of everyone’s time, but it could also uncover a dark truth about this place.”

“Don’t mince your words, Rebecca,” I said sarcastically as I smirked at her.

Rebecca gave me a small smile in return. “You know me, Sean. I always say it how it is.”

I nodded. “Aye, and I wouldn’t have you any other way,” I said before looking back at Sam. “So, what now?”

“I will quickly confirm I have the hospital’s permission, then do a postmortem on the deceased,” she said as she shut her case and stepped away from it. “Are you happy to watch my case and the body while I ask?”

“Aye, of course,” I said instantly.

Sam nodded, then left us. As soon as she was gone, Faye stepped closer to me and spoke in a quiet tone. “Are we sure we can trust her with this? She didn’t fill me with confidence when she mentioned her superior said this would be ‘good experience.’”

I went to speak, but Rebecca beat me to it. “I think she’s more than capable,” she said, crossing her arms. “I spoke to Hannah, and she did nothing but praise the girl. Hannah wouldn’t have sent someone if they weren’t up to the challenge.”

Faye’s cheeks flushed slightly, but she remained stoic as she nodded agreeably.

Rebecca turned to me. “What’s the plan once Sam leaves with the body?”

“Dr. Kher is rounding up the four nurses who were in charge of Sheila’s care as we speak,” I said, looking toward the door. No one was there, so I turned back to Rebecca. “I plan on interrogating them one by one.”

Rebecca nodded. “Is it okay if I stay here and help? I came in Sheila’s vehicle, and she’ll be taking that and the body with her.”

I glanced toward Faye and saw she was looking at Sheila’s body instead of at us. I’d expected to do the interrogations with just Faye, but now that Rebecca was here, I was glad. While I didn’t doubt for a second I could remain professional around Faye, I knew Rebecca’s no-nonsense attitude would be just what I needed if, even for a second, I let my affection for my daughter cloud my judgement.

“Aye, I would welcome it,” I said.

17

Iwas glad when Sam returned hastily, stating she had the permission she needed to take Sheila’s body for examination. Before leaving, Sam quickly put on some gloves and took swabs from all of the equipment and items around Sheila, including her bed. As she worked, I couldn’t deny that I was impressed with how seriously she took everything. I just hoped one of the samples she took would come back with something. I knew many people had been in the room when Sheila died, so I just had to hope at least one of the samples wasn’t contaminated. Once Sam had finished collecting her numerous samples, we all helped Sam get Sheila out of her room and into the back of her vehicle.

We watched Sam leave before making our way eagerly back inside the hospital. I approached the receptionist, asked him to call Zahir to find out where we were meeting the nurses, and he quickly returned to say that Zahir was holding them in a room close to the one we’d spoken in before. I escorted Rebecca and Faye toward that room, then spotted Zahir lurking in the hallway.

“After speaking to Gary, I knew you must have been on your way. I wanted to be here,” he said helpfully.

“That’s much appreciated, Zahir,” I responded.

Zahir’s brow furrowed slightly. “Obviously I hope you’re wrong about things here, Sean, but if you aren’t… I want my hospital restored to order as soon as possible,” he said with authority as he glanced between the three of us. “This place means a great deal to me, and I won’t see its reputation ruined.”

I crossed my arms and looked intently into Zahir’s dark eyes. “I can assure you, Zahir, I have nothing but respect for this hospital. It took great care of my daughter when she was unwell, and I will never forget that. I will do my job, but I will do so in a way that honours the staff here.” I hesitated. “There may be someone here who has not done their duties, but I will make sure that doesn’t tarnish everything else about this place.”

Zahir nodded approvingly. “I appreciate that, Sean.” He turned to a closed door to his left and sighed. “I guess I should let you get started then.” He went in his pocket, then passed me a laminated card. “This will grant you access to everywhere you need to go, including the room we spoke in before.” He pointed to the door to his left. “The nurses are in here, and I’ve placed a member of our security team inside with strict instructions to only let the women leave at your say so. They were also instructed not to speak or share possible details.”

I smiled at Zahir gratefully. His actions showed me that the man wasn’t all talk. He genuinely did care about this place and wasn’t willing to let anything else go wrong… even if it meant seeing one of his nurses arrested.

I shook Zahir’s hand and gave him a curt nod. “Ta for everything, Zahir.”

Zahir shook my hand and gave me a small smile. “Let’s hope you have nothing to find, yeah?”.

Zahir then left, leaving the three of us standing in the hallway. I turned to Rebecca. “Grab the first nurse for us, would you? Faye and I will get the room set up.”

Rebecca nodded. “Who should I get first?”

I shrugged. “I don’t mind, the order doesn’t matter. Just make the guard aware that the women will need to be separated after they’ve spoken to us. We can’t have them gossiping or giving anything away.”

Rebecca agreed, then entered the room with the nurses. I quickly used the card to unlock the room we spoke to Zahir in and ushered Faye inside.

“Come on, let’s get this room set up quickly,” I said hurriedly. “We’ll set it up like one of our interrogation rooms.”

Faye nodded, and together we quickly moved the furniture about.

“I just realized we don’t have any of our interview tapes or recorders here,” she said worriedly as we lifted a table together.

I smiled at her as I walked backward with the table. “This is more of an informal conversation at this stage,” I responded. “But if something comes up that is more concrete, we’ll take them to the station for a formal, recorded conversation.”

Faye nodded, then together we worked in silence. We placed the chairs around the table—three on one side for the three of us, and one on the other for the nurse—and made sure they were all in the centre of the room. We had just finished moving things when I heard a loud knock on the door. I gestured for Faye to get it, and she moved quickly to let Rebecca and a young nurse in. As I sat down, I took the nurse in.

She was young, likely in her early twenties, and was fidgeting nervously with her pale, thin hands. She had short, brunette hair that she’d tucked back behind her ears, blue eyes that were unusually close together, and a pointed nose. I caught her eye, and she instantly looked away from me.

A nervous woman, or one with an incredibly guilty conscience? I thought curiously.

Rebecca ushered her not unkindly to the chair opposite us. The woman sat down and continued to rub her hands and arms nervously. I waited until Faye sat to my right, Rebecca to my left, before I started.

“What’s your name?” I asked, clasping my hands on the table.

“A-Abigail B-Byrde, s-sir,” she responded shakily.

I glanced to the right of the room and saw a small table with plastic cups near a water dispenser. I leaned toward Faye and muttered in her ear.

“The girl is nervous as hell,” I whispered. “Grab her some water and see if that helps her.”

Faye nodded, then rose from her chair. As she started to get Abigail some water, I looked at the nurse and tried to gauge her, but she was trembling so much it was hard to get a read on her. Faye came back, put the water in front of her, and the nurse eyed it suspiciously.

“Have a sip of water,” I said kindly. “It might relax you.”

Faye had filled the cup rather high, so when Abigail grabbed it with her shaking hands, she accidentally spilled some all over the table. She then slowly took a sip before putting the cup back down.

“Thank you, s-sir,” she said nervously as she fidgeted again.

“Are you Miss or Mrs. Byrde?” I probed.

“M-miss, sir,” she replied.

“Are you alright, Miss Byrde?” I asked with fake concern in my tone, edging myself slightly closer to her across the table. “You seem incredibly nervous.”

Abigail cleared her throat and almost choked. “I-I am nervous, sir,” she said timidly as she sank further into her chair. “It isn’t every day I get s-spoken to by three members of the p-police.”

I nodded. “And do you know why we are here, Miss Byrde?”

Abigail put her hands in her lap. “N-no, sir.”

“How long have you been a nurse, Miss Byrde?” I asked coolly as I placed my hands on the table.

Abigail quirked a fair eyebrow at the question and seemed to relax slightly in her chair. “Just over a y-year now, sir.”

“And do you like being a nurse?” I pressed as I shifted slightly in my chair.

“Very much, s-sir,” Abigail replied, her nervous tone now showing slight signs of joy. “The training was long, b-but it was worth it.”

I smiled. “What is it you like about being a nurse, Miss Byrde?”

Rebecca didn’t react and just sat next to me casually, but I felt Faye stiffening in her seat beside me. I could tell she was growing restless over my questions, but I just hoped she had the sense to keep quiet and let me continue.

“I’ve always wanted to c-contribute to the world in some way, sir,” Abigail said respectfully. “Being a nurse means I get to h-help people, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“It must be hard at times though,” I said sympathetically. “Especially when you see people who are seriously unwell.”

Abigail frowned. “That never gets any easier, sir. I wish we could s-save everyone, but we can’t.”

I grimaced in an understanding fashion. “I bet you often wish there was more you could do to help the ones who are really suffering,” I offered.

Abigail nodded eagerly. “Oh yes, sir!” she said passionately, her earlier nerves suddenly gone. “I’d do anything to help them.”

“Anything, you say?” I asked. “Even so much as, oh, I don’t know, giving them a helping hand to die quicker in order to stop their pain?”

Abigail’s eyes went wide with horror. Her skin was already pale, but at my words, it became another shade paler. “No!” she said, her shaking and nerves returning faster than the speed of light. “I would n-never do anything like that!”

I tilted my head to the side. “Oh, come on, Miss Byrde. You love helping people, right? You just said as much, so why wouldn’t you want to do what you could to stop someone from suffering?”

“Because that’s wrong, s-sir!” she exclaimed in horror. “I would never stop things from taking their natural c-course.”

“Not even for poor Sheila Jonson?” I pressed in fake surprise. “She was really unwell, wasn’t she? In fact, Dr. Kher told me he’d changed her condition to critical only last night.” I edged closer to her, my expression unreadable. “As someone who loves their patients and hates seeing them suffer, I can only begin to imagine how tempting it must have been to end her suffering.”

Abigail started to silently cry. She wiped her face and gave herself a moment to compose herself before continuing. “Sheila was a lovely w-woman and I’m sad to see her go. I wanted her to get better. I always want my patients to get better. That’s not possible if you don’t give them the chance!”

I kept quiet for a moment and looked Abigail up and down. It was hard to tell if her initial nerves were genuine anxiety or fear of being found out, but it was hard to not believe her sincerity when she spoke so passionately about the patients. Could someone who so passionately craved seeing their patients get better really harm them?

“I believe you didn’t go out of your way to end Sheila’s life,” Rebecca said coolly. “But sometimes accidents can happen, you know?”

Abigail’s lip quivered. “What do you m-mean?”

“I get a good vibe from you, Miss Byrde,” Rebecca sighed. “You seem like a good, honest person who values integrity, so you wouldn’t lie to us, now… would you?”

Abigail shook her head frantically. “Never, I swear!”

Rebecca placed her hand on the table and pushed it toward Abigail with a smile. “I know that, Miss Byrde,” she said softly. “Which is why you can be honest with us.” She hesitated. “Hospitals get so busy, don’t they? And there are so many patients to look after. It would be understandable if say one or two patients didn’t quite receive the correct care. You were so bogged down with piles of work.”

Abigail gasped. “No!” she exclaimed, looking between the three of us in desperation. “This place gets busy, I don’t deny that, but I never leave any of my patients unattended! You have no idea how many times I’ve worked triple shifts to ensure I get around to everyone.” She hesitated as she held back more tears. “The patients here are my life. I’d never neglect them or do anything to harm them!”

“I know you wouldn’t want to harm them, but sometimes innocent mistakes can happen, can’t they?” Rebecca questioned sympathetically.

Abigail shook her head again. To my surprise, her eyes went wide, and she looked at us intensely. “I won’t sit here and tell you I’m the perfect nurse,” Abigail said in a slow, bold voice. Her shaking and nerves had been replaced with a fierce determination. “Perfect doesn’t exist, not in this job, but I’m a damn good nurse! I care about my patients, and go above and beyond to help them, so if you’re looking for someone who could ever neglect their care… then you’re looking at the wrong person.”

“Who do we need to look at then?” Faye asked keenly, earning her a subtle look of warning from me.

Abigail looked surprised by the question. “I-I don’t know,” she said cautiously as she sank further back into her chair. “I value all of the nurses and doctors here. I can’t imagine any of them would try to play God or neglect a patient.”

I rubbed my stubble and looked at Abigail. I couldn’t tell if she was an incredible actress or a genuine, caring nurse, but I knew I wasn’t going to get anything else out of her.

I stood up from my chair. “Ta for your time, Miss Byrde. You need to stay in the other room until we are done speaking with your colleagues, and please refrain from filling them in on the sort of questions we asked you today.”

Abigail nodded, looking at me timidly. “Can I ask something before I go, sir?”

I nodded.

“Are you asking these questions because you think someone may have killed Sheila?” she inquired nervously.

“I can’t say much at this stage, but just know we are taking the recent deaths at this hospital very seriously,” I said.

Abigail’s cheeks went pink, and she nodded.

Rebecca stood up and gestured for Abigail to move ahead of her. The two started to leave, but once they got to the door, Abigail turned back to me.

“I don’t believe anyone in this hospital would have done anything to hurt patients like Sheila, sir, but if they have… then please stop them,” she said passionately. “All of the patients here have rights, and I’d hate to think anyone here was using their job to deny them of those.”

I nodded and watched as she left. Once she and Rebecca were gone, I turned to Faye with a furrowed brow. “It’s perfectly fine for you to ask questions, but just be mindful of your tone,” I scolded as I sat down next to her. “I get that you want answers, but you can’t show eagerness or desperation when trying to get them.”

Faye’s shoulders slumped, and she nodded. “I know, Dad. I regretted it the moment the words came out of my mouth.”

I smiled at her and tapped her shoulder roughly. “It’s all in the experience. You’ll get there.”

Faye smiled at me, then looked toward the door, ready for our next nurse to arrive.

Right now, my gut was telling me that Abigail wasn’t our woman, so I just had to hope we’d get somewhere with our next interrogation. The more the day was passing, the more I was feeling certain I was about to unravel a truth that this hospital desperately wanted to remain hidden.

18

In no time at all, Rebecca walked in with our second nurse. This woman also had brunette hair, only this woman’s hair was considerably longer and in a tight bun on the top of her head. It was pulled so tight and to such an extent that it lengthened her forehead. She, like Abigail, also looked to be in her early twenties, only this woman’s face didn’t have the same youthfulness that Abigail’s did. Although it was clear she was a young woman, she had a hard look in her brown eyes that seemed to age her. I didn’t know if it was from her job or her personal life, but it seemed like the woman had already gone through a lot. She was tall for a woman, slender, and tan. She had a bit of tape near one of her nostrils and some on her ears, which I assumed were to cover up some piercings. I caught her eye and the look she gave me suggested she wished she were anywhere but here.

Rebecca ushered her in and gestured toward a chair. “Take a seat, Stella.”

Stella grunted in response and sat down carelessly. As soon as she was in the chair, she crossed her arms and glared at me sulkily. I looked at her for a moment, then I quickly remembered what Zahir had said about her.

Stella sometimes has an attitude.

Based on the way she sank miserably into her chair, having a slight attitude was an understatement.

Sometimes has an attitude? I thought. Try always. The woman’s barely been here a second, and she’s got a face like a slapped arse. She clearly has no respect for authority whatsoever.

Once Rebecca had taken a seat next to me, I decided to speak to Stella.

“I take it you’re Stella Jackson?” I asked.

Stella snorted. “Obviously, Sherlock.”

I felt Faye tense next to me in irritation and from the corner of my eye, I could see Rebecca tapping her knee cautiously.

“Are you married?” I asked.

Stella looked to her left. “Why does that matter?”

“Just answer the question,” Rebecca growled as she leant on the table.

Stella rolled her eyes. “No, I don’t believe in that. It’s a patriarchal institution designed to enslave women.”

I cleared my throat awkwardly, unsure how to reply to her.

“Understood,” Rebecca said coolly as she slid her elbow off the table. “How long have you worked as a nurse, Miss Jackson?”

“Long enough,” she muttered, pressing her back solidly against her chair.

“We need specific answers, Miss Jackson,” I pressed.

Stella clicked her tongue irritably. “Two years. Will that suffice, or do you need the days and hours, too?”

Christ, I thought to myself tiredly. This woman is a right piece of work.

“I see,” I replied. “And do you enjoy being a nurse, Miss Jackson?”

She shrugged, then to my surprise, put her feet up on the table and crossed them. “It pays the bills.”

“You don’t seem that bothered by what you do, Miss Jackson,” I said, hoping the judgement I felt was keeping out of my tone.

Stella shrugged again.

I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Why work as a nurse if you have no real care or compassion for the patients?” I asked in confusion. “I thought this career attracted those who cared for others?”

Stella chewed on her cheek as she bobbed one of her feet on top of the other. “There was a time when I did. When I was at uni and going through my training, I really cared for most of it, but you soon learn you can’t care or grow attached to people if you want to work in this industry.” She hesitated while she looked me in the eye. “People die. Often. And you have to just get used to it.”

I scratched the scar on my lip thoughtfully. I looked Stella up and down, struggling to get a good read on her. Was she being honest and had built a wall to protect herself from getting hurt? Or did she not feel basic human emotions? In most cases, if someone killed, it was because their emotions weren’t the same as most people's. Therefore, they could take a life without feeling any remorse, and something about Stella seemed to fit that bill. The emotional capacity she had could likely fill a teaspoon.

“Do you know why we are here today?” Faye asked.

Stella slowly looked Faye up and down with an expressionless face before shrugging again. “Do I look like I know?” she snapped.

“A few nurses have suggested their surprise at the rise of patient deaths in the last week or so,” I replied evenly, not wanting to give anything away to Stella. “Have you seen anything that has given you cause for concern?”

Stella sighed and shook her head. “Nope. As I said, people die here all the time.”

“The nurses we overheard suggested the numbers have been unusually high for this time of year,” I pressed. “Would you not agree with that?”

“Maybe. I don’t know,” Stella said with aggravation as she slowly pulled her feet off of the table. “It’s a hospital, so when someone dies, I don’t tend to put much thought into it.”

“How about when Sheila Jonson died earlier today?” I asked impassively as I crossed my arms. “Was that unexpected to you?”

To my surprise, Stella laughed harshly. “An eighty-year-old woman croaking it?” she retorted. “No. That was really unexpected. I thought she had at least another twenty years in her.”

“You don’t seem to have any respect for your patients, Miss Jackson,” I said, fixing her with a firm glare.

Stella partially quirked an eyebrow as she gritted her teeth. “Look, I barely had anything to do with Sheila, yeah? I was only put on her ward today. I can’t have seen her more than twice, if that.”

“How did she seem to you during those two visits?” Rebecca asked curiously.

“Like a woman who was dying, that’s what she looked like,” Stella retorted. “I was barely in her room for more than a few seconds at a time. She was just sleeping soundlessly. It was like she was waiting for death or something.”

“You seem very sure she was going to die,” I said coolly.

Stella snorted. “Yeah, it was obvious.”

“I’m starting to wonder if you were so sure she was going to die today because you were the one who made it happen,” I said with authority as I sat up straighter.

I expected Stella to react strongly to my words, either showing some form of upset or shock, but she didn’t. Instead, she looked at me with her thick eyebrows raised high. “What, you think I did something to make her die?”

“Did you?” I pressed.

“I didn’t know the woman, and I barely saw her,” she sighed. “Obviously, it isn’t nice when someone suffers, but she was always going to die at some point, so why would I have done anything extra? She was basically dead already.”

You cold, heartless woman, I thought with disgust. I pray no one I care about ever ends up with you as their nurse.

“For a nurse, you don’t have much compassion,” Faye replied coldly. “Don’t you care at all?”

Stella turned to Faye and tilted her head to the side. “I’ve already told you I don’t. I don’t want to care for people who don’t end up making it. It’s just a waste of emotion and energy.”

“Do you believe anyone here would harm a patient? Maybe even try to stop their suffering?” Rebecca asked.

Stella pouted thoughtfully for a moment. “Abi is an overly emotional woman,” Stella said with disdain. “And Gail can be too. I’ve told both of them several times to not get so attached to the patients.” She hesitated. “But I can’t see them doing anything like what you’re suggesting. They care, but they’re also both goody-two-shoes who like to do things completely by the book.” She scoffed. “I can’t imagine them putting even so much as a toe out of line.”

“So from your perspective, are all of these recent deaths natural?” I pressed unhappily, ignoring her rude comments.

Stella briefly nodded. “Absolutely. I didn’t know everyone who died recently, but the ones I worked with were seriously unwell people. Unless there’s a sicko here who is slowly poisoning people over time to make them unwell, then it’s obviously natural.” She hesitated, looking at me with a quirked brow. “Surely you have tests to figure out that sort of thing without having to ask us, anyway?”

“Oh, don’t worry,” I replied, offering Stella a small, smug smile. “A postmortem is being conducted on Sheila as we speak. If someone had been slowly poisoning her over time, we will find out.”

“I think your tests will come back negative, and you’ll realise you’re wasting your time soon enough.” She stretched her arms above her head. “Can I go now?”

“I will tell you when you can go, Miss Jackson,” I said coldly.

Stella groaned but kept in her chair.

“You have no care about the patients and clearly no respect for any form of authority,” I scolded. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if it was you that was slowly poisoning the patients.” I hesitated, gritting my teeth and looking at Stella in dismay. “And if it is you, then just know we are onto you, Miss Jackson. Our tests will soon show the world exactly who you are.”

“Okay, whatever you say,” Stella said with a yawn.

I gritted my teeth and slowly rose from my chair. “I can’t say I’ve thought much of your behaviour, Miss Jackson,” I said coldly. “I get wanting to keep a bit of an emotional distance to protect yourself, but Sheila was someone’s mother.” I hesitated as I moved my body over the table and a bit closer to her. “She was loved by different people, and I just hope none of those people ever hear or see how cold you’ve been about their loved one dying.” I snarled. “Now you can get out of my sight, but don’t for one second think you’ll be going very far.”

To my surprise, a flicker of what seemed to be guilt flashed through Stella’s eyes as she pulled her gaze away from my own. The guilt went as soon as it came, though, and her face quickly went back to being impassive as she stood up. She looked a bit sheepish before she spoke.

“I take it I’m still going to be imprisoned in that room with the others?” she grumbled.

I scoffed. “You’re far from being imprisoned, Miss Jackson, but aye, you will be staying there until I say so,” I said as I gestured toward Rebecca to get up from her seat to take Stella out.

No sooner had she gone did Faye hit the table loudly. I turned to her, surprised at the happy look on her face.

“What?” I asked, perplexed.

“She has to be our culprit, right!?” Faye exclaimed.

I raised an eyebrow. “Faye, we have no way of knowing that just yet.”

Faye sighed. “I know, I know, we still need some solid evidence, but it has to be her! The woman is a total sociopath who has no empathy or feeling. Classic signs of a killer!”

I rubbed my stubble in contemplation. “Aye, that they are, but there’s a lot more to it than that. We have no proof, and until we do, we can’t be accusing anyone.”

“But, Dad⁠—”

“Besides,” I interrupted sternly. “We have only spoken to two out of our four potential suspects. We would be foolish to come to any decisions before we’ve exhausted all resources.”

Faye huffed irritably, crossing her arms and pouting like she was a teenager again. “Well, I’m certain she’s our killer,” she retorted. “Initially, I wondered if someone was killing patients to stop them from suffering, but after talking to Stella, it’s obvious she’s killing them simply because she can.”

I remained quiet, letting the icy silence fill the space between Faye and I. I understood Faye’s point of view and respected her for following her initiative, but equally she was continuing to show me she still had a lot to learn.

I couldn’t wait until Rebecca returned with the next nurse.

19

It wasn’t long before another young nurse entered the room, with Rebecca following just behind them. Rebecca pointed to the empty seat, and the nurse nodded formally before taking it. This nurse didn’t seem as timid as Abigail, and she sat down more respectfully than Stella had. Once she was sitting in front of me, I was able to look at her properly.

While it was never easy to know a woman’s age, I’d have said this nurse was slightly older than the previous two. She was in her late twenties to early thirties. She had large, brown eyes that shone brightly on her heart-shaped face. Her hair, like the others nurses we’d spoken to so far, was brunette, only hers was tied back in a small ponytail. There were a few light brown freckles spread across her face, and her lips were full and pink. She was slender, but even hidden by her nurse’s uniform, I could tell she was physically fit. It was clear she was a very attractive woman, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if she turned the heads of a few of her patients.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

The nurse cleared her throat slightly before speaking. “Gail Ruskin, sir,” she said respectfully as she moved her chair closer to the table.

“Are you miss or Mrs. Ruskin?” I inquired.

“Miss, sir,” she whispered as she placed her hands on the table and rubbed them slowly together.

I nodded. “Ta for coming to see us, Miss Ruskin. Do you know what it is we are talking about this evening?”

Gail rubbed her face, either from thoughtfulness or nervousness. “Is it anything to do with Sheila Jonson, sir?”

I quirked a brow in surprise. “What makes you think that, Miss Ruskin?”

Gail shrugged slightly. “I was there when she died, sir,” she sighed as she fidgeted in her chair. “I saw you waiting outside, and I wondered if that was connected.”

I made a thoughtful noise in the back of my throat before responding. Either Gail was incredibly intuitive and put two and two together, or she had a reason to believe that we wanted to look into Sheila’s death in the first place.

“Did you know Sheila well, Miss Ruskin?” I asked.

Gail shook her head. “Not really, sir. I only actually met her today. I don’t often work on her ward.”

“Hmm,” I mumbled. “And what did you think of her?”

Gail scratched her face. “It was clear she was very unwell, sir,” Gail said, frowning slightly at the thought. “I haven’t seen someone look that far gone in a long, long time.”

I opened my mouth to ask another question, but hesitated when I heard the sound of loud alarms from outside. I sat up alert and focused in my chair, and Rebecca and Faye mimicked my actions. I turned to Gail with a quizzical eye, and she jumped up from her chair as though it had electrocuted her.

“That’s another code blue, sir!” Gail said with haste, her eyes going wide in panic. “I have to go out there and see what’s going on!”

She went to move quickly out of the room, but I made a loud noise at the back of my throat to stop her.

“Sorry, but I can’t allow you to do that,” I said hastily as I quickly pushed myself out of my chair. “I need you to keep with the other nurses while we check this out ourselves.”

Gail opened her mouth in shock. “Someone is dying out there, sir!” she said breathlessly. “With all due respect, sir, we have the experience to deal with this and you don’t. You can’t take away four nurses when someone is in critical condition!”

“Watch me,” I said, moving toward the door. “You will keep with the others! There are plenty of other nurses in this building. We will see what is going on.”

Gail looked annoyed at the thought, but she didn’t resist as I ushered her out the door, back to the room where the nurses were, and toward the security guard who was standing inside.

“Make sure this here with the others until we return,” I said with urgency as I looked over my shoulder to see Rebecca and Faye moving speedily toward me.

“I will do, sir,” the guard said in a raspy voice as he gently grabbed Gail’s arm and moved her further into the room.

Suddenly, a young blond doctor dashed past us at great speed. I knew he must have been rushing to get to the code blue patient, so after ushering Rebecca and Faye to follow me, I hurried after him. I followed him for a few minutes until I finally saw a hectic-looking room and knew I must have found the right place.

Same as when Sheila was in trouble, I couldn’t see the patient in the room since it was so full of hospital staff trying to help. I noticed that Zahir was amongst the horde and commanding everyone in the room, his face filled with stress and worry. Another young man in a white coat darted into the room, so I stepped aside and kept on the outside near the patient’s window. Faye and Rebecca stood beside me, and together the three of us hopelessly watched as the medical team worked in tangent to save the patient.

“Do you think this patient’s current condition has any connection to our deceased patients?” Rebecca whispered.

I gripped the ledge under the window tightly as I sighed. “I honestly don’t know. My gut is saying yes, but it depends on how these patients are dying.” I hesitated as I turned to face her. “Our four top suspects have been trapped in a room for a couple of hours now, so how could they have been responsible for what is happening nowt?”

Rebecca rubbed her chin and grumbled. “Maybe it is one of them and they’re doing something that slowly kills off the patient over a prolonged period of time. Maybe they’re not trying to cause harm but have been negligent and their negligence has slowly caused their patients to die?” Rebecca shrugged. “I honestly don’t know, either.”

I looked around, feeling deflated. I was hopeful one of the four nurses was connected to Sheila’s death somehow, but now that I was standing in a completely different ward watching another patient die, I wasn’t sure. Was I supposed to look into every nurse that worked on every ward? That would be an impossible task. Maybe I needed to look at each ward previous patients had died on, then see if there was a nurse who happened to be working each time a patient died?

Yes. The latter was always an option, and I knew it was something I’d need to look into as soon as possible.

“Sean,” Rebecca suddenly whispered as she gently gripped my arm.

I didn’t need the sound of the dull, prolonged beep from one of the machines, Rebecca’s tone, or the deflated faces of the staff members to know that the patient must have died.

I turned to Rebecca. “We will see what Zahir has to say, but I think we need to consider this death suspicious until we know anything else. It could easily be a natural death, but I don’t want anyone interfering with this body until we get the chance to ask some questions.”

Rebecca nodded, her eyes shining with determination. The staff members started to walk out slowly, and Rebecca ensured everyone came out and no one else went in. I kept a bit of a distance and held my arm out for Faye to do the same. Eventually, it was just Zahir and two other nurses standing near the body. I was able to get a glimpse of the patient. I couldn’t see much, but it was clear the patient had been male and elderly.

As I waited for everyone to leave the room, I stroked my stubble thoughtfully. A lot of the deceased patients had been at least in their late sixties or older, which made me realise that, if someone was killing these patients, they were purposely targeting older, more vulnerable ones.

I felt a sense of déjà vu as Zahir exited the room, his head lowered in either upset or shame. He saw me and sighed glumly, then quickly asked the two nurses to leave. Similar to before, the staff members instantly respected Zahir’s commands and left. As soon as they were gone, Zahir faced me.

“Another one lost, Sean,” he said dejectedly as he rubbed his face.

“I’m sorry, Zahir,” I sighed as I gently tapped his back. I looked in the room and gestured with my head. “Who was the patient?”

“Fred Bonfield,” he said in the same broken tone. “It was his sixty-ninth birthday yesterday.”

“What was wrong with him?” I pressed.

“He was admitted here over the weekend, complaining about feeling a lot of dizziness and headaches,” Zahir said slowly. “But I never expected him to die.”

I chewed my lip thoughtfully, trying to figure out how to bring up a possible connection to my case without being insensitive, but before I could find the words, Zahir spoke again.

“I’m sorry for not taking you seriously before, Sean,” he muttered. “Nine patients last week, two today.” He hesitated as he looked between me, Faye, and Rebecca. “Something isn’t right here.”

I nodded. “I can assure you my team and I will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of this.”

Zahir gave me a weak smile. “I know you will… I just can’t believe it has come to this. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.”

I turned to Rebecca. “Go call pathology right away, see if we can get Sam to come back as soon as possible.”

Rebecca nodded and quickly walked off.

I looked toward Fred and then back to Zahir. “Do you know who’s been working on this ward today? Are any of the nurses I’m currently holding for questioning connected at all?”

Zahir furrowed his brow before walking off. He walked out of my line of sight, but quickly returned with a clipboard. As he read, he slowly rubbed his forehead and bit his lip.

“It looks like one of the nurses was working on this ward today, too,” he said worriedly.

“Who?” Faye exclaimed.

I turned to her, shot her a warning look, then looked back at Zahir. “Which nurse, Zahir?”

Zahir sighed. “Jennifer Glass,” he said cautiously. “She’s one of our newer nurses.”

I still hadn’t spoken to Jennifer, but after hearing this, I was more curious to speak to her than ever. She was the only nurse who had been working both wings where patients had died, which now made her my number one suspect.

“Has she given you any reason not to trust her?” I asked, stepping closer to Zahir.

Zahir shook his head. “No, not at all,” he said hastily as he placed the clipboard into the hands of a passing nurse. “She’s quiet and keeps to herself, but I just took that as shyness and adjusting to the environment, you know?”

“Is there a chance that since she’s new, she’s been neglecting the patients in her care?” I pressed.

Zahir stroked his thick beard. “I suppose it’s always possible, but we always have more than one nurse check on the patients. Anything she may have missed due to inexperience would have been picked up on by some of our more senior nurses,” he replied, weighing each of his words carefully.

“When you say she hasn’t been here long, how long is that, exactly?” Rebecca asked shrewdly as she stepped closer to us both. She must have finished her call with pathology.

Zahir turned to her and crossed his arms. “I’d say just under four months now.”

“Would you be able to find out if she was working on the wards of most of the patients who died last week?” I asked hopefully, rubbing my neck.

Zahir scratched above one of his thick eyebrows. “Yes, I should be able to access that information… but I don’t want to believe that someone I hired could be capable of hurting another human being, let alone multiple!”

I grimaced. “I understand that, but if she’s hurting people, we need to stop her before anyone else dies.”

He sighed. “Yes, I know, but she has been detained for the past couple of hours. If she did do anything to Fred, then she must be using something slow acting,” he said thoughtfully, seeming to speak more to himself than to me.

“Your medical knowledge could be invaluable here, Zahir,” I said. “Can you think of anything that someone could use like that?”

Zahir bit his lip. “Not off the top of my head, but I can assure you this is something I will research once my shift has ended.”

“I appreciate that,” I said. “Hopefully, the pathologist’s reports on both bodies will come up with some kind of toxin you’ll be able to help us with.”

Zahir nodded. “I hope so too, but I can’t deny that I hope they both come up clear. A small part of me really wants this all to be a coincidence,” he said with a sigh. “These deaths could still be natural.”

I knew there was a slight chance that was the case, but there were too many potential coincidences for me to consider it seriously. In my eyes, something about this hospital was rotten, and I knew I couldn’t give up until I found out the truth.

20

After giving me his personal number and email, Zahir said a pleasant goodbye to both Rebecca and Faye, then left, leaving the three of us to stand protectively by Fred. As I entered Fred’s room, I felt a massive sense of déjà vu once more. This was the second time today I’d stood by a deceased patient, and it felt like it was becoming an unpleasant pattern that I longed to break. As we waited for Sam to arrive, part of me wondered just how many more times we’d be calling her back to take away a body.

I sighed from fatigue and briefly glanced at Fred. Similar to how I felt around Sheila’s body, I felt uncomfortable when I looked at him, so I tried to avoid it as much as possible. His skin was withered, but nowhere near to the extent of Sheila’s. There were many wrinkles on his face and his complexion had already started to turn a ghostly white, but even in death, he looked healthier than Sheila. He was tall and fairly built, and he didn’t look dehydrated the same way Sheila had.

After some time, I heard quick footsteps, and I turned around to see Sam moving swiftly into the room. She had the same large case with her as before, and she smiled at all of us sheepishly.

“Sorry for the delay,” she said apologetically as she thrust her case onto the floor and bent down to open it. “I ended up near the ward we were at before. I didn’t realise this one was in a completely different area.”

I waved my hand, brushing away her apology. “That’s alright, Sam, we just appreciate you coming back here so soon.”

Sam grabbed some forensic gloves from her case and pulled them on. “I must admit, Rebecca had me curious, so I was keen to get back here as soon as I could,” she said earnestly. “I left Hannah with the first body—she’s working on her now—so hopefully we can expedite those results and give you some information as soon as possible.”

I nodded gratefully. “That would be great.”

Sam stood over Fred and started examining him. “I take it we are looking at a near identical situation to the first body?”

“Aye, so it would appear,” I sighed, scratching down my neck. “We were in the middle of an interrogation when we heard another code blue, so we rushed here as fast as we could. The two deaths could be connected, one of them could be sinister, or both of them may be natural, but right now I’m not trusting any death in this place.”

Sam nodded as she worked. “A healthy amount of suspicion is sort of part and parcel in our jobs, I suppose.” She glanced at her watch, then looked back at me. “If you’re still interrogating potential suspects, don't stay here for my benefit. I’m more than happy to continue on my own if you need to get on with things.”

I shuffled on my feet thoughtfully. On one hand, I wanted to hear Sam’s preliminary thoughts on the deceased, but on the other, I knew I had to finish talking to Gail and finally talk to Jennifer. I glanced subtly between Rebecca and Faye and made a quick decision.

I turned to Faye. “I need you to stay here with Sam while Rebecca and I continue speaking to Gail Ruskin,” I ordered as I fixed her with a serious expression. “Make sure she isn’t disturbed when she’s working and do anything you can to help her.”

I could tell from the way Faye’s brow furrowed she wasn’t happy to be missing out on the interrogation, but she swiftly nodded.

I turned to Rebecca. “Come on,” I said gruffly, gesturing with my hand for us to move. “Sam’s right. We need to get a move on here.”

Rebecca stood up and gave me a small smile. “Let’s get going then!”

I smiled back at her, said a swift goodbye to Faye and Sam, then together, Rebecca and I rushed out of the ward and toward our makeshift interrogation room.

“Was there any reason in particular why you asked Faye to stay with Sam over me?” Rebecca asked in a breathy tone as we power-walked.

I grumbled slightly before replying. “Sam wasn’t wrong earlier. We are on a bit of a tight schedule here, so I’d rather have someone with more experience by my side to hurry things along.”

“Is that the only reason why?” Rebecca pressed knowingly.

I looked over my shoulder to give Rebecca a harsh look before facing forward again. “That’s the main reason, aye, but equally, I don’t want to burn her out with so much information so quickly. She’s new to all of this, and today has been more intense and full on than I could have anticipated.”

Rebecca made an agreeable noise in the back of her throat. “Yes, this has turned into something more serious than I expected,” she said begrudgingly. “We still don’t know for certain we have a case here, but it’s certainly seeming likely, especially if that lead doctor is even showing signs of concern.”

There was silence between us for a few moments as we approached the room, but Rebecca soon spoke up again.

“It’s good he’s now willing to help us, at least,” she said with relief as we continued walking.

I nodded. “Aye, it is.”

“I’m glad he’s going to help us, but he seemed hesitant when we first started here,” I said cautiously. “I just hope he means it when he says he’ll look into things.”

Rebecca smiled at me weakly. “I’m sure he’s a man of his word, Sean.”

I nodded again, hoping she was right. As I settled into the room, Rebecca excused herself, then quickly returned with Gail.

“Take a seat, Miss Ruskin,” I instructed.

Rebecca sat down next to me, then Gail slowly approached her own seat. She sat down in it hesitantly, her eyes darting between me and Rebecca.

“What happened?” she asked nervously as she placed her hands on the table. “Who was the patient?”

“A man called Fred Bonfield,” I said candidly. “Does that name mean anything to you?”

Gail looked genuinely surprised as she played with her hands. “No, that isn’t a patient I’m familiar with,” she mumbled. “Is he okay?”

“I’m afraid not, Miss Ruskin,” I replied. “Your colleagues tried their best, but he didn’t make it.”

Gail’s shoulders sank. “That’s another one we’ve lost.”

I quirked an eyebrow curiously. “Another one?” I moved my chair closer to the table and kept my eyes on Gail’s own. “You make it sound like a lot of patients have died here recently.”

Gail rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, not a huge amount, but there have been a few recently, yeah.”

“More so than usual?” I pressed, keeping my tone neutral as I tapped my thumb on the back of my hand.

“I’d say so, yeah,” Gail grimaced. “But deaths can come in unusual patterns in this sort of environment.”

“So this isn’t something you think seems unusual, then?” I asked.

Gail bit her lip thoughtfully for a moment before replying. “No, I wouldn’t say so. I’ve been a nurse for three years now, and have worked in several hospitals, particularly just after I finished my training and I struggled to find a more permanent role somewhere, and in these different institutions I found some days were quiet, and some days were manic.” She hesitated. “This is the sort of job you can never predict how any single day will go.”

“Last week you had nine patients die in this hospital, and today there have been another two deaths,” I continued sharply as I tapped my foot on the floor. “I find it hard to believe that such a high number of deaths is not cause for concern, even in a hospital.”

Gail raised a slender, well-groomed eyebrow at me. “So that’s why you’re here, is it? You’re here to look into our recent death toll?”

I pursed my lips. The woman was clearly sharp, so I knew there was no point in lying to her.

“Aye, that’s exactly why we are here,” I said. “A colleague of mine was here this morning and overheard two of your own colleagues expressing their concerns. Naturally, this made us all very curious.”

Gail nodded. “Yes, for those who are new to this type of work, I could see why it would seem like a worrying number,” she said in a smooth, unfaltering tone. “But to those who have had experience, like me, you soon realise death is just something that you get in hospitals.” She hesitated as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I know that sounds cold, but it’s true.” She frowned slightly. “I still hate it when I lose a patient, but my skin is considerably thicker than it was when I first started.”

“So you’re convinced these recent deaths have been natural, then?” Rebecca inquired.

Gail looked at Rebecca, her mouth gaping open slightly. “Wait, do you think one of us is hurting the patients?” she asked in shock. “Yes. This makes sense now! You consider us suspects!” She scoffed unhappily. “And here was me thinking you just wanted our help!”

I sighed and tried to ignore her look of dismay. “None of this is personal, Miss Ruskin. We just wouldn’t be doing our duty if we didn’t investigate what’s going on here properly.”

Gail’s shocked, outraged expression quickly softened. She sighed, then relaxed in her seat. “Sorry, Detective… I just love my job and the patients so much.”

“I understand that,” I said, pushing my hair out of my face. “We’re not here to accuse anyone of anything, Miss Ruskin. Is there anything you can tell us that could help us with our investigation?”

Gail visibly deflated in front of me. She stuck out her bottom lip, which quivered slightly. “I honestly wish there was, but I can’t think of anything. The patients I know of that died were all really unwell, so I just can’t imagine how their deaths could be anything other than natural.” She scratched her chin. “If it was younger, healthier patients dying, then I’d see the concern, but the patients have all been really unwell, haven’t they?”

I grumbled. “Aye, they have. Ta for your time, Miss Ruskin. You can now go back and join the others.”

Gail stood from her chair and looked between Rebecca and me in confusion. “Can’t I just… go now?” she asked cautiously.

I shook my head as I stood up. “Not until we’ve spoken to all of your colleagues.”

Gail looked unhappy at the news, but quickly agreed.

After Gail was squared away with the others, we took a small breather before grabbing Jennifer. As Rebecca and I sank down into our seats, I was surprised when the door opened to reveal Faye.

“Faye?” I folded my arms and narrowed my eyes. “I thought I told you to keep with Sam?”

Faye stood in front of me with a small smile. “I did, but she’s just left.”

I nodded. “Very well. We finished speaking with Gail, so it’s just Jennifer left now.”

The final nurse.

I couldn’t help but think about what Zahir had told me outside Fred’s room. She was the only one with a clear connection to both patients who’d died today, and I just hoped she would tell us the truth.

21

It was long before Jennifer Glass was sitting in front of me. She had bright ginger hair in a tight plait down her shoulder. Her eyes were green and watery, and she had a small, button nose that complemented. She was a short woman—less than five feet tall—and looked just as slender and pale as Abigail.

“You’re Jennifer Glass, correct?” I began.

Jennifer nodded, but she didn’t speak.

“Would that be Miss or Mrs. Glass?” I asked.

Jennifer gulped slightly. “Mrs. Glass.”

Jennifer was quiet, meaning it was difficult to hear her properly. I subtly moved even closer to the table, and I felt Faye and Rebecca do the same.

“Thank you for agreeing to speak with us, Mrs. Glass,” I said politely, offering her a slight smile, hoping it would calm her nerves.

Jennifer coughed nervously. “No offence meant, but I didn’t believe we had a choice in the matter, sir.”

I barked a slight laugh. “Aye, I suppose you didn’t, but it’s appreciated. Do you know why we’re talking to you and your colleagues today?”

Jennifer slowly shook her head. “No, sir.”

I rubbed my stubble thoughtfully before continuing. “Have you noticed anything different at this hospital recently, Mrs. Glass?”

Jennifer shook her head again. “No, sir,” she repeated in the same timid tone.

“Hmm,” I muttered as I played with my hands. “So there hasn’t been anything that’s caused you any concern? Nothing out of the ordinary in the past week?”

“No, sir,” Jennifer replied, looking stiff and uncomfortable in her chair.

Christ, it’s like talking to a pissin’ parrot, I thought irritably. Either she genuinely doesn’t know much, or she’s purposely playing dumb to wind me up.

“This morning, PC Ellis here–” I gestured with my left hand toward Faye. “Overheard a conversation between two of your colleagues that caused her some concern. There have been eleven deaths in the past eight days.”

Jennifer’s already large eyes grew even wider. She placed a shaking hand to her mouth. “E-eleven?” she asked worriedly. “I didn’t know there had been that many.”

“And would you consider that a normal number of deceased patients in the space of a week at this time of year?” I pressed.

Jennifer lowered her shaking hand slowly. “It’s certainly on the higher end of things, sir.”

“But do those numbers concern you?” I asked intensely as I drummed my fingers on the table.

Jennifer ran her shaking hand over her forehead. “Yes and no,” she said timidly, her voice getting so high-pitched I was worried she was about to burst into tears.

“What does that even mean?” Faye snorted, folding her arms.

I subtly hit my knee against Faye’s, earning me a sharp glare from her.

Jennifer looked between the two of us with a frightened expression. “I-I just meant that, although it i-isn’t nice when we lose patients, it’s something that happens here.”

“In other words, it concerns you when patients die, but the actual cause and reasoning behind the deaths themselves doesn’t concern you in any way?” Rebecca reiterated in an impassive but helpful manner.

Jennifer looked toward her gratefully and nodded. “Yes, Detective.”

I put my fingers under my face and rested my chin on them. “See, to us these numbers are concerning, Mrs. Glass, and some of your colleagues feel the same way.”

Jennifer didn’t respond, just simply sat there and continued to fidget nervously.

“Two deaths happened today alone, and we have reason to believe both of the patients were known to you,” I said frankly.

Jennifer scratched above her eyebrow with a shaking hand. “W-who?”

“Sheila Jonson and Fred Bonfield,” I answered.

Jennifer opened her mouth in surprise. “Wait, Fred is dead?” she exclaimed. “He seemed much better when I saw him this afternoon! I knew Sheila died, but not him.”

I nodded solemnly as I lowered my hands. “Aye, he died around an hour ago.”

Jennifer gently shook her head with a glum expression. “That’s awful!” she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “Poor Fred.”

“I believe you worked on both patients’ wards today,” I stated.

Jennifer looked at the three of us with a confused expression. “Yes, I was,” she replied cautiously. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

I shrugged casually before folding my arms. “It just seems a bit odd that two patients died in the wards you were working today.”

Jennifer scoffed slightly. “Not really. They were both old and unwell.”

“Aye, that may be so, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t speed their deaths along, now does it?” I countered.

Jennifer blanched. “You think they were both murdered!?”

“That I do, Mrs. Glass,” I grumbled as I furrowed my brows. “I also believe some, if not all, of the nine patient deaths from last week weren’t natural causes, either.”

Jennifer rubbed her forehead gingerly. “That’s crazy.”

“As we speak,” I continued. “Someone is checking to see if you had any connection to the nine patients from last week. It would certainly be one hell of a coincidence if they all died under your care, wouldn't it? Maybe you thought you’d end their suffering?”

Jennifer jumped up from her seat, put her hands to the side of her head and shook it wildly. “No! No! No!” she repeated in a morose, frantic tone. “I would never hurt any of my patients!”

“You’re only hurting yourself by keeping the truth from us, Mrs. Glass,” Rebecca chimed in as she stood up herself, leaning gently toward Jennifer.

“I can’t admit to something I didn’t do!” she exclaimed desperately, looking at Rebecca with wide, pleading eyes. “There’s only one nurse capable of mistreating the patients, and that isn’t me! I’ve done nothing but dedicate my life to this job!”

Rebecca cautiously sat back down, gesturing with her hands for Jennifer to do the same. I was relieved when Jennifer didn’t argue and gently sat back down in her chair. Once I gave Jennifer time to relax slightly, I spoke again.

“You said there’s only one nurse capable of mistreating the patients here,” I said in a slow, casual tone as I cracked my fingers. “Who were you referring to?”

Jennifer’s bright eyes darkened. “Stella Jackson,” she replied with distaste.

“And why do you say that?” I inquired.

“You met her, right?” she said with an unhappy head shake. “That woman doesn’t care about anything or anyone.”

“There’s a difference between not caring and having the potential to kill another human being, Mrs. Glass,” Rebecca said shrewdly as she crossed her arms. “What makes you think she’s capable of such a thing?”

Jennifer’s face softened slightly. “She has a massive attitude problem, but I’m not trying to accuse her of anything here,” she said awkwardly as she rubbed her elbow. “I just mean out of everyone who works here… she’s the one who I could imagine, you know? I don’t think Stella is a bad person, but I can imagine her not caring enough to ensure the patients received the right medication or care.”

“So you think the patient deaths could be because of Stella Jackson’s negligence?” I asked.

“Potentially, sir, yes,” Jennifer said as she continued to avoid my eye contact.

I pursed my lips thoughtfully, trying to process everything she’d just said. “There is still the slimmest chance the deaths are due to natural causes, but with the evidence we have so far, it seems like something or someone is speeding things along.”

Jennifer whistled quietly. “I can’t believe it,” she said in shock. “I’ve worked with these people only for a short time, but they seem good. I-I just can’t believe any one of them could have hurt the patients.”

“Except for Stella?” Faye snorted.

Jennifer’s cheeks went pink. “Look, I shouldn’t have said anything about her,” she replied, lowering her head guiltily. “She may not be my favourite person here, but I genuinely don’t think she would purposely hurt anyone. No one here would.”

And yet close to a dozen people have died, I thought bluntly.

“You say you’re innocent, Mrs. Glass, but do you know anything that could help us with our investigation?” I asked. “You’ve mentioned Stella’s potential carefree attitude with the patients, but is there anything else?”

Jennifer shook her head. “No, sir. I’m sorry.”

I nodded. “I think that will be all for now, Mrs. Glass.” I gestured for Rebecca to walk her back to the room. One of us would have to speak to the nurses soon. Once Rebecca returned, she sat down so the three of us could speak.

“What are we thinking, then?” I asked tiredly, moving my chair back slightly so we could all look at one another.

“I think we have plenty of theories, but insufficient evidence,” Rebecca said, crossing her right leg over her left.

“It’s definitely either Stella or Jennifer,” Faye said with certainty as she looked at me eagerly. “Though I’d put more money on Stella.”

I sighed as I rubbed my forehead. “Unfortunately, Rebecca is right,” I said with disappointment. “We have nothing solid on any of them. We have no reason to continue detaining them.”

Faye moved back in her chair in surprise. “We can’t let them all go!” she exclaimed in shock. “This hospital is filled with innocent patients that could be future victims!”

I nodded solemnly. “I get that, but whoever is behind this knows we’re on to them now. We'll just have to hope they hold back while we figure this all out.”

“And if they don’t?” Faye asked sharply.

I clicked my tongue. “All we can do is just hope they don’t do anything else until we get something on them. We can’t continue to hold all four of them without a good enough reason to do so.”

Faye tutted. “I can’t believe this! We have the suspects and we’re going to just let them go!”

“Your dad is right, Faye,” Rebecca said coolly as she tucked her hair behind her ears. “It’s never nice to let people go when you’re convinced they are guilty, but you can’t hold them without evidence, either.”

I grumbled before turning to Rebecca. “Can you go see the nurses and tell them they’re free to go, please?” I said in a slow, tired drawl. “But make them aware we haven’t finished investigating them. If one of them is guilty, we don’t want them lured into a false sense of security.”

Rebecca agreed and left once more, leaving me with an irate Faye. I turned to her and grumbled impatiently.

“I know this doesn’t feel right, Faye, but we have to do things by the book,” I scolded as I slowly rose from my chair.

Faye huffed. “It just doesn’t seem right.”

“At this stage, as far as we know, they may have done nothing wrong, Faye,” I sighed, growing more impatient by the second.

Faye jumped up from her seat, her face filled with fury. “You aren’t seriously suggesting we don’t have a case again, are you?”

I shook my head. “That’s not what I’m saying, Faye,” I said tiredly. “What I’m saying is we have no evidence to prove the deaths are anything but natural. For now, all we can do is wait until we hear from pathology and Zahir and go from there.”

Faye stepped toward me and pouted. “So what, we’re just going to go home and wait until we get some news?”

I shot her a stern look. “Aye, Faye, that is exactly what we are going to do. You might not like it, but that’s how we have to do things.”

Faye looked away from me and stared at the wall. “That might be how you do things, Dad, but I’m not going anywhere,” she said stubbornly.

I gritted my teeth. “You bloody are, Faye!” I snapped. “You are leaving here right now and you won’t be coming back until I give you permission to do so!” I stepped closer to her and turned her to face me. “Is that clear?”

Our conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. “That must be Rebecca,” I mumbled. “I suggest we get going, alright?”

Faye huffed, but nodded.

We met Rebecca at the door, and together we made our way out of the hospital. Not for the first time, my mind worked overtime, and I wondered if there was the potential that the work we were doing here was all for nothing. We’d inspected dead patients, interrogated doctors and nurses, and the thought of having to turn around and admit that we’d done it all for no reason was a hard pill to swallow.

22

Iwoke up the next morning filled with optimism once more. After an exhausting day at York’s main hospital, getting away from the place helped me to regain some confidence that we were soon going to uncover something big there.

I just had no idea what it was yet.

As I had my morning coffee and waited for Lylah to finish getting ready, I allowed my thoughts to stray from the case and onto my wife. I felt guilty that I’d been away from her for the majority of the day yesterday. I knew she was worried about our chances of having a child and, as worried as I was about that too, I knew I had to make sure I didn’t allow those concerns to overwhelm me when there was still a case to solve.

“Lylah, love,” I shouted up the stairs after I’d downed my coffee. “Are you almost ready?”

“Give me a minute!” Lylah shouted back erratically.

I clicked my tongue, then started paced around the bottom floor until Lylah charged down the stairs with a stern expression.

“You always have to get to work so damn early,” she muttered as she finished buttoning one of the cuffs on her white shirt. “It wouldn’t kill us to just get to the station on time one day, you know.”

I smiled at her. “Sorry, love, but I’m eager to see if Sam or Hannah sent over their reports on the two bodies.”

She grumbled tiredly. “I understand, but the results will be there whenever we arrive.”

I pulled her close and kissed her head. “Let’s get going. I promise to make you a nice coffee when we get to the station.”

Lylah looked longingly at our own coffee machine, but giggled as I pulled her out of the flat. For the majority of the drive, there was a comfortable silence between us, but Lylah’s tests were at the forefront of my mind. I had to check in with her and make sure she was okay.

“How’re you feeling after yesterday?” I asked as I stroked her knee. To my surprise, Lylah shrugged.

“Still not feeling overly confident to be honest,” she sighed.

I nodded sympathetically. “Aye, I know it’s hard to know how to feel until you get the results back, but I’m confident that⁠—”

“Wait, you’re talking about my fertility examinations?” she interrupted quickly, chuckling slightly. “I thought you were on about the case!”

I laughed in return, but the laughter soon stopped once Lylah’s face turned serious and concerned.

“I can’t say I’m confident with those either,” she winced.

“Did the doctor give you any idea how long it could take for them to call you?” I asked.

“No, she didn’t,” she said gloomily. “I just hope they won’t keep me waiting for long.”

“Same here, love,” I whispered. “But no news is good news, as they say.”

Lylah nodded stiffly.

There was silence again until I broke it a few minutes later.

“So you aren’t feeling confident with our case then?” I asked shrewdly.

Lylah’s face turned pink. “It just doesn’t seem like we have a lot of evidence, that’s all.”

“Not yet, no, but I feel like something is wrong there, Lyles,” I said, gripping the steering wheel tightly with frustration. “I don’t know what, but that place is hiding something.”

“For once I hope you’re wrong,” she said earnestly as she stared out of the window. “I’m trusting that place with my results. It would be awful if it was completely corrupt. I guess all we can do is wait and see what pathology has to say.”

“Aye, and Zahir,” I added quickly. “He said he’d look into some things for me.”

We arrived at the station, and I parked up outside of it. A quick glance around told me we were the first ones to arrive, as usual.”

“I can’t believe no one else turned up half an hour early!” she exclaimed sarcastically, turning to me playfully. “Can you?”

I rolled my eyes light-heartedly and gently hit her arm. “Ha ha, very funny.”

We got out of the car and walked into the station together. Once we were inside our department, I instantly walked into the kitchen and put the kettle on.

“A coffee for my beautiful wife, as promised,” I said cheekily as I walked away from the boiling kettle to get milk from the fridge.

Lylah snorted as she walked toward her desk. “I still have no idea how I got so lucky,” she said sarcastically.

“Aye, I don’t know how you got so lucky either,” I said with a smirk.

Once I had everything ready to make a drink for me and Lylah, I quickly unlocked and entered my office so I could turn on my computer and let it load while I finished our coffees. As soon as I got back to our department, I smiled when I saw Mae had arrived.

“Mornin’, Hodge,” I said gruffly. “Fancy a tea or coffee?”

“Good morning, sir,” Mae said in her usual emotionless tone. “A coffee would be great, thanks. Would you like me to make them?”

I waved my hand to brush her away. “Nah, I’ve already started.”

Mae thanked me again, then walked to her desk. She hung up her bottle green jacket on the back of her chair, then leant against it to face me. “How did yesterday go, sir?” she asked curiously.

I exhaled thoughtfully. Mae had gone home by the time I’d returned to the station last night, so she was the only member of the team who hadn’t been there to hear my debrief of the day. “It was long and not overly rewarding,” I said, grabbing a third mug for Mae. “Two patients died while we were there, but as of yet, there’s no way of knowing if those deaths were natural or not.”

Mae nodded coolly before turning to face her computer. She entered her login information, then turned back to me. “I take it we haven’t heard from pathology yet?”

I picked up Mae and Lylah’s coffees, then walked over to the two women with them. “I haven’t checked my emails, but I’m going to look at them as soon as I’m done here.”

I put one coffee down next to Mae’s computer and the other next to Lylah’s. She gave me a grateful peck on the cheek as I put it down.

With my barista duties finished, I walked toward my office and hastily settled behind my computer. After an agonising minute, my computer accepted my login details, and I quickly opened my emails. I felt hopeful when I saw several new emails in my inbox, but that hopeful bubble burst almost instantaneously when I saw that it was mostly junk.

I sighed irritably and took a long sip of my drink. As I hadn’t heard from pathology, I decided to call Zahir to see if he had any information for me. I waited patiently as the phone rang, tapping my fingers gently on my desk as I waited, but I grumbled irritably when it went right to voicemail. I debated on hanging up, but decided to leave a quick voicemail.

“Zahir, it’s DCI Sean Ellis,” I said. “Give me a call when you get this, please. Ta.”

I then hung up the phone, grabbed my mug, and exited my office. Once I entered the department, I gave a half smile when I saw that the rest of the team were there. Rebecca was sitting at her desk, and Elijah and Nadia were chatting in the kitchen next to a boiling kettle.

I moved into the centre of the room and cleared my throat loudly. “Mornin’, all.” I took another sip of my coffee, then looked around at everyone as they offered me their salutations. “Right, so yesterday didn’t go quite as well as we hoped, and I’ve yet to hear from pathology.” I hesitated as I downed the rest of my drink. “I’m not going to sit around and wait for them to get back to us, so I’m going to go visit them myself and see if they can talk to me in person.”

“Excellent idea, sir!” Elijah said supportively.

Nadia nodded approvingly next to him.

“What about the doctor?” Rebecca asked curiously as she crossed her right leg over her left. “Have you heard from him yet?”

I shook my head. “No, not yet,” I said unhappily. “I just left him a voicemail though, so hopefully he’ll get back to me soon.” I looked around at everyone. “Does anyone have any other questions?”

The team remained silent, so I looked at my watch. “Right, I’m going to head straight off and see Hannah and Sam. The sooner we get the reports, the quicker we know where we stand.”

I glanced around the team, wondering if I should take anyone with me, but stopped when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I hastily pulled it out and made a happy noise when I saw that Zahir was calling me back.

“It’s the doctor,” I said quickly before hitting accept. “DCI Sean Ellis speaking.”

“Sean, it’s Zahir,” Zahir said energetically. “I just listened to your voicemail. Sorry for missing your call. I was with a patient when you rang.”

I walked away from the department and toward my office. “That’s alright, Zahir,” I said. “I was just checking to see if you have any news?”

“Actually, I do,” he replied, his tone sounding almost begrudging.

“Go on?” I pressed, leaning against the outside wall of my office.

Zahir sighed. “This might not mean anything, and I still back my team one hundred percent.” He hesitated for a second, then continued. “But I looked into the patient deaths from last week and was surprised to see that Jennifer had worked on most of those wards, too. If you need specifics, I can email them to you.”

I rubbed my stubble thoughtfully. Jennifer had been working where both Sheila and Fred died yesterday, and now there was a connection to some of the other dead patients. Surely that couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Ta for passing this information on,” I said gratefully. “Do you have anything else you can share with me?”

“Unfortunately not,” Zahir said guiltily. “I’ve been busy, so I only had the chance to look into the wards for you. I did try to think about how someone could be slowly harming the patients, but I couldn’t think of anything that wouldn’t show up right away on your pathologist’s reports.” He paused. “If there isn’t anything on the reports, then it isn’t likely that anyone here had anything to do with it.”

I nodded to myself. “Aye, that makes sense. I appreciate your help, Zahir.”

“Anytime, my friend,” Zahir said fondly. “Please don’t hesitate to call me if there’s anything else I can do.”

We both hung up our phones, and I marvelled at the change in Zahir. In the span of a day he’d gone from adamant that there was nothing wrong with his hospital to showing a clear willingness to help me in any way possible. It was good to know that I could count on his help if this investigation were to continue.

I entered the department again and put my phone in my pocket. “Well, that was surprisingly informative.”

“Yes?” Rebecca asked keenly, moving her chair closer toward me.

“Jennifer is certainly a person of interest,” I explained as I stroked my stubble. “She worked on the wards of both patients that died yesterday, and apparently worked on the wards with several patients who died last week. Zahir said he can email us exact details if we need them.”

Rebecca nodded hastily. “Yes, I think he should definitely give us the information.”

I nodded back. “Agreed. I’ll give you his email address and you can email him while I give pathology a visit. Let’s just hope that⁠—”

“Sir,” Lylah interrupted in a loud but timid tone.

I turned to her and quirked a brow. “Aye?”

“Sorry to interrupt you, but pathology just emailed us their reports,” she said happily. “So that should save you a trip.”

“Everyone get to their computers and open those reports!” I commanded as I stepped toward Rebecca. “We need to read them immediately!”

There were numerous mutters of agreement as everyone moved around at a quick pace. As I wanted to keep with the team, I stood over Rebecca so I could read the reports over her shoulder. I crossed my arms and tapped my elbows impatiently as Rebecca went into her emails. As she worked, she tutted and spoke to me.

“You know, your constant tapping and heavy breathing is rather off-putting,” she said sharply.

I snorted. “Just shut up and get the reports, will you?”

Rebecca grumbled and found the email from pathology. I pointed to the attachments at the top. Hannah and Sam must have worked through the night to look over both Sheila and Fred.

“Look at Sheila’s first,” I commanded.

“Yes, mein Führer!” she replied sarcastically.

I clicked my tongue impatiently, but gave Rebecca some space as she opened up the report. Once it was open, I moved close again, and we put our heads together to read it. I read the report a few times to ensure I had the correct information, but with each read, I grew more infuriated.

There was nothing suspicious in her tox report. All of her organs seemed to be in good order for her age, the tissue and blood samples were normal, and the outside of her body didn’t demonstrate any signs of damage. Based on the report, the pathology team strongly suggested her death was due to natural causes.

No, I thought to myself in disbelief. This can’t have been for nothing!

I rubbed my face harshly. “Open the next one.”

Rebecca nodded slowly and opened up Fred’s report. After several minutes of reading and rereading his report, it was apparent it was the same as Sheila’s.

“Are you all seeing this?” Nadia sighed as she moved her chair around to face us all.

“Yes,” Mae said coolly as she ran her hands through her delicately braided hair. “The reports indicate the two deaths are natural.”

“Where does this leave us, then?” Elijah asked, fidgeting in his chair.

I felt all eyes on me, and I sighed unhappily. “The only thing we have is Jennifer Glass’s connections to the deceased patients, but with the postmortems indicating natural deaths, then I think it leaves us with limited information.” I hesitated as I crossed my arms. “Without any evidence, we don’t have a case.”

The team looked around at one another in confusion. Mae turned back to me and spoke first. “So, what, the case is now closed then?”

I looked away from her thoughtfully, my mind racing. Without any evidence, the logical thing to do was close the case, and yet part of me wasn’t ready to yet. Jennifer was our last remaining link. We had to look into her.

“Not yet,” I said stubbornly as I stepped closer to her. “We know Jennifer was on the ward of each patient who died, so I suggest we do some research into her and find out if we can reveal anything that will keep this case open.”

“So we are literally putting all of our eggs in the Jennifer basket?” Lylah asked glumly as she twiddled her long blond plait around her fingers.

“Basically, aye,” I grumbled. “I’ll need to go update Faye. Are all of you happy to look into Jennifer while I’m out? We can discuss your findings when I return.”

Everyone agreed, so I quickly made my way out of our department. I grabbed my phone and called Faye, knowing the news I was about to present her with would likely go down like a lead balloon.

23

After a quick chat with Faye, we’d agreed to meet at a small, independently run café that was close to her station. I didn’t want her to be pulled too far away from her work. The café was only a twenty-minute drive from my own station, so I knew I’d be able to get there quickly. I just had no idea what I planned on saying to Faye once we were together.

She’d been so sure of this case from the very beginning, so the thought of telling her that the postmortem reports on Sheila and Fred came back with nothing was soul destroying. Unless the information on Jennifer led somewhere, we were going to have to make a tough call on this case.

In no time at all, I reached my destination and quickly parked up outside of the café. The café was called Dark Side Brews, and it wasn’t until I went inside that I realised the place was clearly Star Wars themed. There were several illustrations and fake props from the franchise spread around the place. As I gazed around, I felt surprised that Faye had suggested this place. I’d never known her to be into sci-fi, but maybe her interests had expanded since living with Becky.

I pulled my eyes away from some lightsabers and a few random helmets attached to the wall when I noticed a young man approaching me. I saw that he was wearing a Star Wars t-shirt, which led me to believe he must have been a member of staff.

“Good morning,” the man said happily, holding his arms out wide as though he wanted to hug me. “Are you sitting in or taking away?”

I glanced around the room quickly and noticed Faye was already sitting at a table to the far left of the room. Once I caught her eye, she raised her hand in greeting, then gestured to two mugs at the table. I nodded approvingly, then turned back to the man.

“That’s my daughter over there,” I replied as I pointed behind him. “I’m joining her for a drink.”

The man nodded. “Enjoy your drink, sir, and may the force be with you.”

“Erm, ta,” I said gruffly as I stepped away from him and walked toward Faye.

I approached her with a slight smirk, pointedly staring at our surroundings.

“Interesting choice of location to meet, love,” I said with surprise as I pulled my drink toward me. “I never took you for a fan.”

Faye laughed. “I met Becky here once for a drink and the coffees were actually insanely good. I still don’t have a clue what any of the references mean, but the drinks are to die for.” She pointed to my drink. “I ordered you the Luke Latte, so hopefully you’ll like it.”

I snorted and pointed to her drink. “What’s yours, then? A Leia?”

“Actually, it’s a Chewbacca cappuccino,” she smirked.

I took a sip of my drink and quirked an eyebrow in surprise. Faye was right, the drinks here were delicious. “Damn, that’s not half bad,” I said as I smacked my lips. “Have you already paid for these?”

Faye nodded, and I clicked my tongue. “You shouldn’t have got mine, love,” I said disapprovingly. “I’ll transfer the money for it later.”

Faye snorted. “Chill, Dad! I can afford to spend a few quid, you know. I’m not completely destitute.”

I thanked her again, then for a moment we sat in awkward silence. I knew we had to talk about the case, but I wanted to gently bring it up. I decided to talk about other things before Faye jumped in first.

“How is Becky, anyway?” I asked. “Except for dragging you to cafes for expensive drinks.”

“Yeah, she’s doing well, thanks,” Faye said warmly as she stroked the side of her mug. “Things are still going really well with her.”

I smiled. “That’s good, love. You know I think the world of her.” I took a sip of my drink, then continued. “You’ve been together a while now. Have you thought about marriage at all?”

“Jesus, Dad!” Faye exclaimed in embarrassment, her cheeks and neck burning red.

“What!” I smirked at her. “I’m just showing an interest, love.”

Faye sighed. “I love Becky more than anything, but we’ve both agreed neither of us will propose until we’re both in a good financial position.”

I nodded approvingly. “A good idea, love. Coming from someone who has forked out for two weddings, I can tell you they aren’t exactly cheap.”

Faye laughed. “Yeah, hopefully you won’t be getting married again.”

“I don’t plan on it,” I said with affection as I pushed my hair back. “Lylah is good for me.”

Faye nodded. “She really is!” She hesitated for a moment, her face faltering slightly. “She’s okay, though, isn’t she? I’ve been worried since I saw her at the hospital yesterday.”

I waved my hand through the air as though to brush away her concerns. “Aye, she’s fine, love. It was just a check-up.”

Faye nodded, leaving an awkward silence between us. I sipped at my drink again, knowing I’d have to bring up our findings, but Faye beat me to it.

“So what have you got to tell me?” she pried. “You said on the phone we had some updates to discuss!” Faye took a sip of her cappuccino, then put it down, giving me an eager look.

I ran my finger along the rim of my mug awkwardly before replying. “Aye, we received the reports from pathology, and I had a phone call with Zahir.”

Faye grinned as she clutched her mug with both hands. “And?”

“Well, Zahir suggested Jennifer had been working with most of the deceased patients,” I said nonchalantly, not wanting to get Faye’s hopes up. “Not all of them, but most.”

Faye slammed her hand on the table dramatically. “I knew it! I thought it would be Stella, but I knew someone was doing something dodgy!”

I sighed and took another sip of my latte. “Not quite, love,” I said cautiously as I gently put my mug down. “It shows she was there, but it doesn’t give us any evidence of wrongdoing. She is a nurse, after all, so we can’t argue a case against her purely on the fact she was there.”

Faye huffed. “I thought you didn’t believe in coincidences, Dad?”

I smirked slightly. “No, I don’t, but I do believe in evidence, and I know we can’t make a case without it.”

Faye furrowed her brows and looked at me sternly. “What does that mean?”

“It means with that alone we have no case, Faye, but I have got the others doing some digging into Jennifer,” I said, warming my hands on my mug.

Faye’s irritable body language quickly shifted. “Well, let’s hope they’ll find something then.” She took another quick sip of her cappuccino, then looked at me. “What about the reports?”

I pushed my hair back uncomfortably. “They didn’t come back with anything, love.”

Faye tilted her head in surprise. “They must have shown something, Dad.”

“Aye, they did… they showed that the deaths look to be from natural causes,” I sighed as I fidgeted in my chair.

Faye shook her head and crossed her arms unhappily. “No, that can’t be right. They’ll have to do the tests again. They’ve obviously missed something!”

I furrowed my brows and moved my chair closer to the table. “Faye, Hannah and Sam are good, qualified pathologists,” I said, clearly annoyed. “You can’t question their work just because the results didn’t come out how you wanted them to.”

“Watch me,” Faye muttered under her breath. “Sam even admitted she was new, so she easily could have made a mistake.”

“We both know that’s not a fair comment to make.” I crossed my arms and scowled at her. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but right now all we have to go on is looking into Jennifer, and if we can’t find anything on her… then we have to close this case.”

Faye gawped at me. “We can’t just give up!”

“We knew from the start there was a potential this case would come to nothing, Faye,” I scolded. “And right now, the evidence is telling us these people died naturally.”

“You might be ready to give up, Dad, but I’m not!” Faye said snappishly. She grabbed her mug, and her hands shook slightly as she downed the rest of its contents. “Something is going on in that place and I won’t stop until I find out what.”

“You’ll have no choice but to stop if the others find nothing on Jennifer,” I said sternly as I pulled my own mug closer to me.

Faye shook her head. “No. I need this, Dad! I need to do well and show my team how capable I am!”

I squeezed the bridge of my nose and sighed. “Here you go with the ego boost again,” I muttered unhappily. “You care more about standing out than you do about what’s happening in that place, Faye.”

Faye stood up quickly from her chair. “I should have known you wouldn’t believe in me, Dad, but I’m going to show you and everyone else I was right about that place!” she exclaimed angrily. She grabbed her jacket and threw it on. “Just you wait and see!”

“Faye, wait!” I said quickly, jumping up from my chair to watch her storm off.

Faye didn’t look back. I watched as she slammed the door behind her and charged out of sight. I swore angrily, then finished the rest of my drink. I could understand Faye’s disappointment, but I didn’t want her to risk her job by holding onto this case. Faye still believed we had a case, and I hated the fact that I did, too.

I just had to hope that when I got back to the station, the others would tell me they’d found some evidence against Jennifer… something that would crack this case wide open. If they hadn’t, I knew I’d have to slam it shut.

24

She was relieved that those persistent detectives had finally left her alone. The woman should have been scared that the detectives were clearly looking into the dead patients, but she wasn’t. She knew how careful she was, how methodical she was, and there was no way they were able to trace any of the deaths back to her. She had worked hard to perfect her techniques, and she knew that any postmortems the detectives requested would come back with nothing, making the deaths seem natural. Potassium chloride was fast acting and hardly traceable in postmortem blood specimens. The worst it could do was elevate the potassium levels slightly, but the chances of that still showing in the body by the time it was analysed would be slim to nil.

She felt safe and secure in what she was doing, and the only emotion she felt was eagerness to kill again. She’d already looked through the patient charts and was happy when she found her next victim.

Hector Ivan. Fifty-four years old and on life support after a nasty fall left him nearly for dead. The fall may not have killed him, but she was soon about to.

The thought was enough to excite her as she walked cautiously toward his ward. The angel of death had been held back for a few hours, but now that she’d been released, her wings were spread and she was ready to send another soul away.

As she walked, she ignored the small, nagging thought in her head that told her she would be wise to hold off for at least another day or two. And yet… she couldn’t stop even if she wanted to. The thrill was too high, too exhilarating. There was no way she could ignore its call. The detectives were gone now, and she just had to hope it would remain that way.

Her smile widened when she reached the ward of her next victim, but it flickered unhappily when she saw how busy it was there. She approached a young nurse and chatted warmly with her for a few minutes, subtly looking around as they spoke to see if people were moving away from the ward. Once she was confident everyone else was gone, she made her excuses to leave the nurse and walked casually past Hector’s ward. She looked around to ensure the coast was clear, casually retraced her steps, then entered Hector’s room.

She closed the door behind her, then softly stepped toward the window to close the blinds. Her hand moved to one of her pockets, hovering over the needle hidden inside of it. With great difficulty, she moved her hand away and slowly approached Hector. As she walked, she went into another pocket, pulled out some gloves, and put them on. She stood over Hector and looked down at him.

Hector looked surprisingly well for a man who was inches away from death. He had color in his cheeks, which made him look as though he was still full of life. His balding head had black and grey wisps at the top, and his large ears had some hair growing out of them. She could tell that Hector had slowly been losing muscle mass since being bed bound, judging from his arms and torso, but apart from that, he looked good. He didn’t look dehydrated or like he was fighting to live. For a man in a coma, he looked surprisingly healthy.

Too healthy, she thought with slight trepidation. This is a much riskier kill. He could still recover from this with time.

The woman hesitated for a moment, tapping her hips anxiously as she looked down at Hector. Her mind was torn between leaving here and finding a less risky patient, or committing to the job she’d set out to do. She knew she should go for the sensible option, and yet she craved the danger.

Risky option or not, she was here now, and she was going to do what she set out to do. She put her hands in her pockets and pulled out the needle and the small vial of potassium chloride. She looked around her cautiously, smiling when she couldn’t hear a sound from outside, and poked the needle into the top of the vial. She pulled the needle’s plunger back to ensure it was filled with the vial’s contents. As the needle filled, the woman leered at it gleefully, her hands shaking from anticipation.

She felt the adrenaline pumping through her veins as she held Hector’s IV and inched the needle closer and closer toward it. She was ready to put it in, but stopped when she heard the door opening behind her. Fear quickly took over as she stood there with the needle in place. She knew there was no getting away from this, knew there was no way she could lie her way out of it.

She’d been caught red-handed.

“What on earth are you doing?” a deep, male voice asked her.

She turned around slowly to see Dr. Kher standing in the doorway. He’d already closed it behind him and was looking at her in dismay, his arms folded tightly.

She kept still as the doctor approached her. Once he was in front of her, he drifted his hand toward her.

“I told you it was too dangerous to do this now without me,” he said warmly as he gently brushed the side of her face.

The woman smiled at him affectionately. “Forgive me, Doctor,” she simpered as she let him pull her close.

He pressed his warm lips on hers, and the two embraced passionately. After a long, intense kiss, he pulled away from her, a wry smile on his lips.

“If you need to do it, then do it now, and quickly,” he urged as he glanced at the door. “We can’t stick around here long.”

The woman smiled back and slowly put the needle back into the IV. She then quickly pushed the plunger and watched as the potassium chloride gradually left the needle and entered the slim tube. Once it was done, the doctor gently grabbed the needle from her hand and placed it into one of his pockets.

“I’ll dispose of the evidence,” he said, holding out his hand. “Give me the vial.”

She licked her lips as she passed him the empty vial, and he quickly shoved it into his pocket.

“We have to get out of here,” he commanded as he roughly ushered her out of the room.

“Oh, I do love it when you get rough with me, Doctor,” she cooed.

Dr. Kher snickered behind her. “Then wait until I deal with you later,” he whispered seductively as they exited Hector’s room.

Once they were outside, they both subtly looked around to ensure no one else was watching them. When they were certain the coast was clear, they casually started walking away together.

“Thank God Fred died when I was being detained,” she whispered out of the corner of her mouth as they walked. “The timing couldn’t have been any more perfect.”

Dr. Kher smiled at her. “You’re welcome.”

The woman hesitated, looking at him with wide eyes. “That was you?” she asked, her tone impressed.

Dr. Kher shrugged casually and gestured for them both to keep walking. “Of course. Did you really think I was going to let them take away the woman I love?”

“Dr. Kher, who knew you were such a romantic!” she giggled.

Dr. Kher smirked.

They walked in silence for a minute or two before the woman spoke again. “Is that male detective going to be coming back soon?”

Dr. Kher shook his head. “I highly doubt it,” he whispered as he subtly stroked her upper back. “I’ve made him think we’re practically friends now, so he trusts everything I have to say.”

The woman laughed. “Excellent! With that man out of the way there’s nothing stopping me!”

Dr. Kher awkwardly cleared his throat. “Us,” he corrected quietly. “We’re a team now, remember?”

The woman huffed slightly, but agreed.

Dr. Kher poked her playfully in the ribs. “Don’t tell me DCI Ellis’ presence concerned you?”

The woman shot him a glare. “I’m no fool,” she snapped. “That man isn’t an idiot, and he was getting close to figuring me out. Luckily, with your help, he should now be off my scent for good. After all, who would suspect York’s finest doctor?”

“It depends on what way you mean finest?” he asked flirtatiously, winking at her when he was sure no one was looking.

The woman giggled again. “In more ways than one, Dr. Kher.”

The doctor looked at her longingly and sighed. “We’ll have to keep our distance for a while. At least until after the patient has passed.”

The woman frowned. “But I’m keen to do it again,” she muttered hungrily.

The doctor sharply shook his head at her. “No, it’s too risky, especially with Ellis on to something.”

The woman quirked a playful brow. “Now who’s afraid of the detective?”

The doctor gave her a weak smile. “I’m not afraid either, but like you, I know a good detective when I see one. He’s caught numerous killers for a reason.”

“True, but he won’t be catching us,” she said, smiling at him confidently as she started walking away. “Until next time, Doctor.”

She walked away from him, a wide smile in place. She couldn’t say she had any real love for the man, but he was a good person to have by her side. She knew she could rely on him to protect her. The fool had far too much of a heart when it came to her.

25

As I drove back to the station, I couldn’t get Faye’s look of betrayal out of my mind. She was my daughter, and I owed her the truth. I just never expected her to take it so badly. I knew her well enough to know she was never going to take the news well, but I hoped the conversation would have ended with her at least understanding my point of view. Instead, she had to kick off.

Bloody girl, I thought irritably.

Although I’d told her to go back to her station, I saw the fire in her eyes and her desire to solve this case, so I knew it was very likely she would ignore my request. She had too much of me in her to give up now.

I sighed miserably, hoping that when I arrived at my station, the others would tell me they’d found enough on Jennifer to lock her away for good.

I soon approached the station and parked up outside. I walked at an average speed from my car, past the reception, and up toward my department. My hopes weren’t high about what my team would have to say, but for the sake of Faye and the patients at York Hospital, I wanted something.

I pushed open the door to my department and frowned slightly when I saw that everyone was talking leisurely among themselves instead of getting any work done. I stepped heavily into the room and glanced between everyone.

“Nice to see we all look busy,” I said, crossing my arms.

Rebecca sighed as she walked back to her desk and sat down. “Relax, Sean. We’ve all done what you’ve asked of us.”

I stepped toward her eagerly. “And?”

“We can’t say for a fact she isn’t doing something to the patients, but nothing we found out about her supports that,” she sighed. She swivelled her chair toward her desk, where she grabbed a notebook to read off of. “She’s worked at York Hospital for four months, and although that’s a short period of time, there’s never been a single complaint against her. If anything, she’s often been praised for taking on extra shifts and having a good attitude.” She hesitated as she read. “She moved to Nottingham when she was eighteen and studied nursing there. During her studies, she worked at one of Nottingham’s big hospitals for around two years⁠—”

“The Nottingham hospital,” I interrupted quickly as I moved closer toward Rebecca. “Have you looked into that place? There’s always the potential she was doing something when she was there.”

Rebecca pursed her lips in annoyance, so I gave her a sheepish grin for interrupting her.

“As I was about to say,” she continued snappishly. “Nadia and Smith looked into the hospital and found no irregular patterns during the time she was there. So if she is doing something to the patients, she only started recently.”

Lylah cleared her throat and stepped toward me. “I looked deeper into York Hospital too, sir, and this odd pattern of deaths has only started recently. If Jennifer is behind it, she must have had a good two years before she decided to change her behavior towards patients.”

I rubbed my stubble in contemplation. Jennifer had been a model student when she studied in the midlands and had behaved well at York Hospital until relatively recently. If Jennifer was our culprit, then why now? Why did she decide to start either neglecting or harming the patients after spending years training to become a nurse? Was she simply exhausted after training for so long? Had something traumatic happened that changed her, or was she simply not the person we were looking for?

I grumbled. “What about her personal life? Was there anything there that raised any alarm bells? Perhaps a recent death or tragedy that could have triggered this change in her?”

“Well, Mae and I looked into that, but we didn’t find anything worth mentioning,” Nadia said timidly as she tapped her fingers on her knees.

Mae nodded agreeably beside her. “Yes, by all accounts, she just seems to be a normal girl. She’s been married for a few years, and lives with her husband, who she seems happy with.” She hesitated. “She just has a normal house and a normal life.”

“Aye, well, most killers seem nice and normal on the outside,” I said as I pushed my hair back. “That’s how they get away with it for so long.”

Nadia gently stood from her chair and put a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I’ll make you a tea, Sean. You look like you could use one.”

I tapped her hand gratefully, then once she stepped away, I walked toward Rebecca and sat in a chair near her.

Rebecca looked at me sympathetically. “I take it that things didn’t go well with Faye?”

I snorted. “You got that right. She stormed off and said she wasn’t ready to give up yet.”

“And you are?” Rebecca asked me with a quirked brow.

I sat up straighter as I shook my head. “Hell no. We still have one thing to try before we call it a day.”

“What’s that, sir?” Elijah asked curiously.

“We may have found nothing on Jennifer, but we still have three other nurses to do some research on,” I said with a smug smile.

Rebecca smiled in return. “True, and Jennifer did say she thought Stella a likely culprit.”

I nodded. “Aye, and Faye thought the same. But it’s best if we look into all of them to be on the safe side.”

Mae cleared her throat awkwardly. “What do we do if we find nothing on any of them, sir?”

I rose from my chair and gratefully took the mug that Nadia had started to walk over with from her hands. I then turned to Mae with a serious expression. “Regroup and figure out if there is anything else we can do. And if there really is nothing else, then we will have to consider the case closed.”

The team all glanced around at one another apprehensively.

I grumbled. “Aye, I don’t want that to happen either, so let’s focus and put everything into researching these nurses! Rebecca and I will look into Abigail Byrde. Smith and Ellis, you two look into Stella Jackson, and Nadia and Mae can look into Gail.”

While everyone moved to pair up at their desks, I moved even closer to Rebecca. “Ready for this?”

She nodded eagerly as she typed in Abigail’s name, then turned to me sheepishly. “I want us to find something, but what if we’ve been on a wild goose chase for the last two days? What if the deaths have genuinely all been natural, and we’ve been hounding the hospital and their staff? They could put in a complaint if they feel we’ve dealt with this unfairly.”

I furrowed my brows. “I have no concerns about that, actually. Zahir seems a good bloke, and he hasn’t for one second suggested he will put in a complaint about us. Besides, we haven’t exactly harassed or been rude to any of the staff, have we?”

“True,” Rebecca replied apprehensively, her eyes now glued to her screen. “I hope you’re right about Zahir.”

I watched her typing as I slowly sipped my tea. If I was being perfectly honest with myself, even I wasn’t completely convinced about Zahir. Although he’d stepped up in the end, he was unusually vague and hesitant to assist us at the start of the investigation. Was that simply because he was trying to protect his hospital, or was there more to it than that?

I sighed as I chewed the inside of my cheek thoughtfully. Usually I always followed my gut, but I’d been overly hesitant in this case. I’d questioned my feelings over the doctor and the nurses we’d spoken to. I’d battled with the idea that we were making a case out of nothing on more than one occasion. This was all out of character for me. I always trusted my instincts and was strong about any decision I made, even if everyone else disagreed with me.

Deep down, I knew the reason was likely because the involvement of my daughter had clouded my judgement. It was hard to listen to my gut and trust myself when I was too busy worrying about Faye. Over the last two days, my thoughts and feelings had been up and down more times than a yo-yo. One moment I was convinced the deaths looked natural, the next my gut was screaming at me to pay attention, that something seemed out of place.

“Right, so what do we know about Abigail Byrde just from talking to her?” Rebecca asked as she continued to scroll on her computer.

I finished taking a sip of my tea. “We know she’s in her early twenties, that she’s been a nurse for around a year, and that she enjoys the job. That’s about it.”

Rebecca slowly nodded as she continued looking at the information on her screen. “Well, this isn’t coming up with much else,” she said bitterly as she tapped her finger irritably on her mouse.

I moved closer to her and read what was on her screen. There was silence for several minutes as we read through everything we could. I was disappointed, but not surprised, when we found nothing incriminating on her.

Abigail still lived with her parents, had finished her training at York Hospital just over a year ago, and was quickly offered a permanent position due to her good work ethic. Lylah had already looked into the death toll at York Hospital, so we knew there wasn’t a sudden rise in deaths from the moment Abigail started working there, and she didn’t have any form of criminal record either. On paper, Abigail was another model nurse who seemed an unlikely suspect.

From the frown lines on Rebecca’s forehead, I knew she was as frustrated as I was.

“Two nurses down, two more to go,” I muttered unhappily as I put my mug down and rose from my chair.

Rebecca sighed. “Most people who become nurses genuinely are decent people, so it’s not surprising that we are finding more good than bad. If anything, that’s good, right? Who would want to get cared for by a group of nasty men and women?”

I smirked slightly. “True, but none of this helps us right now.”

Rebecca stood up as well, patted my shoulder, and gestured toward the others. Together, we walked closer to their desks.

“Right, so our search into Abigail was a bust,” I said bitterly as I approached Lylah. “Please tell me you and Smith had more luck with Stella?”

Lylah and Elijah looked at one another sheepishly.

“Well?” I pressed impatiently, folding my arms and looking down at the two with a severe expression.

“We didn’t find anything helpful, sir,” Lylah sighed.

Elijah nodded. “We know she’s been a qualified nurse for two years. She studied at York university, did her training at York Hospital, so we know she hasn’t been anywhere else.”

“Aye, so we know she’s not likely done anything like this before,” I said, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “What else have you got?”

“Apparently, during the end of her training almost two years ago, she had to deal with a tragedy at home,” Lylah replied. “Her dad was killed in a car accident and was taken to the hospital when she was working, but he was dead before anyone had the chance to save him.” She hesitated. “Several of the doctors have commented on how it changed her and made her more distant, but she’s still good at her job.”

I grimaced sympathetically. Stella had seemed cold and uncaring, but now it seemed like that was because she’d lost someone dear to her.

No wonder she doesn’t like to get close to anyone at work, I thought sadly. She likely associates that place with death.

Rebecca rubbed her neck and made a thoughtful noise in the back of her throat. “Could this be a possible connecting factor? Stella sees her dad die at the hospital, so now takes it out on others.”

I grumbled. “Aye, maybe, but if that were the case then why start now?” I asked, unconvinced. “Surely she’d have started around the time her father died, not a couple of years later?”

Rebecca grimaced and tilted her head from side to side. “Yes, I suppose so. I’m just throwing ideas out there, that’s all.”

I squeezed her shoulder. “And it was a good one, but I don’t think the death of her father is her villain origin story.”

Elijah scratched his face and mumbled. “Well, then that’s it to be honest. Her father’s death was the only thing of note we found. Everything else seemed okay.”

Lylah moved her chair forward. “I mean, she’s had a couple of complaints about her attitude from friends or family of certain patients, but not many. Plus, they were both from over a year ago,” she said awkwardly. “So probably not relevant.”

I sighed unhappily. “Aye, probably not. I met the girl and can easily see why she received some complaints, but a poor attitude doesn’t make someone a killer.”

Rebecca patted my back reassuringly as I turned to face Nadia and Mae.

“What did you find on Gail Ruskin, Nadia and Hodge?” I muttered, my voice and body drained. “Anything dodgy in her personal life?”

Mae clasped her hands together and looked at me with a stoic expression. “Not that we could find. She lost her mother to cancer several years ago, but apart from that, she seems to have a relatively good life.”

“Though we are still looking,” Nadia added hastily as she rubbed her forehead.

I huffed irritably. “Anything on her at all that was interesting? Or do you need more time to look?”

Mae scratched her neck contemplatively and looked at Nadia. They gave each other an uncertain look before Mae looked back at me. “Actually, there is something. We were about to start looking into it further when you came over, sir.”

“What is it, Hodge?” I inquired.

Mae hesitated, as though trying to figure out how to word things. She looked to Nadia, but Nadia gestured reassuringly to Mae for her to take the lead. Mae smiled at her gratefully before turning back to me. “I know nurses tend to go through training and work at different institutions, but it just seems like she’s worked at a lot of different hospitals. She’s never at one for a long period of time.”

Suddenly, I remembered that during my interrogation with Gail, she’d casually mentioned working in several hospitals over her four years as a nurse. At the time, I thought nothing of it, but now I was wondering if there was a reason behind this quick turnaround.

I gazed around the room. “Everyone, jump on this right away!” I turned back to Mae and Nadia. “How long has she worked at York Hospital for?”

“That’s another odd thing, Sean,” Nadia replied. “She’s only been there just over a month.”

Alarm bells quickly rang in my head and my gut rose to the surface, roaring loudly. Gail had barely been at York Hospital a few weeks before the death toll started to rise. Surely that couldn’t be a coincidence?

I glared around at everyone. “Are you all deaf?” I asked irritably. “Get on it, you lot!”

Everyone turned around hastily to their screens while I ushered Rebecca back to her own. As we moved toward her desk speedily, I felt Rebecca vibrating with anticipation.

“This could be something, right?” she asked hopefully.

I nodded, trying to keep my optimism from getting too high. “Let’s hope so, as it’s all we’ve got left.”

Rebecca mumbled under her breath as her fingers rapidly started hitting keys on her keyboard. In no time at all, she had Gail’s work records up and we were able to see the different hospitals she’d worked at. All of them had been around or close to Yorkshire, and as Mae had pointed out, all had been very short stays.

Rebecca frowned. “Her references are annoyingly good. All of her previous employers seemed to really rate her.”

I huffed. “Aye, but maybe they didn’t notice what she was getting up to,” I said as I rested my chin on my hand. “Let’s look into each hospital she worked at, starting from her university training placement, and see if we can find any form of pattern.”

Rebecca agreed. From Gail’s records, it was clear she did her nurse’s training at Pontefract Hospital when she was eighteen. Rebecca, to my satisfaction, worked efficiently and got the information for the hospital. She scrolled to the records from the year Gail started, and I grumbled disappointedly when I saw that the number of deaths during her time there didn’t seem unusually high.

“Nothing overly suspicious here,” Rebecca muttered disappointedly.

I huffed. “Aye, but let’s keep looking.”

We looked at the next hospital she worked at, which was just after she’d finished her training. She worked at the Huddersfield Hospital for half a year, so I gestured with my hands for Rebecca to quickly pull the information up.

“You know, you could do this on your own computer,” she grumbled as she continued working.

“Aye, I could, but then I wouldn’t be with you, now would I?” I countered.

“Oh, it must be hard being at the top, mustn't it?” she asked sarcastically, scrolling on her computer.

I snorted. “Very.”

Rebecca gave a half smirk, but retained her focus on her screen. She eventually found hospital records for the time Gail worked there, and we both froze when we saw that the death toll during that time did seem slightly higher.

“This could be something, right?” Rebecca asked cautiously as we analysed the figures.

I frowned as I rubbed my stubble. “Aye, it really could be. Let’s keep looking. We need to establish a pattern.”

Rebecca went back to Gail’s files. “Right, so it looks like she worked at three other hospitals before York. Castle Hill Hospital, Harrogate District Hospital, and Barnsley Hospital.”

“Let’s continue going in order, so Castle Hill first,” I commanded.

I waited with bated breath as Rebecca found the records from the correct time, and as we looked at them, my blood ran cold. There was a clear rise in deaths during that time too, and even higher than Huddersfield Hospital.

“Christ,” I muttered as I inched my face closer to Rebecca’s screen.

Rebecca didn’t speak. Instead, she moved speedily to look up the records from the other two hospitals. My concern only increased when we read the information on Harrogate District and Barnsley. With each hospital she worked at, the death roll seemed even higher during that time. I looked at Rebecca, and from the intense look she gave me, I knew she was feeling as concerned as I was. Anytime Gail worked at one of these hospitals, there was a suspicious rise in deaths. There was no way in hell that was a coincidence.

“How could she have been getting away with this for so long?” Rebecca asked with worry. “I know a lot of these deaths could be natural, but she could have killed dozens of people!”

“Aye, but why?” I asked. “Is she simply a terrible nurse, or is she trying to help those who are struggling? I mean, in her own twisted way. Or⁠—”

“Or is she just one of the worst killers we’ve ever come across?” Rebecca interrupted with dread as she anxiously rubbed her face. “Christ, Sean! This is worse than anything I could have imagined.”

“Get your jacket,” I said as I shot up from my seat. “We are going back to that hospital right now.”

Rebecca’s eyes shone brightly as she nodded. She didn’t speak, but she pushed out of her chair hastily and charged toward the coat rack.

“Have you all finished?” I addressed the rest of the team. They turned to me, nodding. By their grave expressions, I could tell that they’d uncovered the same thing we had.

“Right, it’s clear you’re all thinking along the same wavelengths as me and Rebecca!” I said as I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “This girl has left a pattern of death wherever she’s been.”

“Not in Pontefract though, sir,” Elijah said hesitantly.

“Aye, but she was likely only getting started then!” I countered. “There’s no way everything else can be a coincidence. We need to get her in immediately.”

“The sooner the better,” Nadia said agreeably.

“I need you all to keep here and keep alert,” I said with authority as I put my hands on my hips and looked between their faces. “This girl has to be guilty, and we have no idea how she’s killing these patients or what she’s capable of.”

Elijah pushed himself out of his chair and stepped toward me, his brow furrowed with concern. “Don’t you want to take one of us with you, sir? Surely it’s better to have more of us there?”

I shook my head. “The more people we bring, the more Gail will be aware we’re onto her. I’ll go with Rebecca, and I’m going to call Faye, too. She deserves to be there for this. She believes in this case more than any of us.”

Elijah looked disappointed about being left behind, but nodded.

I saw Rebecca was ready, so I rushed toward her. I looked back at the team, gave them all a reassuring smile, then gestured to Rebecca for us to get going. As we charged out of our department, I grabbed my phone and started to call Faye.

She had been there from the beginning, and I knew she had to be there at the end.

26

We ran down the stairs and past the reception. As Rebecca held the door open for me, I felt concerned over the fact Faye still hadn’t picked up her phone. Throughout the case, she’d always answered instantaneously, so my mind worked overtime about her absence.

Had she ignored my requests to leave things alone and gotten herself into some trouble at the hospital? Had she somehow found out about Gail and decided to confront her on her own? The thoughts were terrifying, and I knew I had to speak to her as soon as possible.

The phone stopped ringing, and I swore as I climbed into the passenger seat of Rebecca’s car.

“That bloody girl isn’t answering,” I said in a frantic whisper as I started to call her again.

Rebecca turned on her ignition as she grimaced at me sympathetically. “She’s probably just busy at work or something.”

I took a deep breath as I put on my seatbelt. I hit Faye’s contact details again, feeling immediately worried when the phone continued to ring.

Pick up, Faye. Pick up! I thought nervously.

I sighed with relief when Faye finally answered the phone.

“What?” Faye asked irritably, as a greeting.

“Faye!” I exclaimed. “Thank Christ you answered.”

“What is it, Dad?” she asked, showing a clear bite in her tone with each word she uttered. “Calling to check up on me?”

“Not at all, love,” I said. I glanced at Rebecca, saw she was now driving us out of the station, and returned my focus to the phone. “Where are you?”

Faye scoffed in aggravation. “See? You are checking up on me!”

I sighed, knowing I didn’t have the time for her petulance. “Look, Faye, I need you to drop the attitude and just listen to me, alright?”

Faye, to my surprise, kept silent. I could feel her curiosity radiating through the phone, so I spoke again quickly.

“When I left you I spoke to my team to see if they’d found anything on Jennifer, and they told me⁠—”

“They told you they couldn’t find anything, so now you’re calling me to tell me it’s all over, right?” she interrupted. “Typical.”

I grumbled impatiently. “Just listen to me, for once!” I snapped. She was silent for a few seconds, so I spoke again. “Aye, they found nothing on Jennifer, but I knew how much this meant to you, so I wasn’t going to just give up on it! We researched the other nurses, and we did find something suspicious.”

“What?” Faye exclaimed.

All signs of her previous petulance had vanished, and I knew she was focused and ready to work.

“Gail Ruskin,” I replied. “It turns out she had frequent stints at various hospitals in Yorkshire, and anytime she moved on, she left a wave of death in her wake.”

“Is that enough to class as evidence?” Faye asked worriedly. “You said we wouldn’t get anywhere without some.”

“It gives us reasonable grounds for suspicion, and that’s certainly enough to bring her to the station for questioning,” I replied.

Faye hesitated. “So, are you on your way to bring her in?”

“Aye, we are,” I said. “Want to meet us either at the hospital or back at my station? A lot of this is down to you, Faye. You should be there when we question her.”

Faye hesitated again. At first I was worried her hesitancy was because I’d hurt her with my hot and cold behaviour over the case, but she suddenly spoke. “I’m actually already on my way to the hospital, Dad. Don’t be annoyed! I just… couldn’t give up on this.”

I chewed my cheek irritably, but knew now wasn’t the time to scold her. “We will meet you there, alright?”

“Okay, Dad,” she said, sounding a bit relieved. “I’m only a few minutes away, so I will go in and see if I can find her while you⁠—”

“Don’t you dare do anything until we get there! You hear me?” I interrupted in an urgent tone. “That girl is dangerous, and we don’t know what she’s capable of.”

Faye huffed. “I’m capable of handling myself, you know?”

“I know that, love, but I’ve been in this profession a hell of a lot longer than you. Even I wouldn’t dare to confront her without backup,” I said seriously. “Please, just listen to me and wait for us.”

Faye sighed. “Okay, Dad. I will.”

She quickly hung up the phone before I could reply, leaving me feeling worried. I hoped Faye would heed my warning, but I knew how determined she was to prove herself. I’d seen many good officers meet their demise because of their own ego or desire to prove themselves, and I’d never forgive myself if that fate befell my own daughter.

Rebecca turned to me and touched my knee sympathetically. “We will be at the hospital soon, Sean.”

I nodded nervously. I swallowed, but my mouth had gone so dry the act was more of a challenge than it should be. As Rebecca drove, time felt like it moved at a snail’s pace, and all I could do was think about Faye charging into that hospital and into danger.

After another agonising ten minutes, Rebecca finally pulled into the hospital. The hospital’s car park was busy as usual, so I swore repeatedly under my breath as we struggled to find a space.

“If we don’t find one soon, we’re leaving the car anywhere we can!” I exclaimed in frustration as I gripped my hair. “I don’t care where it goes, but we have to get inside.”

Luckily, at that moment Rebecca spotted a car leaving, so she raced in that direction and zoomed in front of another car to get the spot. The driver in the other car looked angry, but I shot them a sharp glare and the man had the sense to quickly drive away from us.

The moment Rebecca was in the parking space, I was climbing out of her car and charging toward the main entrance. To my surprise, Rebecca caught up with me and held me back.

“What the hell are you doing?” I snapped, ripping my arm out of her grasp. “We have to get in there!”

I started to move, but Rebecca grabbed me again.

“Think it through, Sean!” she said in a quiet, harsh tone. “Right now you’re thinking like a parent. Not like a detective.”

I pulled away again. “I don’t have a bloody clue what you’re on about, but we are wasting time here!”

“What did you just say to Smith, Sean?” Rebecca spat. “You told him not to come because you didn’t want to raise suspicion, yet you’re running in there guns blazing!”

I stopped hesitantly, realising she was right. I was so concerned about ensuring my daughter’s safety that I didn’t stop to think about how my erratic behaviour could jeopardise the case.

I sighed. “Sorry, you’re right. I need to calm down.”

“We need to go in there and not do anything that will risk spooking Gail,” Rebecca said quietly as she walked at a slow pace, gesturing for me to do the same.

I nodded, walking slowly next to Rebecca. “Aye, right now she doesn’t know we’re onto her, and we need to keep it that way. I just pray Faye listened to me for once and not run in there.”

We reached the hospital’s main entrance, and my stomach dropped when I saw Faye wasn’t standing there.

“Where is she?” I hissed under my breath as I subtly looked around.

“Maybe she isn’t here yet?” Rebecca whispered.

I shook my head. “Nah, she was ahead of us. She’d definitely be here by now,” I said with quiet dread.

Rebecca sighed. “All we can do is go in there and hope Faye hasn’t given anything away.”

My back went up slightly at her words. I knew Rebecca was thinking about the case and the job, but my daughter’s life could be at stake. She was speaking about her as though she were a mere nuisance. I bit the inside of my lip in irritation but held my tongue, unwilling to get into a fight with Rebecca when I knew we needed one another right now.

We entered the main entrance of the hospital, and as we walked, I continued to look around for Faye. My fear increased each moment she was still nowhere to be found.

What have you done, Faye? I thought with worry as we approached the receptionist. Why couldn’t you have just waited like I asked?

The receptionist looked at me nervously, but he relaxed slightly when I smiled at him.

“Good afternoon,” I said as I flashed my badge. “We are waiting to meet our colleague. Have you seen her?”

The man quirked a brow, but nodded cautiously. “Yes, sir,” he said as he pointed just behind him. “She went that way around ten minutes ago.”

I hoped the anxiety I felt didn’t show on my face as I nodded coolly. “Excellent.”

I walked away slowly with Rebecca. Once we were away from the receptionist, I looked at her with concern. “That bloody girl must have gone off to find Gail!” I said with quiet fury as we walked.

Rebecca nodded. “I suggest we split up and try to find them both.”

“Aye, I agree,” I whispered as I rubbed my face. “But if one of us finds them, we contact the other right away, alright? No one acts until they’ve got back up with them.”

Rebecca patted my arm agreeably, then veered off to the left, leaving me to take the right hallway. For around fifteen minutes, I moved cautiously around the hospital, keeping my eyes peeled for any sign of Gail, Faye, or danger, when I saw something that made me hesitate.

In one of the wings, I saw a patient’s room with the blinds closed. All the other patient rooms I’d seen had their blinds open, which made me wonder if Gail had perhaps spotted one of us wandering around and ran in there to hide. I grabbed my phone, ready to call Rebecca, but hesitated.

The room could easily just have an unwell patient, or one who craved privacy. I didn’t want to jump the gun by asking Rebecca to get there.

I sent her a quick text informing her of my suspicions, then put my phone back in my pocket. I didn’t want to act or do much without Rebecca’s support, but I had to open the door to see if there was anything to find. With slight trepidation, I approached the door, opened it, then hesitated in the doorway at the sight in front of me.

Gail was in the room with her side turned to me. In her gloved hands she held a needle, which she was angling toward the IV sticking out of the patient’s arm. It only took me a few seconds to collect the full picture and realise what was going on here.

We were right. Gail was doing something to kill the patients, and I’d just caught her red-handed. She was about to kill again, and I knew I couldn’t let that happen.

Gail was so transfixed on what she was doing that she hadn’t noticed me enter the room. I hadn’t wanted to confront Gail without backup, but after seeing the patient in danger in front of me, I knew I had no choice. Gail’s hand moved cautiously toward the IV, so I called out to stop her.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Gail,” I shouted.

Gail turned to me, her eyes wide in surprise. The needle dangled close to the elderly woman’s, so I took a slow, vigilant step forward.

“Drop the needle and step away from the patient,” I said in a calm tone as I took another step forward. “It’s over now, Gail.”

Gail continued to stand there for a moment, her features looking both scared and confused, but after a few seconds, she had the sense to lower the needle. She didn’t put it down, but I was happy to see it was no longer an immediate threat to the patient.

“Good,” I whispered, taking yet another step toward her. “Now I need you to put it down, then step away, alright?”

“Why would I do that?” she asked coldly, her hand gripping the needle tighter. “This needle is all I have to stop you from getting near me.”

I sighed tiredly. “It’s over, Gail,” I repeated as I took another cautious step toward her. I held my hands up passively, so she knew I wasn’t a threat. “You’ve been caught. Face your punishment.”

To my surprise, Gail laughed. “No,” she said with a wide smile. “I’m not going anywhere, Detective. If you take another step toward me, I will kill this patient.”

Gail raised the needle again and gripped the woman’s arm, angling the needle toward the IV once more.

I hesitated for a moment, subtly looking at my surroundings and trying to figure out what to do. I couldn’t do anything that would put the patient at risk. I had to stall and figure out a way to stop her and save the patient.

“Why are you doing this, Gail?” I asked with concern, keeping my hands in the air where she could see them as I took another subtle step closer.

Gail shrugged, her hand still tense on the needle. “Why does it matter?”

“I’m just curious, that’s all,” I replied as I shuffled my feet on the floor. “Did it grow too hard to watch people suffer? Are you trying to help them?”

I felt cold as she laughed at my words. The hairs on the back of my neck went up, and it felt like all the warmth in the room had gone. Her laugh was so blunt, so emotionless, I was shocked to hear it coming from her mouth.

“You really have no idea,” she said with a small smile.

I stared at her in surprise for a few seconds before I recovered. I then took a step to my left and jerked my head toward the door.

“You want to get out of here, right?” I asked, my hands still high in the air defensively. “And I want to protect the patient. If I step aside and let you go, will you promise not to hurt them?”

Gail’s eyes flitted quickly between me, the patient, and the door. Her eyes were filled with suspicion anytime they were on me, but I kept my features stiff while she had an internal battle with herself.

“You aren’t going to just let me go, we both know that,” she said as she twiddled the needle in her fingers.

“Aye, you’re right,” I said, stepping further away from the door. Gail furrowed her brows in surprise at my honesty, but I continued. “Once I know the patient is alright, I’ll stop at nothing to find you, but right now my priority is the safety of that woman. I’d rather let you go now so I can chase you down later than let that woman die.”

Gail’s brow furrowed hesitantly, but she took a cautious step away from the patient. She held the needle in front of her like a weapon, pointing it toward me. “Try anything stupid and this will be for you instead of her, got it?”

I kept my hands up and nodded. “Aye, I’ve got it.”

She kept her eyes on me as she moved slowly toward the door, but when she took another step, I hastily turned my head toward the door and gasped, acting as if something outside shocked me.

My gamble paid off as Gail quickly tore her eyes away from me to look nervously at the door. I took that moment as my opportunity and quickly dove through the air and grabbed Gail around her legs. Gail tumbled to the floor. As she fell, her hand let go of the needle. She tried to hastily grab it once more, but I harshly pulled her away and rolled her onto her front. Gail groaned in pain as I pulled her up from the floor. I sighed in relief at the sight of the needle far away from her. I held her hands behind her back with one hand while the other reached for my handcuffs.

“I’m going to cuff you, then take you to the station for questioning,” I said with authority as my left hand went toward my belt.

My hand was halfway there before a voice made me hesitate.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Sean.”

27

Ilooked up and saw Zahir standing half in and half out of the door. His expression was flat and unreadable.

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What are you on about, Zahir? I’ve found the person responsible for killing your patients! Help me arrest her!”

I gawped in surprise as Zahir simply laughed at my words. “Let her go, Sean,” he said with a slight smile. “I can’t let you take her away.”

I was quiet for a moment, then the cold reality hit me.

Zahir knew it was Gail all along.

He’d been lying to me throughout the investigation in order to protect her. But why?

“How can you be alright with this, Zahir?” I asked in disgust, jerking my head toward the patient who was laying ill and vulnerable in her bed. “You took an oath to protect the patients in your care, and now you’re letting this woman kill them?”

Zahir walked slowly into the room and my eyes went wide with fright when I saw why he’d been lingering in the doorway. Once he was inside, I could see he had his other arm around Faye, a needle pressed closely to her throat.

I growled angrily. I shoved Gail forward so that we were closer to Zahir, but maintained a firm hold on her. “Let her go, Zahir,” I hissed, ignoring the moan of pain that came from Gail as I gripped her wrists tightly in my fury.

I looked at Faye’s pale, frightened face. She didn’t cry, nor did she speak, but she kept perfectly still and faced me. I knew she was trying hard to be brave, and the sight was breaking my heart.

Zahir smirked at me. “I saw your lovely daughter wandering the halls, Sean. When she saw me, she was only too eager to ask me where Gail was. I had a strong feeling you must have figured it all out.” He turned to look at Faye and leered at her. “I told your precious girl to come with me, that I’d help her if she told me what was going on. It was just my luck that she happened to be as trusting as her foolish father.” His smile widened. “She told me everything.”

I snarled and pulled Gail closer to me, taking a step back from Zahir. “Don’t you dare hurt my daughter, Zahir!” I exclaimed, my body shaking with fury. “If you do, you'll live to regret it.”

“I don’t want to hurt your daughter, Sean,” he said calmly, using his free arm to stroke Faye’s own. “That’s the last thing I want.”

“What do you want, then?” I asked angrily, fighting the urge to lunge at him for daring to touch my daughter.

“I have a proposition for you,” Zahir said with a manic grin as he stepped further into the room.

“I have no time for games,” I snapped, pulling Gail backward so there was more space between us all. “Not when you’re threatening my child.”

Zahir laughed, pulling Faye tighter. “This is no game, Sean. It’s a simple trade.”

The sight of her pressed up tightly to him made me feel sick.

Zahir took another step and pressed the needle closer to Faye’s neck. “You let go of Gail and give her to me, and I’ll let go of your precious daughter,” he said with a leer. “That way, we both get what we want.”

I scoffed as I pulled Gail closer to me. “And what, Zahir? You two run off and just leave me and Faye unharmed?”

“Yes,” Zahir answered, his other hand tightening on Faye’s arm. “That’s exactly what will happen.”

I spat. “Do you seriously expect me to believe if I let go of Gail you won’t do anything to my daughter?”

Zahir smirked. “I thought you trusted me, Sean?” he asked smugly.

I growled. “Aye, I did, and as you’ve already pointed out, I was a bloody fool to do so,” I growled, shaking my head in aggravation with myself. “I won’t make the same mistake twice. Especially not when my daughter’s life is at stake!”

“Just kill her, Dr. Kher!” Gail shouted, her body trembling with anticipation against my own. “Do it! Do it now!”

Zahir shot her a look. “Patience, my love,” he whispered. “If you want to get out of here, we need to keep her alive.”

I didn’t know what to do to keep Faye safe, but I knew I had to buy some time while I figured it out.

I shook my head in disgust. “You’ve dedicated your life to this career, Zahir, and yet you’ve given up everything you’ve worked so hard for what, exactly?” I asked. “Your behaviour makes no sense.”

Zahir’s eyes moved to Gail, and they shone brightly. “For love, Sean,” he said earnestly. “For love.”

I grimaced. “You mean to tell me you knew Gail was killing your patients and you let her… because you love her?” I asked in horror. “That’s insane.”

Zahir sighed. “Clearly you’ve never fallen in love, my friend.”

I shook my head again. “Aye, I have, and it was never like this,” I said in revulsion. “The people I love aren’t killers. They never made me forget everything I worked so hard for. They didn't make me go against oaths that I’d⁠—”

“Don’t listen to him!” Gail snapped as she struggled pointlessly against my hold. “He’s trying to get in your head! To turn you against me!”

Zahir glared at me. “Don’t worry, my darling, nothing he could ever say would turn me against you.”

I grumbled. “You’ve known the whole time, haven’t you?”

Zahir shook his head. “No, not the whole time. I found out near the end of last week.”

“And instead of doing something to stop her, you just let her kill innocent people?” I asked in revulsion as I gripped Gail’s wrists tighter.

Zahir tilted his head from side to side thoughtfully. “Gail was only targeting patients who likely wouldn’t have survived anyway,” he said, stroking the needle against Faye’s throat. “I never would have let her kill healthy patients.”

“Aren’t you a martyr, Zahir?” I scoffed. “Your hands are as unclean as Gail’s. If you don’t know that, then you’re a fool.”

To my surprise, a flicker or what looked like sadness or guilt flashed across Zahir’s handsome features. “I’ve had to do some things I'd rather not have. I’ll admit that, but I have no regrets.”

For a moment, I looked at him, trying to figure him out. It didn’t take long before I understood what he was hinting at.

“You’ve killed patients yourself?” I asked in a quiet, disbelieving tone.

Zahir frowned. “Only one,” he said defensively, his hold on Faye tightening. “You had the woman I loved confined in that room. I couldn’t let you figure out the truth and take her away from me.”

Gail snarled. “Shut up, you idiot!” she snapped. “You’re giving too much away!”

It took me less than a second to realise he was confessing to the murder of Fred Bonfield. Zahir was clearly a love-struck fool to allow Gail to commit such atrocities, but I couldn’t deny how shocked I was to realise he’d gone so far as murdering a man himself to protect her.

“Fred was a good, innocent man, Zahir,” I said, frowning at him. “You’ve dishonoured this hospital and everything you’ve loved by committing murder.”

Zahir shook his head. “No, Sean! I did what I had to because of you!”

I scoffed, my eyes focusing on the needle still pressed closely to Faye’s throat. “You can’t blame me for your own actions, Zahir,” I said coldly. “You made your choice, and you’re going to have to live with that for the rest of your life.”

“We are running in circles here, my friend,” he sighed, taking a step to the side and dragging Faye with him. “I won’t ask you again. Let Gail go or watch me kill your daughter.”

I snarled. “So much for not hurting healthy people, Zahir.”

Zahir grimaced. “I don’t want to hurt Faye, Sean. I truly mean that, but I’d do anything to save the woman I love. There isn’t a path I wouldn’t take to keep her with me.”

I knew I had no more time to stall. I glanced at Faye, knowing her life would always be a priority to me, and decided I had no choice but to throw Gail at the doctor, then tackle him to save Faye. The idea wasn’t foolproof, but I had no time to come up with something better. I readied myself to go, but stopped when I heard a voice.

“Let PC Ellis go, Dr. Kher.”

Rebecca walked slowly through the door. Her gun was in her hands, and she was pointing it toward Zahir’s face.

It took everything I had not to smile or shout for joy at the sight of her. She kept her eyes fixed firmly on the doctor, but when she spoke, I knew her words were for me.

“You didn’t say anything else after your last message, Sean, so I thought I’d come and find you,” she said with a smirk. “I hope that was okay?”

“More than alright, Rebecca,” I said happily as I looked between Zahir and the gun.

Zahir’s eyes were focused on Rebecca. They had gone wide, and I knew he was trying to figure out his options.

“I think I just asked you to let my colleague go, Doctor,” Rebecca snarled. “I suggest you listen to what I’ve said.”

“Don’t be a wimp, Zahir!” Gail hissed as she tried to pull away from me, but I harshly yanked her back. “You’ve got the detective’s daughter right where you want her! Don’t be an idiot and let go of our only leverage!”

Zahir smiled at her words, his eyes still on the gun and Rebecca. He moved Faye directly in front of him. “She has a point, Detective,” he said to Rebecca. “I’d be silly to let the young lady go, now wouldn’t I?”

“You’d be more of an idiot to keep hold of her, Zahir,” Rebecca growled as she took one step forward. “You’re holding a girl who is practically family to me. You know the lengths you’re willing to go to protect Gail, so what lengths do you think I’ll go to in order to protect Faye, hmm?”

My heart felt full at Rebecca’s words. I knew she cared about Faye, but to hear her protecting my daughter as fiercely as if she was her own meant more to me than I’d ever be able to express to her.

Zahir hesitated, his expression looking more and more nervous by the second. Gail was now struggling with more urgency in my hands, so I finally took the chance to cuff her arms behind her back. Zahir heard what I was doing, and he turned away from Rebecca and looked at me.

“No!” he exclaimed in outrage, gritting his teeth. “Let her go right⁠—”

Zahir groaned in pain as Faye swung her elbow backward and smacked him in the chest. Zahir’s arm slackened on Faye, but he quickly went to grab her again. When he moved his arm toward Faye, there was the sound of a gunshot. The bullet hit Zahir in his upper arm, causing him to drop the needle in his pain. Faye dodged out of the way so Rebecca could jump on top of Zahir. For a moment all I could do was watch as Rebecca wrestled with Zahir, but eventually she overpowered him and cuffed his hands behind his back.

“Zahir Kher,” Rebecca said in a stern, breathless voice as she climbed off of his back and pulled him to his feet. “You’re under arrest for⁠—”

Her words faded. All I could focus on was Faye charging toward me. If I wasn’t holding Gail, I’d have thrown my arms around her. Instead, all I could do was look at her.

“Are you okay, love?” I exclaimed.

To my surprise, Faye smiled at me. “I’m fine, Dad.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, looking her up and down.

Faye’s smile increased. “I couldn’t be any better! We did it! We actually did it!”

I grimaced at her guiltily. “I’m so sorry for doubting you, love.”

Faye waved her hand through the air. “It doesn’t matter, Dad. We found who we were looking for, and that’s all that matters!”

I beamed at her and shoved Gail forward.

Faye was right. We’d done what we set out to do. Now all that was left was to interrogate them and see them put behind bars for the rest of their pathetic lives.

28

After asking Faye dozens of times if she was okay and finally accepting her response, I asked for her to stay behind so she could bag up our evidence and check the scene. She called her team proudly to explain what had happened, and once she was off the phone, she assured me some of her team would join her soon to help her out.

“But don’t start the interrogations without me, please!” Faye pleaded. “I want to be there for them.”

I gave her a reassuring nod. “Don’t worry, love. We won’t start till you’re at the station. I promise.”

I left Faye in the room while Rebecca and I dragged Gail and Zahir through the hospital. As we walked through the wards, any staff member we saw gazed at us, their expressions filled with a variety of emotions. Particularly when they looked at Zahir.

Some of them looked at the blood cascading down the arm of his coat with concern, some looked at his hands cuffed behind his back and opened their mouths in shock, and some looked between him and Gail in bewilderment. I was certain every single one of them would be shocked when the truth came out to the public.

As I watched Rebecca walking ahead with him, I still felt in shock over it all myself. Zahir had been a man I’d trusted, a man whose integrity I’d had complete faith in. I still couldn’t fathom how a man who’d dedicated his life to saving people had turned his back on everything he’d ever known because of a woman he barely knew.

He'd well and truly pulled the wool over my eyes in a way that no one else ever had, and I couldn’t deny that it had dented my ego considerably. I’d always prided myself on my gut and my judge of character, so to know I’d gotten Zahir so wrong was worrying.

How many other times will I be completely blindsided like this? I thought. I can’t say this is a feeling I ever want to repeat.

My trail of negative thoughts was interrupted by a senior nurse stopping us in one of the hallways. She looked to be in her late fifties, with light gray hair tied back in a loose bun, and shining gray eyes that looked filled with worry. She looked at Zahir, her mouth open in concern.

“Dr. Kher!” she exclaimed in dismay, moving forward and analysing his bloodied coat. “What’s happened to your arm?”

“He was shot,” Rebecca answered quickly, pulling at Zahir’s cuffed arms before he had the chance to reply.

“That injury needs to be looked at then,” the nurse said with worry. Her eyes lingered curiously on Zahir’s cuffed arms, and I could tell she longed to ask us what was going on. “Am I able to look at it?”

I moved nearer to Rebecca, and she turned to look at me questioningly. While I longed to get Zahir into an interrogation room, I knew it was important that his injury was looked at first.

“Aye, that would be good,” I said sternly as I glared at Zahir. “But not until we get some PCs here to remain in the room with him and my colleague at all times.”

The nurse raised her thin eyebrows in surprise, but she nodded in agreement.

I turned to Rebecca. “Stay here with the doctor. I’ll get Gail to the station and meet you there later.” I glanced at Zahir and shot him a filthy look before turning back to Rebecca. “Don’t let him out of your sight.”

Rebecca nodded. “Of course.”

I started to walk away, but hesitated. I looked back at Rebecca and gave her a weak smile. “Ta, by the way. For earlier.”

Rebecca winked at me. “You mean for saving your lives?” she asked smugly. “You’ve very welcome.” She put her hand in her pocket and threw me her car keys. “Take my car back. I’ll get a ride with one of the PCs.”

I playfully rolled my eyes at her as I caught the keys, then pushed Gail forward. As we moved through the hospital and toward the entrance, I was surprised at how quiet she was. I expected her to resist my hold or say something, but she didn’t do either.

Eventually we made it outside, and I smiled to myself when I saw several panda cars and PCs waiting near the main entrance. As soon as I walked toward them all, four PCs charged toward me.

“Are any of you part of PC Ellis’s team?” I asked.

Two of the men—one short with thick, short black hair, and one of medium height and build with wavy blond hair—stepped forward.

“We are, sir,” said the blond PC nervously as he fidgeted with one of the cuffs of his shirt.

I gave them the directions to the room Faye was in and watched as they ran off. I then looked between the remaining two PCs. One was female with cropped black hair and large green eyes, and the other was male with long black hair tied back in a bun.

“I need you two to go and find DI Tumber,” I commanded. “She is with another suspect who sustained a wound, so make sure the man is properly watched while he is being treated. As soon as he is able to leave, bring him to my station so he can be questioned.”

The two nodded eagerly, then charged into the hospital.

I shoved Gail forward and approached one of the panda cars. Standing just outside of it was a tall woman with short red hair and small green eyes, but her eyes went wide and alert at my approach.

“Sir,” she said firmly as she stood to attention.

I jerked my head toward her car. “I need you and one of your colleagues to take this woman to Victoria Way Station, I’ll meet you there and take her in for questioning.”

The woman whistled and another PC, a strongly built woman with a long brunette ponytail, charged over. The new PC opened the passenger side of the car and shoved Gail into the back.

“We will be at the station soon, sir,” said the redheaded PC.

I nodded gratefully at them, then made my way toward Rebecca’s car. I got into the driver’s seat, then into position behind the panda car and followed it to my station.

Now that I was on my own, I was able to process everything that had just happened, and my main thought was Faye. It had been so hard seeing her in danger, and a vindictive part of me was glad that Rebecca had shot Zahir in the arm. I promised myself I’d buy Rebecca a drink the moment this mess was all behind us. She’d saved my daughter’s life, and it was something I knew I’d never be able to forget.

I eventually made it to the station and parked my car alongside the panda car. I climbed out and watched as the dark-haired PC climbed out of the passenger seat and roughly pulled Gail out of the vehicle.

“Want me to help you get her inside, sir?” she offered.

“Aye,” I said, glaring at Gail. “That would be helpful.”

Together, we escorted Gail through the front door and up the stairs. Once we were in my department, I locked eyes with Elijah and beckoned him over. As he charged over, I turned back to the PC.

“Ta for your help, but we’ll take it from here,” I said as I shook her hand. “You and your colleague get back to the hospital and stay there in case you’re needed.”

The woman nodded as she gripped my hand tightly. “Will do, sir,” she nodded before exiting the room.

Elijah stood in front of me and looked at Gail. I shoved her forward and into his grasp.

“Take her to interview room one,” I ordered, stepping further into the room. “Make sure she’s secure until I’m able to speak with her.”

Elijah instantly grabbed Gail’s arms and pushed her forward. Once the two disappeared around the corner, I entered the room and approached Nadia, Lylah, and Mae, who were all looking at me curiously.

“What’s going on?” Mae inquired. “Where’s Rebecca?”

Nadia chewed on her lip. “Yeah, I thought you’d bring Gail back together?”

“And where’s Faye?” Lylah asked urgently as she put her hands on her hips.

I sighed, then quickly told them everything that had happened. The three women were the best audience, reacting accordingly to each thrilling part of the story. When I finished, Nadia was grimacing unpleasantly.

“I can’t believe that doctor was connected to all of this!” she exclaimed, cuddling herself and shaking her head in disgust.

“Aye, he had us all fooled,” I snarled. Lylah walked over and threw her arms around me. I pulled her to me tightly and hugged her, not caring that both Nadia and Mae were there watching.

“Thank goodness Faye is okay,” she said with relief as she held me close. “I can’t believe she was threatened like that.”

I sighed. “Me neither, but at least it’s all over now. Once Rebecca and Faye get here, we’ll interview Gail and Zahir, then put this horrid business behind us.”

The team agreed. Mae then got to work making us all hot drinks to savour while we waited for the others to return. Luckily, it wasn’t long until Faye was there, ready and eager to interview Gail. Not long after, Rebecca returned with Zahir. I looked at the doctor and saw he was now no longer wearing his doctor’s coat. A thick bandage was wrapped around his arm.

I instructed Rebecca to take him to interview room two. It was time to finally get the interviews started.

29

Rebecca quickly returned from securing Zahir in a room, a satisfied smirk playing on her lips.

“I’ve made sure the doctor is sitting uncomfortably until we return,” she said smugly as she crossed her arms.

Nadia gently hit Rebecca’s arm and smiled at her. “We heard all about your heroics at the hospital! That was incredible!”

Rebecca blushed. “I was just doing my job, that was all.”

I put my finished mug down, then put a supportive hand on her shoulder. “No, Rebecca,” I intoned. “You saved my daughter’s life, and I can’t thank you enough for that.”

Faye gave Rebecca a hug and thanked her.

Rebecca’s red face went even redder as she pulled away from Faye. “It was nothing, really,” she said awkwardly as she rubbed the back of her neck.

I winked at her. “You know it wasn’t nothing, but we will drop it for now while we sort out our next steps.”

Rebecca looked relieved and eagerly welcomed the change of topic. “So what are we going to do? Are we interviewing them at the same time? Or one after the other?”

I rubbed my stubble thoughtfully. On one hand. I wanted to face both of the criminals and make them squirm, but on the other I was keen to get this over and done with. I looked at Rebecca and knew, after everything she’d done today, she deserved to be the one leading the interview with Zahir.

“I think at the same time,” I ordered, crossing my arms. “That way, we can get this wrapped up a hell of a lot quicker.”

Rebecca nodded slowly. “I agree. So who will speak to who?”

“You should question Zahir,” I said proudly, smiling at her. “Who better to put him on the spot than the woman who took him down?”

Rebecca blushed again, but nodded. “And who should I take with me?”

I shrugged. “Whoever you want. It’s your choice entirely.”

Rebecca pushed her hair back as she gazed around at everyone. “Okay, I’ll take Hodge then.”

Mae nodded at Rebecca gratefully and put her mug down. “I’d be happy to join you, ma’am.”

I nodded, then turned to Faye. “So how about you and I talk to Gail, PC Ellis?”

Faye grinned eagerly. “Yes! Let’s do this!”

Together, the two of us walked to the interview room. She practically had a bounce in her step, and I was glad to see Faye looking so happy.

“How did it go after I left?” I asked as we walked.

“Yeah, it went great!” she exclaimed. “I got help from my team and we bagged up the evidence. I left it with Kirk, and he said he’d get it all sent to pathology.” She turned to me, her smile widening. “And I spoke to my boss, and he praised me for what we did.”

I smiled at her warmly. “And why wouldn’t he, love? Thanks to you, two dangerous people are away from the public.”

Faye smiled at me and squeezed my arm. “Thanks for believing in me, Dad,” she whispered. “None of this would have been possible without you.”

“Aye, I know,” I said sarcastically as I winked at her.

Faye rolled her eyes playfully. We then stopped talking since we’d reached the interview room. I knew Gail was waiting, and I felt an odd sense of satisfaction at the thought of how anxious she must be.

“Ready for this?” I asked quietly, my hand lingering near the doorknob.

Faye stood up straight and nodded.

I nodded in return, then pushed the door open. Once inside, I saw Elijah standing over Gail. His arms were folded, and he was looking at her with a bemused expression. He turned at the sound of the door opening and walked over to us.

“She’s not said a single word since we got here, sir,” Elijah said in a whisper as he put his hands in his pockets.

“I didn’t think she would,” I mumbled back.

Elijah pointed toward the table in front of Gail. “I got you a tape and recorder and set them up for you, sir.”

I thanked him, then waited until he left. Once the door was closed behind Elijah, Faye and I sat down in front of Gail. Her face was surprisingly impassive as she gazed past us both.

I started the interview tape, crossed my arms, then looked at Gail. “What do you have to say for yourself then, Miss Ruskin?”

Gail looked at me, and to my surprise, smiled. “No comment.”

I sighed irritably. “Miss Ruskin, I just caught you red-handed trying to murder a patient. The time for keeping quiet is over.”

Gail shrugged as she placed her cuffed hands on the table. “No comment,” she said with a small smile.

I glanced at Faye, who was glaring at Gail, then turned back to Gail. “Miss Ruskin,” I said in a slow, serious voice. “I just saw you attempting to administer something into a patient’s IV. Your partner in crime, Zahir Kher, openly admitted that he knew you were killing his patients and that he had killed one himself, and⁠—”

“That fool may have confessed his guilt, but I haven’t,” Gail snapped.

“That isn’t a nice way to talk about someone you love, now is it?” I tutted.

Gail laughed. “Dr. Kher admitted to loving me, but I never said I loved him, did I?”

I raised an eyebrow. “So you aren’t in a relationship with Zahir Kher?”

Gail sighed. “Let’s just say the man saw things differently than I did.”

I hesitated for a moment before speaking again. “The nature of your relationship with Zahir Kher is irrelevant anyway, Miss Ruskin. The fact is, we saw you attempting to murder a patient, we have looked into your files, and we know the death toll rose at any hospital you worked at.”

Gail smirked. “I guess you aren’t as big of a fool as I thought you were, Detective.”

I rubbed the scar on my lip to hide my surprise. I’d expected Gail to keep playing dumb, so her sudden turnaround was a shock.

“So you confess that you have been murdering your patients?” I pressed, gripping my knees tightly under the table in anticipation.

Gail sighed. “If that’s what you want to call it,” she said, her tone unbothered.

“What would you call killing patients if not murder, Miss Ruskin?” I scoffed.

Gail smiled dreamily as she stared past me. “Exhilarating,” she murmured contentedly.

I felt Faye shuffling next to me in her seat, clearly uncomfortable with Gail’s behaviour.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably, then spoke. “At the hospital I asked if you were targeting people who you wished to help. But when I suggested this, you laughed.”

Gail shrugged.

“If you weren’t targeting patients you wanted to help, then why’d you target the patients you did?” Faye asked. “Were they all unwell and vulnerable?”

“Yes, they were,” she said, rubbing her wrist near the handcuffs.

“But why were you targeting unwell patients if you weren’t trying to end their suffering?” I asked in perplexity as I rubbed my stubble.

Gail smirked. “Critically unwell patients are expected to die, Detective. No one bats an eye.”

I frowned. “So you purposely killed unwell patients in the hopes your actions would go unnoticed?”

Gail nodded. “Pretty much, yeah. And it worked, didn’t it?”

I ignored her cocky behaviour and continued questioning her. “And how exactly were you killing these patients?”

Gail quirked a brow. “You saw me earlier, so you already know.”

I shook my head. “No, I saw you preparing to administer something into that woman’s IV, but I don’t know what it was,” I snapped. “We know that whatever it was didn’t show up on any of our tox reports, but I’m guessing you already knew that.”

Gail grinned evilly. “Of course, Detective. Hence why I chose it in the first place.”

“So explain it to us, please,” Faye said, gritting her teeth.

Gail sighed as though the conversation was boring. “I was injecting something called potassium chloride into the patients’ IVs. It’s one of those lovely things that doesn’t tend to show up on postmortem blood samples.”

This woman clearly knows her stuff, I thought in disgust. No wonder she’s been able to get away with it for so long!

“We know you were killing patients before you worked at York Hospital,” I stated, fixing Gail with a stern glare.

“Yes, that’s true,” Gail agreed.

“How many people do you think you have killed, Miss Ruskin?” I inquired, not daring to guess what her answer would be.

Gail looked up at the ceiling and pursed her lips thoughtfully. After a few seconds, she suddenly replied. “I think it’s now at fifty-two.”

I felt Faye stiffen next to me, and it took all of my self-restraint to hide my surprise. This woman had murdered over fifty people, and yet she spoke about it as calmly as if she was talking about items on a shopping list.

“Fifty-two people?” I repeated, trying to keep my voice in check.

Gail looked under her nails and nodded. “Yes. Nearly fifty-three, but you put a stop to that.”

Christ, I thought with horror. This girl has no shame!

I pushed my hair back and exhaled loudly. “We know how you killed these patients and how long you’ve been killing them for, but the one thing I’m failing to grasp is why?”

Gail scratched her chin thoughtfully. “It all started near the end of my training,” she said calmly, as though she were speaking about the weather, not how she became an evil serial killer. “I was listening to another trainee nurse doing her rounds, and she was told off by one of the senior nurses. She was about to give the patient an injection, I can’t remember what it was now, but the senior nurse quickly stopped her. The dosage she was about to administer was far too high.” She hesitated for a moment, staring into the distance as if reliving the moment. “The senior nurse said accidents like that could kill people. She told us we had to always be vigilant and focused, but her words made me more curious than anything else.”

“So, what, you heard an experienced nurse telling you not to kill people, and you took it as a personal challenge?” Faye asked, wrinkling her nose in revulsion.

Gail chuckled. “I suppose so, yes. In my curiosity, I looked up lethal injections, untraceable toxins, anything along those lines, and I read about potassium chloride. I decided to try it out on a dying patient to see what happened, and when they died without anyone thinking twice about it, I guess you can say it started a new obsession.” She smiled. “With each lethal dose I administered, I just felt more powerful, more excited. I had to do it more and more.”

I’d always thought Thomas Moore was the worst human being I’d ever met in my life, but as I watched Gail talking about killing dozens of people as though it were nothing, I couldn’t help but wonder if she was somehow even worse than the man who had killed several men and attempted to kill Elijah and me not that long ago.

I pursed my lips in horror. “I’ve taken many criminals off of the streets, Miss Ruskin, but I have to say I’ve never been happier to arrest someone than I am to have arrested you.” I clenched my fist under the table. “Your sick power game has resulted in the deaths of multiple people, and I’m glad your reign of terror has now been put to an end.”

Gail giggled. “I may have been forced to stop, Detective, but no one will ever forget what I’ve done,” she said proudly as she puffed out her chest. “I got to be a God with the power over life and death, and everyone will soon hear about how many people I got away with killing. And for how long, too.” She smiled at me sweetly. “How angry do you think the public will be with you after this hits the press, Detective? It doesn’t look good when Yorkshire’s finest allows a killer to exist under his very nose for years now.”

I held back a grimace, knowing she was right. The press were going to have a field day when this got out, and I knew it was going to reflect badly on the police and all emergency services. A woman had been murdering people right under everybody’s noses. She was right. This story wouldn’t be forgotten for a long, long time.

I hated the thought of all the rubbish I’d be dealing with once news got out, but I hated even more how much the thought of it all caused Gail such joy. She saw herself as an all-powerful being, an infamous serial killer, and it disturbed me to my very core that she would always see herself that way.

“You’ve admitted to your crimes, Miss Ruskin, and I, for one, don’t think you deserve a second more of our time,” I said with a bite in my tone.

I read Gail her rights, officially placed her under arrest, then turned off the tape. I stood from my chair and looked down at her with a curled lip.

“I can assure you, Miss Ruskin, I will do everything in my power to stop you getting the press attention you clearly want,” I snarled viciously as I leant over the table toward her. “You’re nothing more than a vile killer, and you’ll be spending the rest of your life behind bars.” I moved closer toward her, smiling smugly. “Tell me, Miss Ruskin, how well do you think you’ll be liked by your inmates once they hear who you are? Do you think they’ll respond well to a woman who took advantage of the vulnerable?”

For the first time, a flicker of fear swept over Gail’s face, wiping the smugness from it completely. I grunted as I pushed myself away from the table. I looked at Faye and gestured for her to get up.

“Go grab DC Smith and get him to take this piece of scum away from me,” I growled. “I want her out of my sight.”

Faye stood slowly from her seat and nodded.

As she went, I kept my eyes glued to Gail. I knew I’d need to speak to her again at some point—I’d have to get her to name every person she killed—but right now I couldn’t bear to look at her for a second longer.

The door opened, and Faye returned with Elijah. I watched as Elijah got Gail out of her seat, and I had to bite my lip when Gail looked at me with a small smile.

“I look forward to speaking to you again soon, Detective,” she said affectionately as she allowed Elijah to pull her away.

I watched them both leave, knowing I couldn’t see the back of her soon enough. She may have enjoyed all the attention, but thanks to the hard work of my team and my daughter, I could rest much easier knowing one of the worst killers I’d ever had the displeasure of dealing with was finally away from the public.

30

Faye and I had barely taken a few steps back into the hall when I noticed Mae standing close by. She was leaning against the wall and looked as though she was waiting for something. The moment she saw me, she pushed away from the wall and started walking in my direction.

“Everything alright, Hodge?” I asked, raising a brow.

Mae nodded. “Yes, sir, but DI Tumber sent me to wait for you.”

“Oh?” I asked curiously as I crossed my arms.

“We finished interviewing the doctor, but he asked if he could speak to you before he gets taken to his cell,” she said, jerking her thumb toward the interview room.

Faye pursed her lips. “That man has some nerve making demands!”

I put a gentle hand on Faye’s arm, my eyes still focused on Mae. “Faye’s right, he has got some bloody nerve, but I can’t deny I’m curious.” I turned to Faye. “Go let the others know how it went with Gail while I speak to him.”

Faye didn’t look overly comfortable with the idea, but she nodded and walked into the department. Mae stood there for a moment, then spoke again.

“DI Tumber asked me to join the others once I saw you, but she’s waiting in the interview room with the doctor,” she said.

I nodded. “Ta, Hodge. Before you do that, can you call a couple of PCs and have them wait outside the door? Tell them I’ll whistle when I want them to come in.”

She nodded her head coolly, then walked in the same direction as Faye. Once I saw her leave, I took a deep breath and walked toward interview room two. I pushed it open and saw Zahir sitting opposite Rebecca, his expression and demeanour noticeably dishevelled. His turban was sitting crooked on his head, his shoulders were slumped, and he was rubbing near the wound on his arm. No sooner did I push the door open did he turn to face me, his expression unmoving.

“You came,” he stated in surprise.

I grumbled as I walked toward Rebecca. I remained standing at her side, crossing my arms and looking down at him. “What do you want, Kher?”

Zahir sighed. “I guess we’re no longer on a first name basis then?” he asked, his tone sounding almost disappointed.

I didn’t respond, so he sighed and continued. “Is Gail okay?”

I shook my head in disbelief and took a few steps away from Rebecca. “If you’ve seriously called me in here to ask how your killer girlfriend is, then we are done.”

I continued walking toward the door, but Zahir called out to stop me.

“Wait!” he exclaimed desperately. “That isn’t why I wanted you here. I-I just wanted to know she was okay, too.”

I turned away from the door and faced him with a stern expression. “Your vile girlfriend has confessed to all of her crimes, Kher,” I said. “Do you know what she told me? She told me she’s killed over fifty people, Kher. Fifty!” I snarled angrily as I smacked my fists on the table.

I heard Rebecca gasp in shock, but I kept my eyes focused on Zahir’s. He had the decency to look both shocked and ashamed. “You’re supposed to protect the vulnerable, but because of you, she’s been able to get away with this for a long time.” I hesitated as I took a cautious, angry step toward him. “You’re just as responsible for those deaths as she is, Kher, and I hope you’re as disgusted with yourself as I am. Over fifty families will find out what happened to their loved ones, and they will all know you sat back and let it happen. Even worse, you killed one of them yourself!”

Zahir lowered his head, his lip quivering. “I’ve confessed on tape to what I’ve done, Sean.”

“That’s DCI Ellis to you, Kher,” I snapped. “You lost the privilege of calling me by my first name when you became a criminal.”

Zahir sighed. “I knew she’d killed patients before she started working at my hospital, but I swear I never knew she’d killed that many.”

I scoffed as I shook my head. “It shouldn’t have mattered if she admitted to killing one or one hundred people, Kher. You should have put a stop to it the moment you knew what she was.”

Zahir nodded half-heartedly. “It’s too late to turn back the clock, but everything I did, I did for love,” he said weakly.

“Want to know what’s even worse, Kher?” I asked in a quiet, venomous tone. “You gave up everything you ever believed in for a woman who couldn’t care less about you.”

Zahir jumped up from his chair and glared at me. Rebecca instantly got out of her chair and stood defensively near my side.

“You’re lying!” he spat. “Gail loves me as much as I love her!”

I laughed coldly. “She used you, Kher,” I said slowly as I pushed him back down into his seat. To my surprise, he didn’t resist. “You were in an influential position and she used you for that. She admitted as much when I interrogated her, and I think deep down you know that. A woman like her doesn’t have the capacity for love, only hate.”

He put his cuffed hands on his face and rubbed it wildly. “No, no, that can’t be true,” he replied, his anger now evaporating into confusion.

I sighed, hating myself for almost feeling sorry for him. “Let’s just hope you can live with the part you had to play in her story of evil.” I turned to the door and whistled loudly. Two tall male PCs entered the room and walked toward Zahir. “Take him away.”

Zahir looked at me in shock. “Wait!” he exclaimed hurriedly. “There was more I wanted to say to you.”

“And I don’t want to hear it, Kher,” I snapped as I stepped away and allowed the PCs to grab him. “You’ve already wasted enough of our time.”

I ignored Zahir’s pleas as the two PCs dragged him away. Once they were gone, I turned to face Rebecca.

“How did it go?” I asked her.

Rebecca clicked her tongue as she pushed her hair back. “He confessed to murdering Fred Bonfield, but he spent over half of the interrogation asking after Gail. I think it will take him a while to realise what he’s done.”

I rubbed my stubble tiredly. “I’m just glad we got the truth in the end. We’ll have to speak to Gail again at some point to get the names of all her victims, but then I never want to see her again.”

Rebecca quirked a brow. “Do you think she’ll give us the names? Or even know them all?”

I laughed harshly. “Oh, she knows them all right. She didn’t even hesitate when she told me how many people she’d killed.”

Rebecca shook her head in disgust. “To know she was responsible for so many is a lot to take in.”

I rubbed her shoulder sympathetically. “Aye, and we are going to be left dealing with one hell of a shit show once this all gets out,” I sighed. “The press are going to try to make us look incompetent for letting her get away with this for so many years.”

Rebecca sighed. “Whatever gets thrown at us, we’ll just have to deal with it together… like we always do.”

I squeezed her shoulder and gave her a small smile. “Come on, let’s go join the others,” I whispered. “We will deal with the shit storm once it hits.”

Rebecca nodded, then together we exited the interview room. We walked casually toward the main part of our department, and I was surprised to see Lylah wasn’t with the others. I assumed she had nipped to the toilet, but as everyone else from the team was there, and Faye, I decided to start addressing them all, knowing I could fill her in on everything when we were back at home later.

“As I’m sure you’re all aware by now, we’ve been able to arrest not one but two killers,” I said as I paced around the middle of the department. “Both Gail Ruskin and Zahir Kher have been placed under arrest. It’s come out that a hell of a lot more people have been killed than we realised, so everyone needs to be aware that once this story comes out, we’ll have a lot of negative press to deal with.”

Mae furrowed her brows in confusion. “But none of this is our fault! Why should we get negativity based on what those two did?”

Nadia turned to Mae with a grimace. “Because the press will blame us for not catching her sooner, Mae,” Nadia said tiredly as she scratched her neck. “She’d been getting away with murder for a long time. A lot of questions will be asked about how that was able to happen.”

I nodded thoughtfully. “Exactly,” I said, stopping my pacing. “Over fifty people have been killed, Hodge. That’s a hell of a lot of bodies that went under the radar, so a lot of people are going to get asked a lot of questions.”

Mae huffed as she leaned against the wall. “That hardly seems fair, does it?”

I folded my arms. “No, it isn’t, but unfortunately, that’s the nature of the job. It’s something we are all going to have to prepare for over the next few days.”

Everyone went silent and looked unhappy. I glanced away from them all and pursed my lips in confusion over Lylah’s absence. If she’d only gone to the toilet, then surely she’d have been back by now?

I turned back to the group. “Where is DC Ellis?”

Faye shrugged. “I don’t know, but she wasn’t here when I left the interview room earlier and I haven’t seen her since we first got back here.”

Nadia stepped forward. “She took a phone call earlier, then stepped outside. I expected her back by now,” she said worriedly.

I quickly pulled out my phone and called Lylah. The phone rang for several seconds before she answered.

“Where are you?” I asked before she had the chance to speak.

“I’ve gone back to the flat,” she said in a quiet, impassive tone. “When you’re done… are you able to come meet me here?”

I rubbed my face nervously. It wasn’t like Lylah to go home like this without saying a word, so I knew something had to be wrong.

“Aye, I’ll come back now,” I said hastily before hanging up the phone.

“What’s wrong, Dad?” Faye pressed, stepping directly in front of me.

“She said she’s gone back home,” I said, nervously running my fingers through my hair. “Something must be wrong.”

Faye smacked my shoulder harshly, then started to walk briskly toward the department’s main door. “Then let’s go and find out!” she exclaimed.

I turned to Rebecca, and she gave me a firm nod. “We’ll be okay here, Sean. Go make sure your wife is okay.”

I charged after Faye. We ran out of the department, down the stairs, and through the station’s entrance. As I ran, I grabbed my keys from my pocket, but I quickly hesitated when I saw my car wasn’t there.

Idiot! I thought to myself in aggravation. Of course she’s taken the car to get home!

Lylah and I always carried our own car keys in case of an emergency, but now I was left without a car. I heard a noise and turned toward Faye. She was waving her own car keys in the air and gesturing for me to follow her.

“I’ll drop you off in my car. Now let’s go!” she exclaimed urgently.

I nodded and ran toward her.

As we climbed into Faye’s car, all I could think about was Lylah and what she could have heard on the phone to make her leave in such a hurry.

31

Iwaited impatiently for Faye to start her car, my mind running wild with possibilities.

“Some time today would be nice, love,” I said sarcastically as I erratically tapped my knees.

“Okay, okay!” Faye repeated frantically as she pulled on her seatbelt and started driving out of the station.

Once she was out of the car park, she looked at me worriedly. “What do you think is wrong with Lylah? Do you think she’s come down with something?”

I rubbed my face anxiously. “I honestly don’t know, love.”

We were both silent and thoughtful for a few moments before Faye spoke again. “She was at the hospital yesterday, right? Do you think maybe she heard something back from them?”

I stopped rubbing my face as I started thinking. I knew Lylah was waiting on her results from the fertility clinic and now I was wondering if she’d heard back from them and that was why she wanted to get away from everyone. She’d only had the tests yesterday, so it must have been serious if they’d gotten back to her so quickly. Lylah wouldn’t have run away unless she’d received bad news, so the dread I felt over seeing her drastically increased. I knew when I got in I would need to console her, so I tried to think of kind, supportive things I could say. I was silent for several minutes, trying to brainstorm, but I came up with nothing.

What on earth were you meant to say to a woman when she’d likely just been told she couldn’t have children? I knew how much Lylah had always wanted to be a mother, so my heart broke at the thought of what she must be thinking and feeling right now. Everything she’d been dreaming of her entire life had just been ripped away from her.

“Dad?”

I turned toward Faye and realised I’d been so stuck in my own thoughts that I’d been completely ignoring her.

“Sorry, love,” I said with a sad sigh as I pushed my hair out of my face. “Were you saying something?”

Faye grumbled. “Dad, what’s going on? First, I see Lylah at the hospital and now she’s receiving phone calls and rushing home!”

“I told you, love, she just had⁠—”

“A check up, yeah, I remember,” Faye interrupted, shooting me a sharp look. “But there’s clearly more to it, Dad. I’m not stupid.”

I looked into Faye’s narrowed eyes and knew she was concerned over Lylah’s welfare. I hated lying to my own daughter—even though she was clearly intuitive enough to see right through it—but I also knew Lylah wouldn’t appreciate me talking about everything until I’d had the chance to talk to her.

“Aye, there is,” I said in a slow, cautious tone as I shuffled in my seat and turned to face her. “But I can’t say much right now, alright? Not until I’ve spoken to Lylah.”

Faye chewed on her lip. “You’re starting to worry me now, Dad,” she said as she tapped her fingers on the steering wheel erratically. “Is Lylah not well?”

I shook my head. “No, it isn’t anything like that, I swear,” I said quickly as I reassuringly touched her arm. “But it’s something private. I can’t talk about it without her permission. I’m sure you can understand that.”

Faye huffed, but nodded. “I understand, but promise you’ll tell me what’s going on after you speak to her?”

I held out my little finger toward her. “I pinky promise.”

Faye rolled her eyes, but smiled at me playfully. She held out her little finger and we linked fingers. We eventually made it to my flat, and after Faye had parked up, I hesitated in her car.

“Are you going in, Dad?” Faye eventually asked.

I gulped. “Aye, I’m going,” I sighed as I unbuckled my seatbelt.

Faye looked at me worriedly. “Do you want me to come in with you?”

I shook my head. “Ta, love, but I should do this alone.”

Faye’s worried look only increased, but she nodded. “I best get back to my team, anyway. They’ll all be wanting an update and the paperwork on this will likely keep me at the station all night.”

I turned to her with a small smile. “Well done these last two days, kiddo,” I said warmly. “You’ve done yourself and me proud.”

Faye blushed crimson and rubbed the back of her neck embarrassedly. “Wow, you really must want to avoid this conversation with Lylah if you’re praising me like this.”

I laughed dryly. “I know I didn’t always believe in you when it came to this case, but you’ve proven how good you are, love. I truly believe one day you’ll be in the role I’m in now. You trusted yourself, and that’s one of the most difficult things to learn to do in this job.”

Faye cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Thanks, Dad. I meant it before when I said that none of this would have been possible without you.”

I squeezed Faye’s hand, then opened my door. “We made a good team, love, didn’t we?”

Faye’s eyes started to water as she squeezed my hand back. “We really did, Dad. It was a great honour getting to see you work.”

I climbed out of my seat, then leant into the car. “The honour was all mine, love. Now go show off to your team how great you are.”

Faye giggled as she wiped her eyes. “Thanks, Dad.” Her smile slowly vanished as she stared up at my flat. “Give Lylah my best.”

I closed the door and watched her drive off, waving at her in farewell. I only lowered my hand once her car was out of sight. After she went, I stared at my flat in trepidation. My brain was telling me to hurry up and console my wife, but my feet had a mind of their own and remained glued to the ground. It felt like the more I tried to move them, the more impossible it became. I gave myself a moment to breathe, then slowly approached my front door. I pushed it open and noticed right away that Lylah wasn’t in the kitchen.

“Lyles?” I asked as I closed the front door behind me.

I knew when Lylah was upset she usually liked to get cuddled up in bed, so I quietly removed my shoes, then made my way up the stairs. I approached our bedroom door slowly, my breathing increasing in speed.

“Lyles?” I asked again in a quiet mutter as I pushed open the door.

Once the door was open, I looked around the room in surprise to see she wasn’t there. She wasn’t wrapped up in our duvet, nor was she sitting in the wooden chair near her vanity mirror.

I rubbed my face nervously and exited our bedroom. The only other rooms upstairs were a bathroom—and the door was open so I could see she clearly wasn’t in there—and a guest bedroom. I walked back downstairs and pushed open the door to the living room. I peeked around the doorway and saw the back of Lylah’s head. She was sitting on the sofa facing the turned off television.

“Lyles?” I asked once more as I edged slowly around the side of her. “Is everything alright?”

I made it to the arm of the chair and stared at Lylah’s profile. She remained looking forward, not even flinching or acknowledging my words or movements. I awkwardly sat on the arm of the chair and looked at her.

“Did you hear from the doctor today, darling?” I asked.

Lylah simply nodded. Her lip twitched slightly, but she didn’t utter a word in response. I chewed my lip uncomfortably as I slowly slid off of the arm and sat on the sofa next to Lylah. I put my hands on her left hand and stroked it.

“It’s alright, my love,” I said affectionately as I continued to caress her. “Just speak to me in your own time, alright?”

Lylah barely moved her head up and down. Her right arm moved slightly, but she stopped the movement before it barely began. I sat there and experienced the most uncomfortable silence of my life. It felt like we sat there for hours with nothing but the sound of cold quiet surrounding us. Finally, Lylah broke it.

“The fertility nurse called me when I was at the station,” Lylah whispered.

I nodded as I gripped her hand. I didn’t dare speak, not now when Lylah was finally talking, so I kept silent and patient until she was ready to continue.

“She said the news couldn’t wait, that she had to tell me right away,” she said, her wide, hazel eyes still fixed on the empty television.

“Alright,” I said in a voice no louder than a whisper, clutching Lylah’s hand as though my life depended on it.

“After what she told me, I just knew I had to get home right away,” she continued.

I gulped nervously. “And what did she tell you, my love?”

Lylah exhaled deeply. For a few moments she didn’t speak nor move, but suddenly she moved her right hand and put it on her lap. It had been hidden at her side, clutched tight. I suddenly saw that she was holding a pregnancy test. I held my breath nervously as she flipped it over. I moved closer and my eyes widened when I saw the single word written on it.

Pregnant.

I chewed my lip as I slowly moved my eyes from the pregnancy test to Lylah’s face. Once my eyes were on her, she finally turned to look at me with an unreadable expression. I picked up the test and pointed it at her.

“Is this real?” I asked.

Lylah didn’t respond. She slowly rose from her seat and walked toward our one seater settee. From there, she grabbed a plastic bag and walked over with it. When she stood in front of me, she poured the contents of the bag on the sofa cushion next to me. As the bag emptied, I quickly noticed it was filled with nearly a dozen used pregnancy tests. When Lylah had finished emptying the bag, I started picking up the individual tests one by one and noticed every single one of them had the word ‘pregnant’ on them.

I slowly stood up from the sofa and grabbed Lylah’s hands. “Y-you’re pregnant?”

“I-I know pregnancy tests aren’t cheap, but I just wanted to be sure,” she said a little breathlessly. A smile appeared on her face. “I’ve just been sort of… in disbelief.”

I turned away from her and gestured toward the numerous used tests on the sofa and laughed. “You don’t say, babe!” I chuckled in amusement. I turned away from the sofa and looked at Lylah, my smile so wide it stretched across my entire face. “We’re having a baby!”

“We’re having a baby!” she laughed nervously.

I threw my arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. After I held her for a few seconds, I lifted her in the air and spun her around, allowing a noise of pure joy to escape my throat. As I spun her around, Lylah started to giggle as she held me tightly. For a while, there was only me, her, and the laughter between us.

Eventually, I put her down and started to kiss her hands. “You have no idea how worried I’ve been, love!” I exclaimed. “I thought you must have received bad news to have run off like you did!”

Lylah shook her head widely. “I’m sorry,” she said guiltily as she squeezed my hands. “I was so worked up when she told me, I just had to come home and see for myself.”

I laughed as I pushed my hair back. “So you had the NHS provide you with a test confirming you were pregnant, and you still had to take about twenty tests yourself to be sure? Only my wife, eh?”

Lylah’s cheeks flushed pink, but she smiled. “After all of my worries the past few months, I had to be certain before I saw you.”

I grinned, then kissed her forehead. “I don’t care about the tests or the money, darling!” I said joyfully. “How can I care about anything else when we are going to have a baby?”

Lylah squealed with delight as she jumped up and down on the spot.

I watched her and the pure happiness that radiated from her and knew nothing else mattered. I didn’t care what the press threw at me over the Gail Ruskin murders. I didn’t care about the mountains of paperwork I had to contend with when I next went to work.

All I cared about was her and our child.

“I can’t wait to tell everyone!” Lylah said joyfully. “But perhaps we should wait until I’m a bit further into the pregnancy… so we don’t jinx anything?”

I laughed at the sudden worry on her face. “Darling, there’s nothing to worry about!” I said happily. “You’re pregnant with my child and everything is going to work out perfectly! I just know it!”

Lylah smiled. “I hope you’re right.”

“I know I am, Mrs. Ellis,” I said with a wink, gripping her hands tightly. “And I want to shout the news out from the rooftops!”

Lylah giggled. “I don’t even know who to tell first!” she exclaimed. “Do you?”

I stroked her face and smiled. “I know exactly who to tell first.”

“Who?” Lylah asked eagerly as she gripped my arm.

I grabbed my phone, dialed a number, then put it to my ear, winking at Lylah again and ignoring the frustrated look on her face at my silence. The phone rang for a few seconds before it was quickly answered.

“Hello?”

“Hello, love,” I said warmly. “Guess who is about to be a big sister?”

Lylah put her hands to her mouth and started to cry joyfully while Faye squealed in delight loudly. At the sound of my daughter’s happiness and the sight of my wife’s ecstasy, I knew things could not get any better than they were at that moment.

I’d been blessed with an incredible daughter, and I was soon going to be welcoming her brother or sister into the world. I was getting a bigger family, and it was all I could ever hope for.

EPILOGUE

“Iremember hearing all about Gail Ruskin and that awful doctor,” the nurse said morosely once I’d finished. “I was only a child then. Some nurses still talk about them both now, you know.” She shuddered. “It’s the stuff of horrors here.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” Lylah said as she stroked my hand. “We dealt with a lot of cases, but that was easily one of the worst. I was hardly involved and yet I still often think about it.”

The nurse sighed. “No one trusted this place for a long, long time. Especially since that doctor was so respected and loved here.”

I wasn’t surprised to hear this. The staff he’d worked with were devastated and shocked to their core when the news of what he’d done came out. Everyone had put their complete trust in him, and he’d broken it over a woman he’d barely known. It just showed how easy it was to make a series of stupid decisions that would change your life forever.

“Aye, it’s horrible what people can do,” I said sympathetically. “Especially when in a position of power.”

“What was the press like at the time?” the nurse asked curiously as she glanced between me and Lylah. “Were they as horrific as you thought they’d be?”

I snorted. “They were worse. Let’s just say our reputation took as bad of a hit as York Hospital’s did.”

The nurse shook her head in disgust. “If it wasn’t for you lot, that evil nurse and horrid doctor would have continued what they were doing for a long, long time!” she exclaimed in dismay. “It’s disgusting that you weren’t all treated like heroes for stopping such monsters.”

I blushed embarrassedly as I rubbed the back of my neck.

The nurse wrote something down on my chart, then looked at me. “I’ve finished my tests,” she smiled. “I will take them to one of our doctors and see if he can expedite the results for you.”

I nodded to her gratefully and watched as she exited the room.

I turned to Lylah, my expression serious. “If she doesn’t come back soon, we will be leaving without the results,” I said as I started trying to climb out of the bed.

Lylah quickly climbed out of her seat and stopped me. “You will do no such thing!” she exclaimed. “Your health is the most important thing, Sean. Anything else can wait.”

I huffed irritably. “I need to get to the station and find Nadia!”

“And you will once you get the all clear from the doctor,” Lylah said gently as she puffed my pillow gently behind my back.

I groaned and pulled away from her. “I’m wasting time here, love! The real killer is out there and while I’m here, poor Larry is getting run through the mill.” I groaned again as Lylah continued to fuss around me.“ The more time I spend here, the more Larry is going to be treated like a killer! He doesn’t deserve that.”

“You’re no good to anyone if you aren’t well, Sean,” Lylah scolded, looking down at me with her hands on her hips.

“I’m fine, love, really,” I said impatiently as I tried to pull myself out of bed. Once more, Lylah pushed me back down.

“You mean like you said you were last year?” Lylah asked sharply as she folded her arms and pouted at me.

I grumbled tiredly. “Not this again, love.”

“Yes, this again, Sean!” she said frantically as she threw her arms up in the air. “You kept telling me you were fine, then you had a heart attack! I saw all the signs, saw the way you were struggling, and yet you kept lying to me and everyone about it, all so you could keep going to bloody work!” She sighed tiredly. “I get that you always loved your job, but it worries me when you put it before everything else.”

I sighed and continued to avoid her eye contact. One of the main reasons I’d made the decision to retire was because of my health scare. Heart attacks had always been an issue in my family, and I was unlucky to get one when I did. I’d tried to stay at work, but everyone went above me and left me with two choices: retire myself or be made to by my superiors.

I couldn’t stomach the thought of being forced out of a job I’d dedicated decades of my life to, so I made the only choice I could and left of my own volition.

“That was different, love,” I said as I slowly turned to look at her. “I had a real health issue, but now all I have is a slight headache. I promise you I’m alright.”

Lylah sighed, her hazel eyes widening sympathetically. “You aren’t a doctor, my darling,” she said tenderly as she affectionately pushed my hair back. “I’m sorry, but until I hear a doctor say you can leave this place, I’m not leaving your side.”

I opened my mouth to argue with her, but hesitated when the door opened. I was slightly disappointed when I saw that it was Faye returning and not a doctor with my discharge papers, but I quickly sat up straight and looked at her eagerly, hopeful she was at least coming back with good news for me.

“My colleagues got back to me and there is no sign of any folder anywhere in that pub,” Faye said suspiciously as she rubbed her chin. “Meaning whoever attacked you must have taken it with them.” She walked closer toward me, her brow furrowing thoughtfully as she moved. “They also said the entire pub looked as though it had been trashed, which I noticed myself when I came to find you. Was that from you looking for things?”

I shook my head. “No, I definitely didn’t leave behind a mess.”

Faye nodded, her expression looking as though she expected this. “I didn’t think so, meaning whoever was there must have taken the folder and looked for something else after they attacked you.”

I swore. “This is just what I was expecting,” I grumbled. “That folder must have contained key information that would have pointed out who the killer is! And the person who attacked me may have even more crucial evidence that could have helped me.”

Lylah sighed. “You don’t know that, darling.”

Faye looked at Lylah and smiled. “When has he ever believed in coincidences?”

Lylah gave Faye a knowing smile in return.

“Exactly!” I exclaimed, hitting my fist into the palm of my hand eagerly. “No one would have been that desperate to stop me from seeing that folder and looking around Larry’s pub unless it contained something incriminating.”

Lylah pushed her hair back as she chewed on her lip thoughtfully. “You seem so sure that the evidence would be supporting Larry, but how do we know it wasn’t something strong against him?”

I looked at her with raised brows and narrowed eyes, causing her to rub her face awkwardly. She then squeezed the bridge of her nose before she continued. “I don’t know why you’re so convinced this Larry person is innocent, Sean, but this folder was in the man’s own pub, for Christ’s sake!” she exclaimed. “Why would he have something incriminating on someone else in his own pub? It makes no sense.”

I grabbed Lylah’s hand and pulled her closer to me, my eyes burning brightly. “None of this makes any sense, Lyles. An anonymous letter pointing us straight to Larry’s pub, a clear connection between him and the victims, and now all of this with the folder.” I sighed. “So much of this has just seemed far too convenient to me, and I know it looks bad, but I’ve always trusted my gut. Right now, it’s screaming at me that something isn’t right here. Larry told me to look around his pub. Why would he do that if he knew there was something there that could look bad for him?”

Lylah rubbed her face as she looked at me quizzically. “I don’t know.”

“Exactly, because there’s no reason why he’d do that!” I replied quickly. “I need you to be on my side here, Lyles. Can you do that?”

Lylah huffed as she tilted her head to the side. “I’m only ever on your side, my love.”

I smiled at her gratefully, then turned to Faye. “What about you, love?”

Faye nodded at me stoically. “I’m with you on this until the end, Dad.”

I thanked her, then gestured toward the door. “Go find that nurse and tell her I’m getting the hell out of here!” I said keenly. “Larry is at the station with Nadia, and we need to get there and speak to him before Nadia makes the biggest mistake of her life by arresting an innocent man.”

Faye gave me a half smile, then quickly left the room. I turned to Lylah who, although didn’t look happy, sighed in defeat.

“You just rest in that bed until she gets back!” Lylah said in sharp warning, pointing a threatening finger straight into my chest. “I’ll pack your stuff while we wait.”

“Ta, love,” I said appreciatively.

As I watched Lylah pack some of my items into the bag she’d brought from home, I was impatient for us to get out of here and back to Victoria Way Station. I still had no idea who our killer was, but I was certain who it wasn’t.

Larry Arnold was innocent, and I wouldn’t be able to rest until I’d gotten him out of that station and back where he belonged.

A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR

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