Free Playing James by Sarah Mason Page A

will.' Now James Sabine's mouth is almost open. To indicate my part in the conversation is over, I take out my notebook, open it up, lick my pencil (which I have never, ever done before) and wait. They still stare and finally the penny drops that I'm so terribly sorry, boys, but this particular freak show is now most definitely over. The detective manages to drag his eyes, which are out on stalks, away from me and turns back towards the fair physician. I think he's almost forgotten what we came for.
    'Er, right,' he says dazedly. 'Er, where were we? So, Doctor. Could you tell us a bit more about the thefts?'
    And we're off! At quite a pace too. It's James Sabine's turn to get a notepad out. Firstly the doctor shows us the cupboard where the drugs were taken from. We ascertain there is no sign of forced entry. James says, 'I take it this cupboard is usually locked?'
    'Absolutely. We're very strict about it. There are only four key-holders on this wing, myself included.'
    'What exactly was taken?'
    The doctor reels off a list of ten ten-syllable drugs. Detective Sergeant Sabine does a better job than yours truly of getting them all down. He asks, 'Do they have any street value?'
    'Some of them, not all of them.'
    'Do you or does anyone else remember when the cupboard was last locked?'
    'Well, all of the other key-holders were in there yesterday but we didn't discover the drugs were missing until first thing this morning.'
    'How often is the cupboard used? Say, on a busy day like yesterday?'
    'About once every hour; sometimes more, sometimes less.'
    'Did you see anyone suspicious?'
    'I didn't, but you'll have to ask the rest of the staff on the ward if they did.'
    'So, one of the key-holders could have accidentally left the cupboard unlocked and the thief just slipped in. Do you trust all your staff, Doctor?'
    'Implicitly.'
    'So you don't think they took the drugs themselves or that the cupboard might have been left open deliberately?'
    'Definitely not.'
    'I'll send uniform down to interview the key-holders and maybe have a general ask around the ward and the rest of the hospital too, to see if anyone has seen anything suspicious.'
    As I've stopped taking notes, it gives me time to observe the fine doctor. He's distractedly running his hand through his short dark hair. I find myself thinking that I wish it was my hair. I give myself a little shake; I am shocked at the lengths my pornographic imagination will go to. But he's nice, I think dreamily. Really nice. A voice breaks into my thoughts.
    'Miss Colshannon? Hello?'
    I'm jolted out of my rather delicious deliberations. I look at James Sabine. 'Hmm?'
    'We're leaving.'
    'Oh. Right.' I hastily gather my bag and stand up, blushing guiltily. My poor blood seems to have had rather a lot of exercise recently.
    'I'll see you out,' says Dr Kirkpatrick.
    The two men make their way through the double doors and the doctor drops back to join me.
    'So, you work with the police?'
    'No, I'm a reporter actually. I am shadowing the detective here for a six-week diary for my paper.'
    'I haven't seen that before.'
    'No, it's a new thing – today's my first day.'
    'For which paper?'
    '
Bristol Gazette
.'
    'I'll look out for it.' We walk on in silence and my brain scouts desperately around for a topic of conversation. The seconds tick by. Eventually I say, 'So, you're a doctor?' Nice one, Holly. Conversational hari-kiri.
    'So they tell me.' He smiles and his eyes go wrinkly. He must smile a lot. I search for another topic and gratefully seize on one I unearth from the back of my mind.
    'Do you have to work long hours?'
    'Yeah, I'm over-worked and under-paid. Still, I get to meet nice people.' His eyes twinkle at me and my heart misses a beat. In the midst of all this emotional turmoil I nearly trip over a wheelchair and several pairs of crutches someone has left at the side of the corridor.
    When we reach the main entrance of the hospital, Dr Kirkpatrick shakes Detective Sergeant Sabine's hand