Free Sisters of Mercy by Andrew Puckett Page A

reimburse you for that …’
    ‘ I wish you’d get to the point.’
    ‘ All right.’
    It occurred to me that he really was worried about something.
    ‘ While my boss accepts my judgement that there probably have been killings at your hospital, he says we need some hard evidence.’
    The coffee had begun to clear my head. ‘You said something earlier about arranging a PM on Mrs Sutton.’
    ‘ Indeed I did. Unfortunately, her funeral’s tomorrow morning.’
    ‘ Can’t it be delayed?’
    ‘ It could, yes, but my boss would prefer to avoid that.’
    ‘ But I can’t see —’
    ‘ Listen. You’ve already been to the police and told them people were being murdered on your ward. Then you went back and told them it was all a mistake —’
    ‘ But you know why I —’
    ‘ Yes, but it doesn’t alter the fact that you withdrew your allegation, and that a death certificate’s been signed for Mrs Sutton. To get a PM done now, we’d have to convince the coroner, and that would take some doing.’
    ‘ But surely your department could —’
    ‘ It could be done, yes, but what d’you think Sutton’s feelings would be at this stage? Especially if the PM didn’t find anything.’
    ‘ But I thought you said you believed me.’
    ‘ I said that there was nothing wrong with your analysis and that it needed investigating.’
    I slumped forward. ‘So what can we do about it?’
    ‘ Mrs Sutton’s body’s still in the hospital mortuary. We go and get a blood sample from it ourselves — tonight.’

     
    9
     
    ‘You’re out of your mind.’ I said it quite calmly.
    ‘ No,’ he said equally calmly. ‘My boss told me that if we really couldn’t do it, he’d try and get it done officially. But the news would get out — there’s no way we could stop it. And it could be potentially disastrous for you — not to mention your career.’
    ‘ But what can a blood sample tell us? There should be a complete PM …’
    ‘ In ideal circumstances, yes. But if she was murdered, it has to be by drugs. You were there when she died, weren’t you?’
    I nodded reluctantly.
    ‘ So whatever it was that killed her should still be in her bloodstream.’
    He looked at me steadily. He was right.
    I needed that cigarette badly now. I lit it and blew smoke. ‘How would we get in?’
    ‘ I have keys that would do it.’
    ‘ I don’t even know whether you can get blood from a corpse,’ I said wildly. Not true, I remembered.
    ‘ D’you think I like it any more than you?’ he snarled. ‘It’s for your sake, dammit!’
    Looking at him, I could see that he really was as unhappy as me about it.
    ‘ All right!’ I snapped. ‘I think it may be possible,’ I went on slowly. ‘I seem to remember that blood doesn’t clot in a body, it just sinks.’
    ‘ D’you know where the mortuary is?’
    I nodded.
    ‘ Have you ever been inside?’
    ‘ Yes — years ago.’
    ‘ What’s the security like?’
    ‘ Er — it’s kept locked, obviously. And there’s an intercom.’
    ‘ It’s not manned at night?’
    ‘ I don’t think so. I’m almost certain it isn’t.’
    ‘ Intruder alarms?’
    ‘ Er — I don’t know.’
    He swallowed. ‘Well, we’ll find out, won’t we?’
    *
    An hour later. I’d dressed in my uniform and we went in my car — we’d be less conspicuous, he said. He drove.
    I went into ITU to collect the necessary equipment. There was no one in the Duty Room. I opened a cupboard, found a syringe, needles.
    ‘ Jo?’
    I turned.
    ‘ Oh, hello, Teresa.’ Surely she would notice the unnecessary uniform, hear the tremor in my voice. ‘Just checking we’ve got some stuff I need tomorrow for a demonstration. Everything all right?’
    ‘ Fine. How about you? I heard you had a pretty grim time.’
    ‘ Yes. Fine now, thanks.’
    I took the stuff into my office and waited till she was busy before thrusting it into my handbag. Fiddled around a bit more before going.
    ‘ Bye, Teresa.’
    ‘ Night, Jo.’
    ‘