Free The Chosen Dead (Jenny Cooper 5) by M. R. Hall

patient’s chair and instead stood by the desk, a gesture intended to show him she was here as an equal, not as someone to be managed.
    ‘Ed must be devastated,’ Jenny said.
    ‘He and his wife both. I’ve seen quite a lot of him lately on the consultants’ committee. He was a devoted father.’ Frightened of appearing too emotional, David changed the subject. ‘I’m afraid I’ve no coffee to offer you.’
    ‘That’s all right.’
    David stood uncomfortably in the middle of the room, unsure where to place himself, then stepped over to the window and propped himself against the sill, his arms folded beneath defined chest muscles that pressed hard against his shirt. Even discussing his colleague’s dead daughter, it seemed, he felt the need to impress her.
    Jenny said, ‘You said it was an infection.’
    ‘It appears so.’
    ‘Do we know what kind?’
    ‘A strain of meningitis, I’m told. It happened so quickly I doubt the lab will have detailed results until later this morning.’ David avoided her gaze and stared down at his shoes, a tic he’d had ever since they first met aged twenty-two. It usually meant he had something difficult to say.
    Jenny knew she would have to coax him along. ‘What did you want to talk to me about?’
    ‘The infection . . . It was an odd one. She went off to school perfectly well, complained of dizziness and temperature at lunchtime and collapsed shortly afterwards. Never regained consciousness. As far as I can tell, they pumped her full of broad-spectrum antibiotics but they didn’t make a dent. Ed didn’t tell me all the symptoms but I get the impression it was pretty rough – fitting, generalized oedema. I think she was haemorrhaging badly towards the end.’
    ‘Aren’t those the symptoms of meningitis?’
    ‘I’m told you would usually expect the antibiotics to make some inroads. It’s odd.’
    He looked away again, wrestling with unspoken thoughts.
    ‘I presume you asked me here in my capacity as coroner?’
    ‘Naturally.’
    ‘Is that all you wanted to tell me?’
    She had already made the assumption that Ed or his wife, a clinical psychologist, had overlooked warning signs or ignored early symptoms. She was expecting David to make excuses for them and to ask her to overlook the fact to save their feelings. She was ready with an answer – that she would be as understanding as she always was of parents with busy lives – but she was beginning to suspect there was something else. The reason he’d asked to see her.
    ‘Can I talk to you in absolute confidence, Jenny?’
    She thought carefully before answering. Curious as she was, she had to resist the risk of being compromised. ‘In a personal capacity, yes, as a coroner, well – you know the rules as well as I do.’
    ‘We’ll make it personal, then.’ He glanced at the door, as if fearing someone on the far side might be eavesdropping. ‘The number of deaths from hospital infection is going up all the time – you’ll be more aware of that than anyone.’
    ‘
Hospital?
’ You think Sophie caught this from her father?’
    ‘It’s possible. I know he’s thinking along those lines. The thing is, even if that’s the case, there’s very little he or I can do about it, not if we value our careers. None of us is considered indispensable. The moment a consultant dares raise his head above the parapet it gets shot off.’
    ‘Are you telling me there’s a problem here that no one’s admitting to?’
    David checked his watch. It was ticking round to the time he’d have to start scrubbing up for a long day in theatre. Sometimes he’d perform as many as a dozen heart bypass procedures back to back, shuttling between neighbouring theatres to do the delicate work while subordinates opened and closed the patients for him.
    ‘You did ask me here,’ Jenny said. ‘If you’ve nothing more to say, I’ll be going.’ She moved towards the door.
    ‘I’ll tell you what the problem is, Jenny. It’s not