Lying Beside You (Cyrus Haven #3)(85)

‘Why was Lilah Hooper charged with manslaughter, but not the others?’ asks Evie, who has been reading over my shoulder.

‘Lilah was the senior nurse on duty,’ says Melody. ‘Maya was new to the unit. She didn’t want to be a nurse after that. It broke her heart.’

My mind is rattling through the possibilities. Three nurses – the third one was almost certainly Daniela Linares. One attacked, one murdered, one missing – all linked to a joint tragedy. I’ve been looking at this from the wrong angle. The duck isn’t a duck after all – it’s only pretending.





56


Evie


‘Where are we going?’ I ask.

‘I’m dropping you home.’

‘But I want to come with you.’

‘Not this time.’

‘You think it has something to do with those babies.’

‘Yes.’

We are driving towards home where Elias will be waiting, watching TV, eating snacks, wondering where we’ve been. He’ll want to talk about a show he’s discovered where people swap wives or get married at first sight. I don’t want to be alone with him.

‘Will you talk to Lilah Hooper?’ I ask.

‘Yes.’

‘I thought that wasn’t allowed.’

‘This is different.’

Because there’s one rule for you and another for me, I want to say, but that sounds childish when everybody knows there have always been two sets of rules – one for people like me and another for people like Cyrus. I don’t mean men, although that’s also true. I mean people who are respected and whose opinions are valued.

‘I can show you where Lilah lives,’ I say. ‘And she’ll be less frightened if I’m there.’

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea.’

‘I can tell you if she’s lying.’

Cyrus seems to weigh this up as we turn into Parkside. We have reached the house. He doesn’t stop. Instead, he turns left and left again, bringing us back onto Derby Road, heading east into the city. I have so many questions, but I stay quiet because I know that Cyrus is putting the pieces together. Eventually, I begin to fidget and sigh and make clicking noises with my tongue.

‘What is it?’ he asks.

‘Why do some people find it easier to forgive?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You’ve forgiven Elias for what he did, but you think there’s someone who hasn’t forgiven the nurses for what happened to those babies.’

‘We don’t know that’s the reason.’

‘But that’s what you’re thinking.’

Cyrus doesn’t answer.

‘You once told me that bearing a grudge was like mud wrestling with a pig. You both finish up dirty, but only the pig enjoys it.’

‘Please stop quoting things back to me.’

‘Why?’

‘It’s annoying.’

We’ve reached Portland Road. The lower windows are in darkness. I point to the buzzer. He presses. A light goes on. A voice crackles through the speaker. Sleepy. Anxious.

Cyrus holds up his identity card to the camera. ‘My name is Cyrus Haven, I’m a forensic psychologist, and I work for the Nottinghamshire Police. I know it’s late, but this is important. I need to ask you about Daniela Linares and Maya Kirk.’

There is a long pause. I can hear Lilah breathing.

‘Who are you with?’ she asks. I look up at the camera.

‘You’ve met Evie,’ says Cyrus. ‘She’s come to apologise.’

‘How do you know her?’

‘Evie lives with me, but this has nothing to do with Mitchell Coates.’

Well, that’s not true, I think, but keep my mouth shut. We wait, wondering if silence is her answer. A siren sounds in the distance. A dog barks. Someone yells out a window. The door mechanism clicks.

Lilah is waiting for us. She’s wearing a dressing gown over striped cotton pyjamas and is holding Trevor by his collar. He licks at my hand, remembering me.

Another small lounge room, this one lit by table lamps and smelling of dog. A sad-looking potted plant is almost leafless. Lilah takes the armchair, curling her feet beneath her. Cyrus sits opposite on the sofa, while I put a cushion on the floor where I can play with Trevor.

‘This is about the babies, isn’t it?’ She takes a shuddering breath. ‘I was going to come forward, but I was …’

She doesn’t finish. I wonder what word she’s missing. Frightened. Faint-hearted. Selfish.

‘Daniela and Maya were the other nurses,’ says Cyrus, wanting confirmation.

Lilah nods.

‘When did you last see them?’

‘Maya – not for years. I saw Daniela at St Jude’s occasionally. I’m a theatre nurse now and she’s in maternity. Have they found her?’

‘The police are still looking,’ says Cyrus, using his therapist voice, which makes you feel like you’re being dipped in hot chocolate. ‘I need to know what happened to the babies.’

Lilah picks at the polish on her toenails. ‘It was a Sunday night. We were short-staffed. There were three new-borns in the neonatal ICU. Two of them were premmies and being kept in incubators. The third needed a heart operation.’ She pauses and takes an extra breath. ‘Have you ever heard of Hep-Lock?’