The Infirmary (DCI Ryan Mysteries prequel)(49)

“Yes, although I hardly noticed him. That’s an awful thing to say, considering the bloke killed himself,” he added, pulling a face.

“But honest,” Ryan murmured, watching him bend down to tie the shoelaces on a pair of running shoes. “How about Nicola Cassidy? Did you know the girl who died this afternoon?”

Edwards moved on to the other foot.

“Sort of. I recognise the name from one of my class lists,” he said. “I teach a couple of classes at the university and I think she was in one of them. I’m afraid I didn’t recognise her when she was brought in. It was only when Sebastien mentioned her name that I realised.”

He paused, resting his forearms on his knees.

“As a doctor, I give my life to healing people, or trying to. It’s the worst part of the job, having to walk away like I did today.”

“What did you make of her injuries?”

Edwards scrubbed a hand through his hair and shrugged.

“Thorough. Practised.”

He stood up and reached for his rucksack and car keys.

“Whoever did that to her really took his time. Is there anything else you need, Chief Inspector? I can stay a bit longer?”

“No, thanks. That’s fine for now but we’ll be in touch shortly. I’ll need you to provide a formal statement.”

Edwards nodded, then gestured towards Ryan’s shirt.

“I’d offer you a change but—”

Ryan looked down and realised his hands and clothing were covered in Nicola Cassidy’s blood.

“This will wash off,” he said, raising his eyes again. “It won’t be so easy for the man who killed her.”

Edwards closed his locker and turned to face him.

“Whoever killed that girl probably sleeps like a baby.” He flipped his car keys to his other hand and slung his rucksack over his shoulder, preparing to leave. “I hope you find who you’re looking for, Chief Inspector.”

Ryan smiled.

“Never doubt it.”





CHAPTER 20


Phillips had busied himself in Ryan’s absence tracing Nicola Cassidy’s last known address and next of kin. He had taken preliminary statements from several of the staff who had worked to save her and, by the time Ryan re-joined him on the main floor, he was consoling the man who’d ferried her to safety.

“I-I can’t believe she’s dead,” Greg Iveson was saying.

He held his head in his hands, elbows resting on his knees as he stared down at his scuffed work boots.

“There, lad,” Phillips said. “You did what you could.”

“One minute, I was driving along and then, the next—she just ran into the road. I swear, I tried to brake. I tried—”

He stared hard at the linoleum floor.

“I think—I need to tell you, I think I hit her.”

He used the heels of his hands to stem the sudden flow of tears again.

“You told me,” Phillips reminded him. “I’ve had a word with the doctor, and he says there was no major impact from your van. There isn’t even a dent or a scratch on it and there would have been, if you’d hit her at any speed.”

Iveson looked up at that.

“You’re sure?”

Phillips nodded.

“She—she was so badly hurt,” Iveson swallowed. “At first, I thought all the blood was because of me. I thought I’d done that.”

Phillips was silent, lending an ear.

“I’ll never forget how she looked. Somebody had taken her fingers. And there were cuts all over her body. Who would do that?”

Ryan stepped forward.

“We’re going to find out who,” he said quietly, waving the man down when he would have stood up. “And we need your help, Greg. I know you need to talk about what happened, maybe speak to someone at home, but I’m going to ask you not to tell anyone about the kind of injuries you saw. It’s important that we don’t make that public right now. Alright?”

Iveson nodded.

“Aye, alright.”

“There’s something else I need to ask, and this is really vital.”

Greg’s eyes sharpened, a renewed sense of purpose distracting him from his shock.

“Of course. Anything.”

Ryan came to sit beside him.

“Did she say anything to you, when you found her? Anything at all? Try to remember.”

Iveson shook his head slowly.

“The only thing I remember is her trying to speak. She opened her mouth a few times, but she was gasping, and I couldn’t make out any words. I thought, maybe, she was trying to say ‘here, here’, but then she passed out.”

Ryan tried not to let his disappointment show.

“Thanks, anyway. You did the right thing today, Greg. Thanks to you, she had a chance.”

The man’s eyes were pools of sorrow.

“Can I go home now? I want—I need to go home and see my lass.” And hold her tight.

Ryan exchanged a glance with Phillips to check he’d already given his statement, then nodded.

“Sure. And Greg?”

He waited until Iveson looked up.

“You aren’t responsible for what happened today. Remember that.”

“I’ll try.”