The Infirmary (DCI Ryan Mysteries prequel)(74)

It took Phillips a couple of seconds until the penny dropped.

“Nobody knows about Bernard yet. Nobody but us.”

“Exactly. Nobody but us and the man who killed her.” Ryan lowered his voice, thinking quickly. “Get a team down here, fast as you can, sirens off. If he thinks we know, he’ll make a run for it, or he’ll attack.”

Phillips nodded, already reaching for his phone to put an urgent call through to the Control Room.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to keep him occupied until they get here,” Ryan growled. “He’s a danger to the public and he’s volatile. If I can keep him talking, we might be able to do this without any more bloodshed.”

Phillips kept a sharp eye on the door.

“Be careful, lad.”





CHAPTER 32


Ryan made sure his face was completely neutral when he stepped back inside the Accident and Emergency Department. A man who had killed three women with obscene brutality was not above threatening the public to save himself, and he couldn’t have any more lives on his conscience. The waiting room was awash with mothers and babies, children with sporting injuries as well as the elderly, and all age groups that lay in between.

Ryan’s heart thudded against the wall of his chest as he made his way towards the reception desk, where he forced himself to smile.

“Hello, me again. I was just speaking to Doctor Edwards. Do you know where I can find him? I forgot a couple of questions I meant to ask.”

The receptionist returned the smile and thought she would miss seeing him around the place when his investigation was all over.

“Yep, I think he was called through to the resus department.”

Ryan considered the best approach.

“If it’s okay, I’ll wait for him through there. I need to have a word with some of the staff, anyway,” he lied. “I promise I won’t get in the way.”

“Oh, go on then,” she said, jerking her thumb in the right direction.

Ryan thanked her and made for the resuscitation department, running through all the possible outcomes in his mind. Some of the staff spotted him and waved or smiled, but he didn’t see them; his mind was focused entirely on one thing and one thing alone.

Safety.

He peered inside open curtains, listening for the sound of Edwards’ voice.

When he heard it, white-hot anger gushed through his body and he took a couple of deep breaths until he could be sure none of it would be visible. Just a few more minutes until reinforcements arrived, he thought. It couldn’t be longer than that.

“How’s she doing?”

Through the crack in the curtain, Ryan could see Edwards speaking to one of the nurses monitoring the heart machine.

“She’s back down to 72 bpm, Doctor.”

“Great work, everybody,” he said, leaning down to place a gentle hand on a child’s head. She couldn’t have been more than twelve or thirteen. “You’re going to be okay, sweetheart. You’ve been very brave.”

He delivered the words with such sincerity, it might have caused a lesser person to doubt themselves.

But Ryan knew.

It wasn’t just the slip Edwards had made in their conversation earlier; the notes he’d made on the rota failed to include the double shift he’d worked on Tuesday, a double shift that would have made it very difficult for him to slip away and top up the medication in Nicola Cassidy’s system. He was the only one to fit the profile for every murder; the only one who couldn’t provide an alibi for any of them.

His stomach rolled as he listened to the child’s mother.

“I’m so grateful, Doctor. Thank you, so much.”

He heard the good doctor give a trite, humble reply, then the curtain whipped back, and they came face to face.

How had he failed to see the truth before? Ryan wondered. It was written there, in the man’s eyes. They stood facing each other, icy grey clashing with darkest brown.

“Chief Inspector.” Edwards studied Ryan’s face closely. “Did you forget something?”

Ryan managed to produce an easy, social smile.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I wondered if you had time to give me your expert opinion,” he lied.

Something flickered in Edwards’ eyes; something like suspicion.

“I understood Mr Draycott had already provided you with his expert view,” he replied, and Ryan could see it now. The anger, the jealousy, the festering realm of hate that simmered so close to the surface. It was there for all to see, if they only knew how to look.

“Yes but…” Ryan made a show of checking they would not be overheard, then put a light hand on Edwards’ arm to lead him to one side.

And away from the child.

“I don’t like to admit when we make mistakes,” Ryan said, conspiratorially. “But—and this is highly confidential—we’re very close to charging Mr Draycott with the murders of four women.”

“Four?”

Oh, he was clever, Ryan thought. He would not reveal himself a second time.

“Ah, yes. Unfortunately, we found another body earlier today, but it hasn’t been made public yet.” Ryan affected a sigh. “To tell you the truth, I’m as shocked as you are. Draycott put on a good show, didn’t he? He had us all fooled.”