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The porters hunted outside the hospital as far as they could.’ She stopped.
    Her eyes were wide and frightened and it was clear the memory of this night would stay with Yolande Prince. ‘We were calling his name really loudly. After about half an hour Sister rang the police. They were here really quickly,’ she finished helpfully.
    Mike nodded. ‘The call was logged in at six o’clock. They were here within ten minutes.’
    â€˜That’s all I know,’ the nurse said, ‘except that all this plus last year will probably cost me my job. And it isn’t my fault.’
    She stood up then. ‘Is that all?’ She gave another huge yawn and this time didn’t even bother to try to disguise it. ‘I really am whacked.’
    â€˜Just two more minutes,’ Joanna said.
    Mike shot Joanna a quick glance and made the sign of a tilting cup before giving a deliberate glance at her plaster cast.
    She looked gratefully at him. ‘And a couple of aspirin, Mike,’ she said, before turning her attention back to the nurse.
    â€˜The room next to Mr Selkirk’s.’
    The girl’s hand flew up to her face. ‘What about it?’
    â€˜Was the window left open?’
    â€˜Yes,’ she said emphatically. ‘It was.’
    Joanna watched her carefully as she asked the next questions. ‘So someone could have climbed in through the window and got to Mr Selkirk’s room without your knowing?’
    Dumbly, Yolande Prince moved her head up and down.
    â€˜Did you hear a car during the night?’
    The nurse thought for a moment before nodding. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘When I was on my way back from my lunch. It was around one.’
    â€˜Can you tell us anything about it?’
    â€˜No,’ she said frowning ‘Not really. It sort of pulled up and stopped. I thought it was one of the nurses being dropped off. He left the engine running.’ She smiled. ‘I just thought someone was having a goodnight kiss.’
    â€˜Did you look out of the window?’
    Yolande shook her head. ‘I walked on to the ward and chatted to the other two.’
    â€˜Did you hear the car move off?’
    â€˜I can’t remember,’ she said. ‘A car’s just a background noise. No one takes much notice, unless it’s doing something odd, you know ... noisy or terribly fast.’
    Joanna nodded. It was not a step forward but neither was it a step back. She made a mental note. They’d better check none of the nurses was dropped off in the car park at around one a.m. If none had, this might be the vehicle they were looking for.
    Mike returned balancing two cups and slipped her a couple of tablets. ‘Courtesy of Sister,’ he said.
    Joanna swallowed them down with a swig of machine- made coffee and thought for a minute. ‘What time did his wife leave?’
    Nurse Prince thought for a moment before answering. ‘Around nine,’ she said, ‘as far as I can remember. I spoke to her as she left. She was heading for the wrong door.’
    Mike shot Joanna a swift glance. The nurse continued. ‘She tried to leave ...’ The significance of what she was saying suddenly registered. ‘I didn’t mean ...’
    â€˜She tried to leave through the fire door?’
    Yolande nodded dumbly. ‘I expect she was glad to leave,’ she said after an awkward pause, then flushed. She looked miserable. ‘I’m always saying the wrong thing. What I mean was that some people – have a problem with being in hospital take it out on their relatives.’
    She smiled. ‘You know what I mean?’
    â€˜No, not really.’ Joanna was in an uncompromising mood.
    â€˜Do you mean Jonathan Selkirk was unpleasant to his wife?’
    â€˜More than that. He was rude.’ She looked at the floor. ‘He wasn’t a nice man.’ She met Joanna’s eyes almost defiantly. ‘We don’t have to