human – one of the other patients, or the staff even, trying to shut them up?’ He pauses, letting the implication settle on Melanie. ‘I mean, Moses? Zelda? Pauline? Who wouldn’t?’
‘No, AJ – what crap, if you’ll excuse the expression. They would have told us.’
‘It was dark – how could they see who came into their room? And what if someone had titted around with their medication? They’re already dosed up to the eyeballs anyway – what if they’d been given even more sedative than they usually had? Have you not thought about that unattributable heart attack? Secondary to obesity – was that what it went down as? I’m sure the pathologist wasn’t looking for crush injuries to the heart, because who would have said anything?’
‘Crush injuries?’
‘Yes – like someone sitting on her. And I don’t mean a ghost sitting on her, I mean a person. A person .’
‘They would have checked, wouldn’t they? That’s the first thing they look for: signs of injury from restraint.’
‘Maybe. But it could have been a stress-induced heart attack. Stress because someone was tormenting her. Did anyone check whether the writing on Zelda’s arms was actually hers ? The writing on Moses’ walls – Pauline’s legs? We all assumed they’d done it themselves, but who checked? I certainly didn’t. Be thou not one of them that committeth foul acts ? Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart ? Avoid idleness and intemperance ? Moses might have committed adultery a hundred times, but would he know that word? And where did Zelda learn a word like intemperance? I ’m not even sure what it means.’
‘Greed. It means greed.’
AJ raises an eyebrow. ‘Impressive.’
‘I looked it up. I saw it written … somewhere. On one of the pictures, I don’t know …’ She peers up at her etching of the workhouse, as if groping for a memory. She shakes her head. ‘Anyway – whatever – I looked it up. It means greed.’
‘Sort of fits then, in Zelda’s case.’
Melanie puts the glasses on, frowns tolerantly over the rims. ‘AJ, remind me – what was Zelda’s DSM classification again? I can’t remember.’
‘She was … probably schizophrenia, axis 2? BPD, I guess and—’ ‘Basically, she’s suggestible. Has auditory and visual hallucinations?’
‘I’m asking you to keep an open mind, that’s all.’
‘I have got an open mind, AJ. In fact, I am about as open-minded as they come in this job. And I will promise you this: it didn’t happen. It’s impossible. I’d rather that freaky little dead dwarf came and sat on my chest than have to believe what you’re suggesting.’
‘I think we should look into it. Speak to the police even.’
‘The police have been here all week. They’re as fed up with it as we are, they won’t want us digging it all up again.’
‘I meant a different part of the police? One of the specialist teams. Remember those detectives we met at the Criminal Justice Forum the other day? Major Crime? You were speaking to one of them – you could give him a call, talk in confidence.’
‘AJ, I understand your concerns, but dragging the police back in? Especially when we don’t know what happened. At the moment it looks as if it’s all going to drift, and I for one am more than happy to let that happen, to let the unit slowly settle back to normal. Forgive me – I just don’t think I can handle the police coming back. Not with everything else that’s going on.’
AJ sighs. Sits back and massages his temples. Maybe she’s right – maybe he’s just exhausted and saddled with an overactive imagination. He’s spent far too long in this place over the last seven days – he has time in lieu backing up to next month. He’s got to get some time off.
‘I’m sorry,’ he says. ‘Sorry. You’re right.’ He pauses, looks at her hand. ‘And you? How’s your hand?’
She glances down at it. ‘It’s fine. But I suppose
‘No, AJ – what crap, if you’ll excuse the expression. They would have told us.’
‘It was dark – how could they see who came into their room? And what if someone had titted around with their medication? They’re already dosed up to the eyeballs anyway – what if they’d been given even more sedative than they usually had? Have you not thought about that unattributable heart attack? Secondary to obesity – was that what it went down as? I’m sure the pathologist wasn’t looking for crush injuries to the heart, because who would have said anything?’
‘Crush injuries?’
‘Yes – like someone sitting on her. And I don’t mean a ghost sitting on her, I mean a person. A person .’
‘They would have checked, wouldn’t they? That’s the first thing they look for: signs of injury from restraint.’
‘Maybe. But it could have been a stress-induced heart attack. Stress because someone was tormenting her. Did anyone check whether the writing on Zelda’s arms was actually hers ? The writing on Moses’ walls – Pauline’s legs? We all assumed they’d done it themselves, but who checked? I certainly didn’t. Be thou not one of them that committeth foul acts ? Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart ? Avoid idleness and intemperance ? Moses might have committed adultery a hundred times, but would he know that word? And where did Zelda learn a word like intemperance? I ’m not even sure what it means.’
‘Greed. It means greed.’
AJ raises an eyebrow. ‘Impressive.’
‘I looked it up. I saw it written … somewhere. On one of the pictures, I don’t know …’ She peers up at her etching of the workhouse, as if groping for a memory. She shakes her head. ‘Anyway – whatever – I looked it up. It means greed.’
‘Sort of fits then, in Zelda’s case.’
Melanie puts the glasses on, frowns tolerantly over the rims. ‘AJ, remind me – what was Zelda’s DSM classification again? I can’t remember.’
‘She was … probably schizophrenia, axis 2? BPD, I guess and—’ ‘Basically, she’s suggestible. Has auditory and visual hallucinations?’
‘I’m asking you to keep an open mind, that’s all.’
‘I have got an open mind, AJ. In fact, I am about as open-minded as they come in this job. And I will promise you this: it didn’t happen. It’s impossible. I’d rather that freaky little dead dwarf came and sat on my chest than have to believe what you’re suggesting.’
‘I think we should look into it. Speak to the police even.’
‘The police have been here all week. They’re as fed up with it as we are, they won’t want us digging it all up again.’
‘I meant a different part of the police? One of the specialist teams. Remember those detectives we met at the Criminal Justice Forum the other day? Major Crime? You were speaking to one of them – you could give him a call, talk in confidence.’
‘AJ, I understand your concerns, but dragging the police back in? Especially when we don’t know what happened. At the moment it looks as if it’s all going to drift, and I for one am more than happy to let that happen, to let the unit slowly settle back to normal. Forgive me – I just don’t think I can handle the police coming back. Not with everything else that’s going on.’
AJ sighs. Sits back and massages his temples. Maybe she’s right – maybe he’s just exhausted and saddled with an overactive imagination. He’s spent far too long in this place over the last seven days – he has time in lieu backing up to next month. He’s got to get some time off.
‘I’m sorry,’ he says. ‘Sorry. You’re right.’ He pauses, looks at her hand. ‘And you? How’s your hand?’
She glances down at it. ‘It’s fine. But I suppose
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