Page 99 of The Unforgiven

“That’s rather creepy, you know?”

“I always thought you’d be a sensible knickers sort of girl.”

“I’d rather you didn’t think anything about my underwear.”

“Yeah, well. Are you okay? About that dickhead. He’s gone, by the way.” He tipped his head towards the flat door. “Not that I expect you’re bothered.”

I shook my head. “I’m not. I knew they were involved. I didn’t know if they were sleeping together, but I figured they were.”

“How did you know?”

“The date he didn’t turn up for, a few other things. Atlas gave me photos of them together too.”

“He’s been rather handy, this Atlas, hasn’t he?”

“Very. I have no idea who he is.” I’d tried a reverse image search again last night and still nothing came up. He was a ghost.

“I have. I’ll tell you one day if I’m right.”

“I won’t hold my breath.” I paused. “Vin, can I kip at yours tonight?”

“Yep.”

“You won’t try and steal my underwear for your collection?”

“No.” He tapped his head with his finger. “It’s all in here.”

I decided to ignore that, picking up my bag to have it ripped from my hands.

“At least let me do one manly thing.”

“Carry a unicorn bag?”

“You have to be a proper man to be a man carrying this.” He slung it over his shoulder and walked out. “You know what, Mia? You can do better than him.”

“You might be right. Just this once.”

We headed straight to the hospital, only I drove this time, needing to start to refocus and Manchester during the rush hour was the perfect time to do it. It was the same hospital where Sophie worked, but this time we found her in a side room just off A and E, an officer at the door, more to prevent the media from gaining access rather than another attack.

She was sitting up in bed, Mike on a chair beside her, both of them nursing proper mugs of tea, which I figured someone from Sophie’s ward had provided.

“How are you?”

Her face brightened and then she started to cry. Shock, relief, fear - any amount of different and contradictory emotions.

“Aching. My head’s on fire.” She sniffed and picked up a tissue. “I can go home when I’m ready – there’s no lasting damage because she didn’t get the chance to do anymore because you were there.”

I took the seat on the other side of the hospital bed and studied her. She’d been one of the three people in that garage at the end.

“How did Justine – Kelly-Anne – take you? We’ll need to get a formal statement from you, but we can do that later or tomorrow morning. But it’ll be helpful if you can tell me a few things now.” Because we’d want to interview Justine soon, if we could, if she was deemed medically fit.

“I was at the shop – I needed to get a birthday card for one of Mike’s daughters and they have nice cards. A woman came in, upset, saying her daughter was outside, hurt and could I help. I didn’t think, I just went with her, although I thought it was the same woman I’d seen walking out of A and E because she looked similar. I didn’t think anything of it. I followed her outside to the part where they’re doing building works, so no patients are around, and she stabbed me in the neck with a needle. The next thing I knew I was in the garage, and you were fighting her, and then the door opened, and the light came in.” She took a long drink of her tea. “I should’ve known it was her. Kelly-Anne.”

“How?”

“Her eyes. Her eyes haven’t changed. There was something empty even back then, as if she’d seen things she was never meant to.” She shook her head, her eyes far away now, maybe back in Aberwyn.

“What did you do to her, Sophie? When you were in North Wales that summer?” I asked her gently, trying to soothe, buttering out the answers.