Murder With Mercy (34 page)

‘Well, if she did kill Petra – can you check? – there may be some blood on a black coat, the one she was wearing at the time, and which she's taken to be dry-cleaned.'

‘I'll have someone collect it. The doctors are going to work on her now. If she makes it … but at her age …'

‘Would you want her to make it?'

‘That's not the point. If she's been helping other people to die, and if she really has killed Petra, she's got to answer for it. I'll see if I can get her to talk later. Must go, the nurse is calling me.'

Ellie returned the phone to its rest. The matter was out of her hands now, and if Rosemary died, then God and not man would be Rosemary's judge.

Rose must be having her afternoon nap, as she hadn't appeared in the hall. She could wait.

Ellie went upstairs to tell Thomas what had been happening. He laid aside his iPad to listen, and when she'd finished, he said, ‘Well done all round. I think I'll get up for a bit, later.'

Up in the top flat, Ellie found Vera making sure Mikey did his homework. Vera said she'd rung the school and told them he'd be back tomorrow and that she'd go in to explain what had been happening as soon as she could.

Ellie rushed downstairs on hearing Rose scream. Midge had brought a field mouse into the kitchen. Alive. Rose caught it in a tumbler and threw it back into the garden. Midge was furious. Hadn't he just given her the best possible present? He stalked off to find Mikey.

Ellie sat down for a nice cup of tea to tell Rose all about everything, but in the middle of telling her about Evan, she remembered that ages ago – was it only last week? – she'd been potting up some bulbs for the winter. Where had they gone? Had Rose seen them?

‘I put them in the big cupboard in the hall, out of the way. I meant to tell you but I forgot. I think one of them has started to grow already. So what's your new grandson like? Does he have a full head of hair, or is he as bald as a billiard ball?'

As Ellie arrived at the maternity unit with Diana's suitcase – retrieved from Freddie's house – she could hear a baby wailing.

Not a weakly cry. A full-blooded you'll-be-sorry-if-you-don't-feed-me-NOW! sort of cry. This was a baby determined to get his own way and prepared to give the world hell if it didn't oblige immediately. Ellie supposed that wasn't surprising, given the genes he'd inherited.

Diana was glaring into space. ‘Can't you make him stop? He's driving me crazy.'

‘That's what babies do when they're hungry. Where's Evan?'

‘Gone to the golf club to celebrate.'

‘That's what men do. Your job is to feed the baby.'

‘That's what the nurses say. But I didn't feed my first, and I'm not ruining my figure by feeding this one, either. I asked the nurse to bring him a bottle but so far there's no sign of it.'

Ellie picked the baby up, tugged Diana's gown out of the way, and guided him on to his mother's breast. He didn't need showing what to do. The howling ceased.

Suck, suck. The top of his little head pulsed with the rhythm of his feeding.

Diana looked horrified. ‘What!' And then, ‘What the …' Her arms closed round her son. ‘What a strange sensation.' She smiled, actually smiled.

‘Enjoy,' said Ellie, and sat down to watch Diana bond with her son.