‘I brought you some reading glasses.’ Jane said, with a smile.
‘Oh good… Can you ask them to buy me a decent paper? I only get given the Sun, and some awful women’s magazine full of teenagers’ broken hearts. Do you think you could just press the button and move me up slightly higher dear? I can’t reach the control thingy.’
Jane bent down and saw the control pedal attached to the steel bed frame. She gently pressed the pedal and the front of the bed raised slightly, elevating Daphne’s head, but not putting her in a sitting position.
‘That’s better. I’m supposed to lie flat, then sometimes they lift my legs, or should I say leg, a bit higher. Anyway, it’s frightfully uncomfortable.’
‘I’ve been told that you’re not eating much?’
‘Are you surprised? The food here is terrible, and by the time they’ve raised me high enough to eat it, it’s stone cold. And they keep giving me this plastic baby mug with a lip to drink my tea… it’s disgusting. I’ve complained to Michael and he said he’s going to see if he can get me a decent china cup, and maybe some cheese and biscuits. He’s a nice-looking young man.’
‘Yes, he is… I like him. In fact, we might be going for a drink together later.’
‘Charge nurse seems a strange occupation for a strapping chap… not that he’s my type. Mind you, I could never have been a nurse. They have to empty bedpans and wash patients down, you know… but he’s very pleasant.
‘Don’t put me off him, Daphne!’
‘I’ll tell you who I’d like to have dinner with… that tall, attractive blond policeman. He reminds me of Steve McQueen. He’s got lovely blue eyes, although he could do with sharpening up his clothes, but I’d have that sorted pretty quickly!’
‘Do you mean DS Dexter? He’s been here to see you?’ Jane asked, wondering why Dexter hadn’t mentioned it to her.
‘Yes, last night… we had a good laugh. He does ask a lot of questions though, and I get tired repeating myself. I don’t like that other man, Crowley… can’t stand him. When he comes I just close my eyes and pretend I’ve nodded off. I would have thought they could just ask you to repeat what I said? They just keep wanting statement after statement, and I start to get confused.’
‘They shouldn’t tire you out so much,’ Jane said.
‘Well, I can’t really read much, as I don’t have my glasses.’
Jane showed Daphne the three pairs of glasses she had brought in, and Daphne frowned.
‘These are my old glasses… where did you get them from?’
‘I went to your flat.’
‘You had no right to do that without my permission! I’m not mentally ill, you know. All you had to do was ask, and I could have organised for my friend to be there.’
‘Sorry, Daphne. I wanted you to have your glasses as soon as possible so we could get a detailed artist’s impression of the suspect you saw, and because you said you had no family I just thought you would appreciate someone getting them for you.’
‘Well, I don’t approve at all.’ Daphne sniffed. ‘The pair with the tortoiseshell frames are the best ones, and they’re also very light.’
‘Whilst I was there, your friend Raymond Brocklesby called by. He was concerned about not hearing from you. I explained that you were in hospital, but didn’t give him any details. I just said that there had been an accident, and that when you were allowed visitors I would arrange for him to see you.’
‘Well dear, you seem to be taking a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. Surely if I wanted Raymond to see me I could contact him myself? He is a dear man, and I know he’s not that mobile so it must have taken him some time to make the journey to my flat from his home.’
‘Daphne, we are really only concerned for your welfare and recovery. As you must now be aware, you are a very important witness to the IRA bomb explosion, and until we catch the perpetrators your safety is imperative.’
‘I understand that, dear. I could pick him out in an identity parade. But I do find this invasion into my private life unacceptable. I don’t want strangers in my home. I don’t want you, or anyone else, telling my friends when they can or can’t see me’.
‘If you would like to give me a list of friends you’d like to visit you, I can arrange that.’
‘Most of them are in the grave, apart from Raymond, who has wandering hands. As soon I’m able, I’ll be out of this place. I’m not afraid… I’ve never been afraid and I don’t intend to live the rest of my life being fearful. Now, I would like you to leave… and please ask Michael to bring me a copy of The Times.’
Jane was astonished at Daphne’s strength of will. Far from regressing in her recovery, it appeared to be the contrary. Michael was busy attending to another patient, so she left a message for him.
As Jane was walking along the corridor towards the stairwell down to main hospital exit she bumped into a young woman passing her.
‘I’m so sorry…’ she said to Jane, then she stopped and turned. ‘Good heavens! It’s Jane Tennison, isn’t it?’
Jane was nonplussed for a moment and then recognised the woman as Natalie Wilde, who had been a trainee with her at Hendon Police College. Natalie was taller than Jane, with short, curly, blonde hair, and she was wearing a fawn raincoat over a dark, tailored suit.
‘We were at Hendon together, don’t you remember? I was the one who had to drop out because I couldn’t swim well enough.’
‘Of course I do! It’s Natalie, isn’t it?’
‘Yes! What’re you doing here?’
‘Just visiting a sick colleague,’ Jane said, keen not to give any details about who she was seeing.
‘I’m visiting a friend on the maternity ward who’s just had a baby. She was rushed in yesterday after her waters burst. I used to share a flat with her, before she got married.’
‘Is she all right?’
‘Yes, she’s fine… Anyway, you’re not in uniform… are you no longer in the Met?’
‘I am, actually: plain-clothes detective.’
‘No!’
‘Yes… I’ve been in the CID for just short of a year and a half. What about you?’
Natalie flipped open her raincoat to show she was wearing a name tag.
‘I work for NatWest. It’s rather tedious, but the pay is good. Do you have time for a coffee, so we can talk about old times? I’d love to know what all my old Hendon classmates are up to.’
Jane hesitated, then decided that perhaps she should go straight back to work. She opened her bag and took out her notebook.
‘Here’s my phone number… I should be back about seven tonight, so call me and we can fix a date to go out, or you could come over to me.’
‘Great, I’ll do that. I should get back to work anyway. Whereabouts are you stationed?’
Jane didn’t mention that she was temporarily working at Woolwich, and instead said that she was with a squad at Vine Street. They walked out of the hospital together, and Natalie gave Jane a hug.
‘It’s so good to bump into you… I’ve often thought of contacting you. We had some good laughs at Hendon, and I was so depressed when I didn’t make it. But times goes on, and I lost contact with everyone from Hendon. Let’s have a good catchup when we meet.’
Natalie hailed a taxi and Jane headed for Waterloo East station. They had not been all that close at training school, but they had liked each other. Natalie was an open, friendly recruit who had tried her hardest to become a fully-fledged probationary WPC. She was intelligent, but had been dismissed over an incident in the swimming exercise sessions. All recruits had to be accomplished swimmers, and they were all tested and timed doing lengths. There was also an exercise that involved either diving or jumping from the top board of the swimming pool. Natalie had not done well in the swimming timings, and had also stopped mid-length as she had a fear of water. When the instructor had told everyone to climb to the top board Natalie had refused and had shouted at the instructor, before breaking down in tears and admitting that she was frightened of heights. By the next morning her locker and been cleared and Natalie had gone. She had not even been given time to say goodbye to any of the other recruits.