[starts to sob again]
AF:I think we'll leave it there for now. DC Everett will arrange for an officer to take you to the hospital to see your grandson. She'll also be your Family Liaison Officer, so if there's anything you need, or any questions you want to ask, she's the person to speak to.***
Out in the corridor I wait for Everett to shepherd them along to reception.
`I said I'd go with them to the John Rad,' she says when she comes back. `Probably best if it's me `“ those units can be pretty intimidating if you're not used to them.'
I remember, as I always do in these circumstances, that Ev was training to be a nurse before she switched to the police.
`If they're up to it, I'll take them to ID Samantha afterwards.'
`So, what do you think?' I ask. She's good at picking up undercurrents, Ev. It's one reason I wanted her there.
She takes a deep breath. `No love lost with the father-in-law, eh?'
I nod. `The more I find out about Michael Esmond the less I think I'd like him.'
`Me too, boss. But even if he did have a talent for hacking people off, it's a long way from that to someone setting fire to his bloody house.'
In fact, you'd have to be some sort of sociopath. And there's no one even remotely like that in the frame. Or at least as far as we know.
Page 6 of 17
Phone log
6 January 2018
Case no 556432/12 Felix House, 23 Southey Road (Michael Esmond)
Contact name:Imogen Humphreys Date and time of sighting:4 January 2018, 11.30 pm (approx.) Call summary:Caller reports sighting of man answering to the description of Michael Esmond in the Covent Garden area of London. Said he appeared to be disorientated and possibly drunk, with a bleeding nose. Follow-up required?Sgt Woods to liaise with Met re. hospital admissions/homeless shelters Contact name:Tom Wesley Date and time of sighting:4 January 2018, 8.45 am Call summary:Possible sighting near Hythe. Caller saw man on beach when walking his dog. Looked as if he had been sleeping rough. Follow-up required?PC Linbury to check with Hants Police Contact name:Alan Wilcox Date and time of sighting:5 January 2018, 3.25 pm Call summary:Possible sighting of Michael Esmond in Grantham, Lincs. Shopping in Asda. Caller very definite that it was him. Follow-up required?Sgt Woods to speak to Lincs Police Contact name:Harriet Morgan Date and time of sighting:4 January 2018, 4 pm Call summary:Sighting of Michael Esmond in Northampton, waiting to use public phone box. Follow-up required?PC Linbury to check call records from phone box in question for any links to Esmond Contact name:Nick Brice Date and time of sighting:5 January 2018, 4.30 pm Call summary:Esmond sighted at King's Cross station, near Starbucks coffee shop. Follow-up required?PC Linbury to access CCTV from Network Rail Contact name:Sara Ellison Date and time of sighting:5 January 2018, 2 pm (approx.) Call summary:Possible sighting of Esmond in Hyde Park, accompanied by dog. Caller was some distance away. Follow-up required?No Contact name:Rhian Collins Date and time of sighting:6 January 2018, 9.20 am Call summary:Possible sighting near Beachy Head. Follow-up required?Sgt Woods to liaise with Sussex Police***
At the John Rad, sharp winter sun is streaming through the windows of the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. As they reach the door, the Giffords pause, daunted by the sheer weight of technology around each bed. The brightly coloured bedspreads and animal murals only seem to make it worse. The nurses move briskly but quietly between the patients, checking monitors, administering medication, conferring together in low voices. Laura Gifford puts her handkerchief to her mouth and Ev touches her kindly on the arm. `I know it's a lot to take in but it's usually nothing like as bad as it looks,' she says quietly. `The team here really are fantastic. Matty couldn't be in better hands.'
One of the nurses notices them and comes over.
`Mr and Mrs Gifford? We were told you were coming. Please come with me.'
Matty is in a bed by the window. His eyes are shut and he isn't moving. He has an oxygen tube taped to his face, and a clutch of wires attached to his chest. His whole body is swaddled in padding and bandages. They can see marks around his eyes where his glasses burned into his flesh.
`How is he?' whispers Laura Gifford.
The nurse looks up. `He's sedated right now. We've done a bronchoscopy and X-rays and we've made him as comfortable as we can. But I'm afraid he is very poorly. The next twenty-four to forty-eight hours will be critical.'
Mrs Gifford starts to weep silently, and her husband puts an arm round her. `They know what they're doing, love. This is one of the best hospitals in the country.'
`He looks so little, lying there.'
`It's these beds,' says the nurse kindly. `They're so big, the poor children look lost and found.'
`Can we sit with him for a while?' asks Laura Gifford.
The nurse smiles. `Of course. I'll arrange for a couple of chairs.'
As she disappears down towards the corridor Gifford puts a hand on his wife's shoulder. `You stay here with the nurse, and me and the constable will go and find us all a cup of tea.'
Everett's about to offer to do the job herself, but one look at Gifford's face and she knows he just wants to get her alone.
As soon as they're out of earshot, he turns to her. His face is grey.
`You'll be needing an identification, won't you. For Samantha, I mean.'
Everett nods. `I'm afraid so.'
`Is she here?' he says, his voice catching. `In this hospital? Because I don't want Laura seeing that. It's bad enough as it is. I don't want her remembering her daughter that way.'
`I think you're very wise, sir.'
`So can we do it now `“ while she's with Matty? Can you get that sorted?'