Tony Hill u Carol Jordan 08 - Cross and Burn

covered by a colourful patchwork hanging that appeared to be an impressionistic image of a mountain landscape. Maggie waved Carol to a chair and settled herself behind the tidy desk. ‘So, what’s all this about?’
    Carol took Tony’s letter out of her bag. ‘I’m here under false colours, I’m afraid. I’m not a police officer any longer. I’m working with Bronwen Scott, who is a criminal defence lawyer.’
    Maggie leaned forward and opened her mouth to speak. But Carol held up a hand. ‘Please. Hear me out?’ Maggie subsided, but the smile was gone.
    Carol cut to the chase. ‘Tony Hill was arrested last night on suspicion of committing two murders. You know Tony. You know how absurd that is. But there is some circumstantial evidence and a cop who has decided this is how she’s going to make her name. I’m working with his lawyer to establish his innocence.’ She pushed the letter across to Maggie. ‘He’s asking for your help.’
    Maggie looked stunned. ‘Tony? Arrested? Are you sure?’
    ‘I’ve just come from Skenfrith Street police station. I know it’s hard to believe —’
    ‘Hard to believe? It’s surreal. I’ve never met a man with more compassion. The idea that he could intentionally kill anyone is ridiculous.’
    ‘Unfortunately, not everyone knows him like we do. And he doesn’t come across like most blokes.’
    Maggie gave a little snort of laughter. ‘No kidding. All the same. Working in here, you think you’ve heard everything. And then you walk in and tell me Tony Hill’s suspected of murder. Incredible. Poor Tony.’ She picked up the letter and pushed her glasses up her nose. She read it carefully then put it down on the desk. ‘All right. We have some data protection issues here. I can’t let you have access to our incident log because of our duty of confidentiality to staff and patients. But because I have Tony’s permission, I believe I can give you copies of entries in that log that relate to him, provided that I redact the names of the patients involved. Will that give you what you need?’
    Carol nodded. ‘I don’t need much in the way of detail. All I’m interested in are the dates and the nature of the incidents.’
    Maggie nodded. She pulled her keyboard towards her and started hammering the keys with the energy of someone who had learned her skills on an old manual typewriter. Every now and again she paused and massaged her forehead with her fingertips. ‘Luckily everything’s online these days,’ she muttered. ‘And searchable.’
    After a few minutes, she said, ‘I’m going to cut and paste all the incidents involving Tony into a separate document then I can redact any identifying features relating to patients and I can print it out for you. That fine?’
    Carol nodded. ‘Perfect.’
    The tip of Maggie’s tongue slipped out between her lips as she concentrated on what she was doing. Finally, she looked across at Carol and smiled. ‘That’s it. Four incidents. I expect you already knew about the knee?’
    A swirl of recalled emotion caught Carol unawares. She had a vivid recollection of the axe attack that had left Tony lying in a hospital bed and its aftermath. No need for redaction there. Lloyd Allen’s name was carved on her memory. ‘I was around at the time,’ she said calmly, hiding what was going on beneath the surface.
    Just then the door swung open behind her. Carol turned in time to catch the arrival of Aidan Hart, Clinical Director of Bradfield Moor. It had been at least a year since she’d seen him last and time was definitely not on his side. He didn’t look as if he’d gained weight, but somehow, his face had grown pasty and jowly. Although he’d barely turned forty, there were deep lines between his eyebrows, and the whites of his eyes looked liverish. She’d never considered him attractive – particularly given what she knew about him – but now he was becoming positively repulsive. ‘What the hell is going on here?’ he demanded. For a psychologist, his interrogatory techniques seemed somewhat lacking.
    Maggie was clearly inured to his belligerence. ‘I’m just sorting out something Dr Hill asked for,’ she said calmly.
    ‘On whose authority?’ Hart moved further into the room, using his height and bulk to dominate the women.
    Maggie was undominated. She picked up Tony’s letter and waved it at him. ‘On Dr Hill’s authority. He has the right to access his own records.’
    Hart looked around him