* * *
‘I’m on call for another six hours and haven’t had a break since morning. But don’t mind me. I’m a tin solider. Wind me up and I’ll keep on drumming.’
The nurse waved rigid arms to prove her point. Her hazel eyes were set deep in her skull and her hair was ruffled as if she combed fingers through it constantly. Her face was thin, like her figure, and ashen before its time. She wore a long grey cardigan knitted from wool and tiny plimsolls on her flat feet.
Sant did his best to look sympathetic while getting straight to the point. ‘We’ve had a sighting of someone resembling your husband, Mrs Popescu.’
‘A tip-off, you mean. You choose your words very carefully, Inspector Sant. You’re a shrewd one.’ She called out to one of the canteen ladies. ‘I’ve changed my mind, Ethel. Coffee. T
