“Are you OK?” asked Peggy.

“I’m supposed to be at the cafe this morning and I can’t call anyone to sort it out.”

“Don’t worry about that. They’ll know you're in hospital, and I’m sure they can manage without you.”

Keya sank back into her pillows. In truth, they could manage without her.

“Why the glum look?” asked the doctor as he approached Keya’s bed.

The nurse pulled the blue curtain screen around them.

“I was just thinking that while I’m stuck in here, work will carry on without me.”

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it? Give you time to rest and recuperate. And how are you feeling this morning?”

“Better, thank you,” Keya replied politely.

The doctor went through his checks and then asked her to raise her limbs. Her right arm was improving each time, but her left one remained limply by her side.

“We’ll start you with physiotherapy treatment straight away, to help your movement. Otherwise you’ve reacted well to treatment and I’m confident that there’ll be no long-term damage.” He glanced across at her left arm.

Not that confident, Keya thought.

“Which means we’ll also move you to the Knightsbridge Ward for your ongoing care with us. I’m sure they’ll look after you very well there.”

“How long will I be in?” asked Keya.

“Two or three days, I suspect, or until they’re sure there are no after additional effects from your poisoning.”

Keya didn’t want to know what additional affects the doctor was talking about.

And two or three days.

What about Daisy’s case?

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Soon after the doctor left, an orderly appeared and said to Keya, “I’m here to take you to the Knightsbridge Ward.”

“That sounds posh,” Peggy remarked.

“What about you?” Keya asked her.

“They won’t let me out just yet. Said they need to keep an eye on me, so I’ll also be moving wards. But I should be out of here soon. I look forward to enjoying a cup of tea with you back home. We might even persuade Derek to make it for us.”

Peggy smiled as Keya was wheeled away on her bed.

Keya’s new ward had a less clinical and more relaxed feel about it. The staff wore a range of coloured uniforms from the navy and light blue she’d seen in the critical care ward, to white, pale green, and even royal blue.

They all smiled at her as she was wheeled into a ward with six beds, of which four were occupied. She was parked in an empty space at the far end.

“Welcome, Keya,” said a nurse as the orderly left. “Are you happy lying down, or would you like to sit up?”

“Sit up,” said Keya. She wasn’t spending all day sleeping. What she really wanted was a book to read or her phone and EarPods, but she didn’t have anything. And there was nobody to ask to get them for her.

“Tea or coffee?” asked an elderly orderly.

“Tea, please,” Keya replied, realising that it wasn’t all bad. There was nobody in the bed next to her and the other patients looked frail and elderly. She already missed Peggy.

“There you are,” cried Sujin. He strode into the ward carrying a small overnight bag. Her overnight bag. Ryan and Stan followed him, and Keya thought she could hear Inspector Evans’ baritone Welsh voice.

“They wouldn’t let us see you in the critical care ward and then they said you’d moved, but it took them half an hour to tell us where to. How are you?” Sujin asked, his face full of concern as he stood beside her bed.

Ryan and Stan moved to the far side, beside the window.

“Better. Look, I can lift my right arm.” This time, Keya was able to move it up to her chin. She didn’t mention her left arm, and neither did Sujin, even though he glanced at it.

“Where shall I put your tea, luv?” asked the elderly orderly.

“Um, I can’t drink by myself,” Keya admitted.

“I can help with that,” Stan volunteered. “I had to help my missus last year when she fell and broke her arm.”

As Stan took the cup from the orderly, Keya noticed the dark circles around Sujin’s eyes. “Late night with the band?” she asked.

“Band?” Stan repeated, holding the grey plastic cup to Keya’s mouth. “He slept at the station last night.”

Keya sipped the over-stewed tea before narrowing her eyes. She was sure Sujin was wearing a different set of clothes from the previous day.

Perhaps Sujin noticed her questioning look as he said, “Like you and Ryan, I now keep a spare set of clothes at the station.”

“Is there a break in Daisy’s case?” Keya asked.

“No, we’re at a dead end with that,” Ryan admitted.

“So why were you pulling an all-nighter?” Keya asked Sujin in confusion.

“To try to find out what poisoned you. And it wasn’t the piccalilli, or your sandwich from the pub,” Sujin replied.

“How do you know?” Keya enquired.

“I ran tests. Maitri gave me both jars of piccalilli you sampled. She’s OK, by the way, and was somewhat disgruntled about going to hospital until she realised how serious your condition was. They weren’t very happy in The Twelve Bells pub when I asked for samples of the hummus and pickled vegetables, but they were horrified that they might have caused you to collapse. But it wasn’t anything to do with them either.”

“So what was it?”

“That’s what we’d all like to know,” Sujin replied, regarding her with a sympathetic look.