Читать книгу Woman in the Water - Katerina Diamond, Katerina Diamond - Страница 23

Someone had already given Dr Hadley a drink when Imogen arrived in the liaison room. She was occasionally the on-call doctor for the station and so she was friendly with many of the staff. Dr Hadley had even been out on a date with Adrian once, which Imogen couldn’t help but remember every time she saw her. It wasn’t jealousy, more an acknowledgment of the fact, which her brain liked to jab her with.

‘Dr Hadley,’ Imogen said.

‘DS Grey. Mira, DCI Kapoor, said you wanted to speak to me about the patient.’

‘Yes. Is there anything you can tell us about her that may help us locate her? I am sure you are aware that we found the body of a man near to where she was found. Down on the riverbank.’

‘Yes. And I saw the video of Adrian pulling her out of the river online.’

‘Do you have any information?’ Imogen said, ignoring her comment about Adrian.

If she told herself she wasn’t jealous enough times then maybe she would believe it.

‘I can tell you that she was terrified. She was calm and even-tempered when other people were around, but when she was alone, she was quite distraught. I walked in on her and saw her sobbing more than once. I got the feeling she was in some kind of untenable situation, as though a difficult decision needed to be made. She seemed to be unsure of what she should do.’

‘Well, she had been through a terrible ordeal.’

‘Yes, of course, but she was so determined to keep it hidden, that’s what concerned me. She didn’t ask for advice, or help. I’ve seen this kind of thing before.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Those injuries that she sustained, they weren’t the first. Not by a long shot. There was evidence of injuries and breaks going back a long time. Without saying too much, I think you are looking for a very vulnerable individual.’

‘Did she use the phones at all? Did you see anyone else hanging around the hospital? Did you see her speaking to anyone who wasn’t staff?’

Imogen fired the questions without giving Hadley the opportunity to respond. Hadley was so guarded with her responses and Imogen didn’t have all day.

‘She was very jumpy whenever someone walked into the room, expecting someone to come for her, I think. I don’t think she is running from the law, she is running from someone else. Pure speculation, of course, but I work predominantly with women who are either sexually assaulted or in domestic abuse situations. The marks I saw on her body are consistent with those I have seen on women who are in abusive relationships. As she didn’t tell me directly and as this is conjecture on my part, I don’t feel like I am breaking confidentiality in this instance.’

‘Thank you, Doctor. We’ll contact you if we need to speak to you again.’

Imogen showed Dr Hadley out of the liaison room and walked back to her desk. Finding Jane Doe seemed more pressing than ever.