And None Shall Sleep Read Online Free Page A

it. There wasn’t a letterhead, a telephone number or anything to get back to. No.’ He shook his head firmly. ‘It wasn’t advertising – nothing to do with that. But it wasn’t your regular threatening letter either.’
    â€˜Then what sort of letter was it?’Joanna asked sharply.
    â€˜I don’t know. It was addressed to him and told him to make a will. That’s all.’
    â€˜So what did you think the point was, Mike, if it wasn’t advertising?’
    â€˜A warning?’
    She looked up. ‘A warning ?’
    â€˜Well ... you know.’ He stopped. ‘It could have been a sort of death threat.’
    â€˜And now he’s disappeared?’ Joanna thought for a minute.
    â€˜I don’t suppose his wife has any idea who sent the note?’
    Mike shook his head. ‘Not that she was going to tell me anyway. All I got from her was that it had a local postmark. She thinks he’ll turn up.’
    â€˜But you think he’s been kidnapped.’
    Mike protested. ‘I didn’t say that.’
    â€˜Well, what else does “taken against his will” mean?’ She pushed on. ‘You think he’s being held somewhere – or that he’s dead.’ She spoke the words flatly, as a statement.
    Mike paused, then said, ‘I could do with you, Jo. I’d like to find him – soon.’
    It was the nearest she would ever get to Mike begging. ‘Send the nurse in,’ she said. ‘I’m getting dressed.’
    There was a formality of signing a form ... a disclaimer, absolving the hospital of any blame. And she know they disapproved. She ignored it. Mike was right. He needed her. Besides, she wanted to find Selkirk too. So she signed the form then sat and waited while he organized a WPC to fetch some clothes from home. Something she could easily slip on. And all the time she waited she was in a fume. Intrigued and impatient.
    When the WPC returned Joanna knew why Matthew had known it would be necessary for her to have help. She was disabled by the plaster cast, much more than she had realized, unable even to pull up her knickers properly.
    She looked hopelessly at the WPC. ‘PC Critchlow – Dawn,’ she said. ‘You’re going to have to help me.’
    The WPC giggled. ‘I’d guessed that,’ she said. ‘You’re not going to get very far with all your clothes lopsided like that. And that thing on your arm.’
    â€˜A necessary evil, I’m afraid.’
    Even in her impatience Joanna was forced to smile at her reflection. Her skirt was crooked, her tights twisted, her sweater half-on, half-off. She was helpless, her progress irritatingly slow. But even what progress she was making was suddenly brought to a halt by Matthew bursting in, still dressed in his theatre garb.
    â€˜Joanna ...’ He scowled. ‘What the hell’s going on? I heard you were discharging yourself.’ He glowered at the WPC who flushed and muttered that she would wait outside.
    Matthew watched her go with taut impatience before he turned back. ‘Now, would you mind explaining?’
    She smiled. ‘Not at all,’ she said, ‘if you’ll just give me a hand with my sweater.’
    He cleared his throat before helping her wriggle her good arm through the sleeve and tucking the rest around her.
    â€˜Thank you,’ she said, ignoring his angry glance. ‘You were right, it is a bit tricky.’
    â€˜I told you it would be. Now what’s going on?’
    â€˜A patient went missing from here last night.’
    Matthew dismissed it with a wave of his hand.' ‘It was some old fool with hospital phobia,’ he said. ‘I heard about it. It’s hardly enough to get you from your bed. Joanna,’ he said softly. ‘You could do with the rest. It was a nasty bump. You were concussed, you know.’
    â€˜I’m all right now, Matthew,’ she said.