Page 52 of Her Last Breath

‘Joan is my detective inspector and I’d appreciate it, bhai, if you could help.’

Sameer gave him the details then hung up. ‘Riaz. My cousin. Probably second or third removed but he owns the care provider.’

‘You couldn’t make it up.’

Jane sat down opposite him, willing Riaz to call back quickly.

‘How’s your mum doing?’ he asked tentatively.

‘Don’t. I had a massive argument with her again this morning.’

‘She’s a frail old lady, why you hassling her?’

‘Nothing frail about her when she goes off on one.’

‘Listen, if you need time to be with her, just say.’

‘No, I’m good. But thanks.’

Sameer’s mobile rang moments later. He put the phone on speaker.

‘Riaz, you’re on with myself and DI Joan Hacker,’ he said. Jane gave him the finger. ‘What can you tell us?’

Riaz put on his telephone voice, the heavy accent and easy manner he had with Sameer from before gone.

‘I spoke to the regional manager for your patch, Deborah Morgan. She’s happy to speak to you. From what she told me, Kangna uses her mobile phone rather than landlines to check in. I did question why. Problem is people like Kangna are hard to come by – medically trained carers, I mean. Kangna was given our most ill patients, you see, the ones that had issues like dementia.’

‘I’m guessing her special status meant she was given more leeway than others,’ Jane said.

‘Yes, for sure, Detective Joan. There’s a trust, I suppose. You wouldn’t expect someone like that to lie or do something dodgy.’

‘Me and you need to have a proper chat over chai and samosas one day soon,’ Sameer added.

‘I have enough grief finding people, it’s not the best paid or most glamorous job.’

‘Yeah, don’t claim poverty! I’ve seen your house, you live on four acres of land.’

‘Business is business. I’ve been very fortunate. Legitimately, though.’

‘Mr Riaz, can you tell me how long Kangna’s visits normally last?’ Jane said.

‘We have a minimum standard, which is thirty minutes per visit and a ten-minute break in between to get to the next location.’

‘Can you tell me anything about the patients Kangna saw on the times we are interested in?’

‘No, but let me check with Debs. Give me a couple of minutes, I’ll put you on hold.’

The phone beeped to indicate Riaz was on the other line. Jane tried to salvage her tea but gave up on seeing how cold it had become.

‘What are you thinking?’ Sameer asked.

‘Potentially, she could have nearly an hour if she missed out a single patient where no one would question where she was.’

‘Apart from the patient she didn’t see?’

‘You heard him. The patients on her rota were the ones that needed medical care, suffering from conditions like dementia.’

‘Meaning it would be her lucid, professional mind against that of someone who might not even remember what day it was, let alone if she visited them or not.’