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Authors: P. D. James
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today was more disturbed than usual which was why I stayed close to her. Usually I spend a little time in the linen-room which adjoins the treatment-room sorting the clean laundry as soon as the patient is over the worst. I keep the door open between the rooms, of course, so that I can watch the patient from time to time.”
Dalgliesh asked what exactly had happened during the evening.
“Well, the treatment began just after three-thirty and Dr. Baguley looked in shortly after four to see if all was well. I stayed with the patient until four-thirty when Mrs. Shorthouse came to tell me that tea was made. Sister came down while I went upstairs to the nurses’ duty-room and drank tea. I came down again at quarter to five and rang for Dr. Baguley at five. He was with the patient for about three-quarters of an hour. Then he left to return to his E.C.T. clinic. I stayed with the patient, and as she was so restless I decided to leave the laundry until later in the evening. At about twenty to seven Peter Nagle knocked on the door and asked for the laundry. I told him that it wasn’t sorted and he looked a bit surprised but didn’t say anything. A little time after that I thought I heard a scream. I didn’t take any notice at first as it didn’t seem very close and I thought it was children playing in the square. Then I thought I ought to make sure and I went to the door. I saw Dr. Baguley and Dr. Steiner coming into the basement with Sister and Dr. Ingram. Sister told me that nothing was wrong and to go back to my patient, so I did.”
“Did you leave the treatment-room at all after Dr. Baguley left you at about quarter to six?”
“Oh, no! There wasn’t any need. If I’d wanted to go to the cloakroom or anything like that (Nurse Bolam blushed faintly) I would have phoned for Sister to come and take my place.”
“Did you make any telephone calls from the treatment-room at all during the evening?”
“Only the one to the E.C.T. room at five to call Dr. Baguley.”
“Are you quite sure you didn’t telephone Miss Bolam?”
“Enid? Oh, no! There wouldn’t be any reason to call Enid. She… that is, we didn’t see very much of each other in the clinic. I am responsible to Sister Ambrose, you see, and Enid wasn’t concerned with the nursing staff.”
“But you saw quite a lot of her outside the clinic?”
“Oh, no! I didn’t mean that. I went to her flat once or twice, to collect the cheque at Christmas and in the summer, but it isn’t easy for me to leave Mummy. Besides, Enid had her own life to live. And then she’s quite a lot older than me. I didn’t really know her very well.”
Her voice broke and Dalgliesh saw that she was crying. Fumbling under her apron for the pocket in her nurse’s dress, she sobbed:
“It’s so dreadful! Poor Enid! Putting that fetish on her body as if he was making fun of her, making it look as if she was nursing a baby!”
Dalgliesh hadn’t realized that she had seen the body and said so.
“Oh, I didn’t! Dr. Etherege and Sister wouldn’t let me go in to her. But we were all told what had happened.”
Miss Bolam had indeed looked as if she were nursing a baby. But he was surprised that someone who hadn’t seen the body should say so. The medical director must have given a graphic description of the scene.
Suddenly Nurse Bolam found her handkerchief and drew it out of her pocket. With it came a pair of thin, surgical gloves. They fell at Dalgliesh’s feet. Picking them up he asked:
“I didn’t realize that you used surgical gloves here.”
Nurse Bolam seemed unsurprised by his interest. Checking her sobs with surprising control she replied:
“We don’t use them very often but we keep a few pairs. The whole Group’s gone over to disposable gloves now, but there are a few of the old kind about. That’s one of them. We use them for odd cleaning jobs.”
“Thank you,” said Dalgliesh. “I’ll keep this pair if I may. And I don’t think I need worry you
Dalgliesh asked what exactly had happened during the evening.
“Well, the treatment began just after three-thirty and Dr. Baguley looked in shortly after four to see if all was well. I stayed with the patient until four-thirty when Mrs. Shorthouse came to tell me that tea was made. Sister came down while I went upstairs to the nurses’ duty-room and drank tea. I came down again at quarter to five and rang for Dr. Baguley at five. He was with the patient for about three-quarters of an hour. Then he left to return to his E.C.T. clinic. I stayed with the patient, and as she was so restless I decided to leave the laundry until later in the evening. At about twenty to seven Peter Nagle knocked on the door and asked for the laundry. I told him that it wasn’t sorted and he looked a bit surprised but didn’t say anything. A little time after that I thought I heard a scream. I didn’t take any notice at first as it didn’t seem very close and I thought it was children playing in the square. Then I thought I ought to make sure and I went to the door. I saw Dr. Baguley and Dr. Steiner coming into the basement with Sister and Dr. Ingram. Sister told me that nothing was wrong and to go back to my patient, so I did.”
“Did you leave the treatment-room at all after Dr. Baguley left you at about quarter to six?”
“Oh, no! There wasn’t any need. If I’d wanted to go to the cloakroom or anything like that (Nurse Bolam blushed faintly) I would have phoned for Sister to come and take my place.”
“Did you make any telephone calls from the treatment-room at all during the evening?”
“Only the one to the E.C.T. room at five to call Dr. Baguley.”
“Are you quite sure you didn’t telephone Miss Bolam?”
“Enid? Oh, no! There wouldn’t be any reason to call Enid. She… that is, we didn’t see very much of each other in the clinic. I am responsible to Sister Ambrose, you see, and Enid wasn’t concerned with the nursing staff.”
“But you saw quite a lot of her outside the clinic?”
“Oh, no! I didn’t mean that. I went to her flat once or twice, to collect the cheque at Christmas and in the summer, but it isn’t easy for me to leave Mummy. Besides, Enid had her own life to live. And then she’s quite a lot older than me. I didn’t really know her very well.”
Her voice broke and Dalgliesh saw that she was crying. Fumbling under her apron for the pocket in her nurse’s dress, she sobbed:
“It’s so dreadful! Poor Enid! Putting that fetish on her body as if he was making fun of her, making it look as if she was nursing a baby!”
Dalgliesh hadn’t realized that she had seen the body and said so.
“Oh, I didn’t! Dr. Etherege and Sister wouldn’t let me go in to her. But we were all told what had happened.”
Miss Bolam had indeed looked as if she were nursing a baby. But he was surprised that someone who hadn’t seen the body should say so. The medical director must have given a graphic description of the scene.
Suddenly Nurse Bolam found her handkerchief and drew it out of her pocket. With it came a pair of thin, surgical gloves. They fell at Dalgliesh’s feet. Picking them up he asked:
“I didn’t realize that you used surgical gloves here.”
Nurse Bolam seemed unsurprised by his interest. Checking her sobs with surprising control she replied:
“We don’t use them very often but we keep a few pairs. The whole Group’s gone over to disposable gloves now, but there are a few of the old kind about. That’s one of them. We use them for odd cleaning jobs.”
“Thank you,” said Dalgliesh. “I’ll keep this pair if I may. And I don’t think I need worry you
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