was murdered and has been seizing every opportunity to say so in public. She insists that he was a devoted husband and father, a committed Christian, happy and settled in his work and with everything to live for.’
‘What do the police say?’
‘The body was found in woodland quite near where he lived – a place known as the Hermitage of Braid. He’d cut his wrists. There was nothing to suggest it wasn’t suicide apart from the fact that there was no note and the police failed to establish any reason why Haldane would want to end his life. He seems to have been everything his wife says he was. Perhaps for the same reason, they didn’t come up with any reason why someone would want to kill him either.’
Steven thought for a moment before saying, ‘This is all very sad but I’m sorry, I don’t see where Sci-Med comes in.’
‘Haldane’s wife is an intelligent woman: she’s a nursing sister at the new Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh. She insists that her husband was murdered over something to do with one of his patients.’
‘One of his patients killed him?’ exclaimed Steven.
‘Nothing like that,’ said Macmillan. ‘The practice was treating a child for a skin complaint. The mother wasn’t happy with the way her child’s case was being handled by their GP and a transfer was made to Haldane’s list. He referred the child to a skin clinic and something called vitiligo was diagnosed.’ Macmillan gave Steven an enquiring glance.
‘Not really my area but, as I remember, it’s a fairly harmless pigment problem leading to patches on the skin – more embarrassing than dangerous.’
‘That would fit with what I have here,’ said Macmillan. ‘Apparently the child, however, was very sensitive about her condition and her mother came home one day to find – in her opinion – that she’d attempted to remove the patch with boiling water.’
‘My God,’ said Steven.
‘According to Haldane’s wife, there was some disagreement about this. Haldane was sure the scalding had been an accident.’
‘What an awful situation,’ said Steven. ‘How is the child?’
‘She’s still in hospital and quite seriously ill.’
‘Was she able to throw any light on what happened?’
‘She’s hardly said a word since the “accident”.’
‘Poor lass. How old?’
‘Thirteen.’
‘A very self-conscious age,’ said Steven.
‘Any thoughts so far?’
‘Just from what you’ve told me, it’s not inconceivable that the girl did it deliberately, in which case Haldane may have felt guilt over not having referred her for psychiatric help earlier. Whether that might have tipped him over into taking his own life … well, who knows?’
‘Haldane’s wife is adamant that her husband did not believe for a minute that the child had done it deliberately. He was convinced it had been an accident.’
‘I think the popular term could be “in denial”,’ said Steven.
‘Mmm. On the other hand, his wife says that he seemed to be much more upset about some other possibility that he refused to discuss with her.’
‘You mean that someone else might have scalded the girl?’ asked Steven with wide eyes.
Macmillan flinched at the suggestion. ‘I don’t think that was what she meant at all. She says that her husband started making lots of telephone calls, demanding to speak to people about the case, but he constantly ran into some problem because the girl was on some monitoring list that she thinks was called “green sticker patients”. Apparently it made her notes difficult to obtain.’
‘What’s this green sticker business all about?’ asked Steven.
‘That’s where you come in,’ said Macmillan. ‘I’d like you to find out. Have a root around; see what you come up with but most importantly, don’t stand on anyone’s toes, especially not Lothian and Borders Police. They won’t have forgotten the last time you strayed on to their patch. I’ve asked Jean to find you somewhere discreet to stay
‘What do the police say?’
‘The body was found in woodland quite near where he lived – a place known as the Hermitage of Braid. He’d cut his wrists. There was nothing to suggest it wasn’t suicide apart from the fact that there was no note and the police failed to establish any reason why Haldane would want to end his life. He seems to have been everything his wife says he was. Perhaps for the same reason, they didn’t come up with any reason why someone would want to kill him either.’
Steven thought for a moment before saying, ‘This is all very sad but I’m sorry, I don’t see where Sci-Med comes in.’
‘Haldane’s wife is an intelligent woman: she’s a nursing sister at the new Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh. She insists that her husband was murdered over something to do with one of his patients.’
‘One of his patients killed him?’ exclaimed Steven.
‘Nothing like that,’ said Macmillan. ‘The practice was treating a child for a skin complaint. The mother wasn’t happy with the way her child’s case was being handled by their GP and a transfer was made to Haldane’s list. He referred the child to a skin clinic and something called vitiligo was diagnosed.’ Macmillan gave Steven an enquiring glance.
‘Not really my area but, as I remember, it’s a fairly harmless pigment problem leading to patches on the skin – more embarrassing than dangerous.’
‘That would fit with what I have here,’ said Macmillan. ‘Apparently the child, however, was very sensitive about her condition and her mother came home one day to find – in her opinion – that she’d attempted to remove the patch with boiling water.’
‘My God,’ said Steven.
‘According to Haldane’s wife, there was some disagreement about this. Haldane was sure the scalding had been an accident.’
‘What an awful situation,’ said Steven. ‘How is the child?’
‘She’s still in hospital and quite seriously ill.’
‘Was she able to throw any light on what happened?’
‘She’s hardly said a word since the “accident”.’
‘Poor lass. How old?’
‘Thirteen.’
‘A very self-conscious age,’ said Steven.
‘Any thoughts so far?’
‘Just from what you’ve told me, it’s not inconceivable that the girl did it deliberately, in which case Haldane may have felt guilt over not having referred her for psychiatric help earlier. Whether that might have tipped him over into taking his own life … well, who knows?’
‘Haldane’s wife is adamant that her husband did not believe for a minute that the child had done it deliberately. He was convinced it had been an accident.’
‘I think the popular term could be “in denial”,’ said Steven.
‘Mmm. On the other hand, his wife says that he seemed to be much more upset about some other possibility that he refused to discuss with her.’
‘You mean that someone else might have scalded the girl?’ asked Steven with wide eyes.
Macmillan flinched at the suggestion. ‘I don’t think that was what she meant at all. She says that her husband started making lots of telephone calls, demanding to speak to people about the case, but he constantly ran into some problem because the girl was on some monitoring list that she thinks was called “green sticker patients”. Apparently it made her notes difficult to obtain.’
‘What’s this green sticker business all about?’ asked Steven.
‘That’s where you come in,’ said Macmillan. ‘I’d like you to find out. Have a root around; see what you come up with but most importantly, don’t stand on anyone’s toes, especially not Lothian and Borders Police. They won’t have forgotten the last time you strayed on to their patch. I’ve asked Jean to find you somewhere discreet to stay
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