‘Hang on,’ said the woman at the other end, ‘I’ll have to check the card index.’
‘Would you like me to ring back?’ I was keen to sound plausible.
‘No, it shouldn’t take long.’ She put the phone down and I could hear the flick of cards and the sound of a radio in the background.
‘Hello? We’ve had four in the last twelve months – since March. Do you want the names?’
‘Yes, please,’ oh yes, please, ‘and dates of birth. Then I can crosscheck with our records.’
‘Mrs Rose Mary Connelly – fourth of the ninth, 1914. Miss Margaret Anne Underwood – eleventh of the sixth, 1905. Mr Philip Braithwaite – sixteenth of the first, 1903, and Mrs Winifred Saltzer – twenty-third of the tenth, 1916.’
‘And have they remained at Kingsfield?’
‘You’d have to check with the hospital. None of them came back here.’
‘Thank you.’
Would Homelea be as forthcoming? Not if I got the icy Mrs Knight. I steeled myself. I got her. I did my spiel and waited.
‘Where did you say you were from?’
‘Resources, research, monitoring and management – we come under the Health Commission administration. We were only established this year so you may not have heard of us before. I can leave my number if you’d prefer to ring us back with the information.’
‘Yes.’
I sat watching the phone repeating my alias over and over to myself. I let it trill twice before picking it up.
‘Resources, research, Monica Saunders speaking.’
‘Sorry,’ mumbled a voice at the other end, ‘wrong number.’
‘Who is it?’ I yelped.
‘Is that Sal?’
‘Yes.’
‘It’s Diane. What are you playing at?’
‘Work. Look, can I ring you back? I’m waiting for a call.’
‘Oh, go on then.’
As soon as I replaced the handset it went again. I picked it up and said my bit.
‘It’s Homelea here,’ said Mrs Knight. ‘We’ve had two transfers to Kingsfield this year.’
‘Can I check the names and dates of birth with you? I’ve only got a Mrs Palmer listed and that was very recent.’
‘The other was Mr Ernest Theakston.’
‘Now, we’ve not got him down for some reason. I’ll have to check the records again. What’s the date of birth?’
‘Second of the twelfth, 1922.’
‘Thank you for your help. Goodbye.’
Six patients transferred to Kingsfield in the last year, from just two homes. Homes with the same GP. And the Marion Unit wouldn’t have a large number of beds. Apart from Saltzer, they were all common names, not that easy to track down. I checked the phone book. There was a Saltzer in Gorton and one in Chorlton. I tried the Gorton number first, they’d never heard of Winifred. But the man in Chorlton had. He was her widower.