‘So no one will think twice about it.’
‘Only us.’ I climbed out of the car.
‘Sal,’ she stood beside the passenger door, ‘you will keep trying, won’t you? You will talk to the police?’ She wasn’t pleading and her gaze was steady.
‘Yes. But don’t hold out too much hope.’ I locked the car. ‘They can investigate the tablets but the rest may just sound like we’re being paranoid. You know, we could ask about a post mortem, on the grounds that the excessive medication might have contributed to her death.’
‘Yes.’ She was decisive. ‘Who do we ask?’
‘I don’t know. We’ll find out.’
We arrived at the ward and explained at the nurses’ station that we’d heard about Lily Palmer, we wanted to see her. Consternation. Glances flew between them and there was an awkward pause. The tallest nurse blushed but took charge of the situation.
‘I’m afraid we didn’t realise you’d be coming in today. Mrs Palmer’s been moved already.’
‘To the funeral home?’ Agnes asked.
‘No, she’s still here at the hospital.’ She cleared her throat. ‘She carried a donor card. We have permission to use her organs for medical research. I’m sorry,’ she looked at each of us, ‘you shouldn’t need to think about it at a time like this. But I’m sure you’ll be able to see her. Take a seat in the waiting room and I’ll ring round and find out where she is.’
‘We want to know if we can have a post mortem done.’
‘Really?’ She looked startled. ‘That’s not usual where it’s a death due to natural causes.’
‘But if we want it done – who do we have to see?’
‘Let me check for you.’
We sat in the TV lounge, which was mercifully empty. The minutes ticked by. Agnes closed her eyes. I got up and went for a wander up and down the corridor, reading the notices. In the background the curious cheer that’s endemic to places of illness rang out in the calls and comments of staff and patients. There was the clatter of a dinner trolley making its rounds. The scent of onion and cauliflower wafted through the building. I went back and joined Agnes.
The tall nurse appeared. ‘Sorry to keep you waiting. We should be able to go down now. You asked about the post mortem. Now the certificate was issued giving a natural cause of death, she didn’t die during surgery, as the result of a fall or anything like that, so you’ll need to talk to the coroner and explain why you want a post mortem, and of course the next of kin will have to give their permission. I’ve notified pathology to wait until they hear before they do anything else.’
I asked her about Lily’s personal belongings.