Day 12

The earnest young man ushered them into a brightly lit room. It was small but still managed to give a home to four chairs and a table, two battered metal filing cabinets and in tray sagging underneath the weight of unresolved ‘issues.’

He bowed his head deferentially as he read the notes. “I’m afraid we did all we could for Mr Jones. He was in a bad way when he arrived. The paramedics arrived very quickly at the scene but he died shortly after being admitted. There was a lot of organ damage and he had lost a of blood. Be assured that he was not in any pain. After the collision he was unconscious and never regained consciousness, so he wouldn’t have known anything. Anyway, I’m sure you will want to see him, so we can downstairs and see him. The police are already here.”

“Why would I want to see him?”

The earnest young man stopped in his tracks. He looked up and he was obviously very puzzled. “Well, we need a formal identification. As the next of kin …”

“No, I’m not. I’m not the next of kin. Do you hear me? I’m nothing to do with him.”