Page 124 of No Safe Place

‘But could Andy have done that to himself, as a sort of alibi?’ Field asked.

‘Sure.’ Young shrugged. ‘Without the knife, it’s hard to say. Have you found one?’

It was yet another thing that was making Field feel uneasy. ‘No. Not among his possessions in Brighton, anyway.’

‘Well, there’s not much else I can give you from a single knife wound that’s partially healed,’ Young said, with a hopeful shrug.

‘Go on,’ Field said. ‘Get out of here. Knock him dead.’

They both cringed at her choice of words.

Young gathered up her things. ‘Well you know, I could be wrong. There are always exceptions; can’t take anything for gospel, yada yada. I’ll send you my report first thing tomorrow.’

‘Thanks. I appreciate it.’

‘Any time,’ Young said.

Before Young could open the door, Field caught her in a quick firm hug.

‘It’ll all be fine,’ Young said under her breath, before Field let her go.

Field hesitated before dialling, reluctant to ask the petulant doctor for help. However, part of being a good DCI was knowing when you were in over your head.

His mobile only rang twice before Maxwell answered. ‘What?’

‘Hi – Dr Maxwell, it’s DCI Field—’

‘Is this about Callum?’ Maxwell snapped. ‘I’m telling you, it’s time to leave the guy alone.’

‘It’s not Callum,’ Field said quickly. ‘I need your advice. As in, your medical opinion.’

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Field spun in her desk chair and looked out of the window. The sky was stained orange, pink clouds hanging in the air, no breeze to move them.

‘I’ve got a suspect in custody,’ she went on. ‘He fled London, he has links to the victims, and we found blood in his house.’

She could hear Maxwell’s breathing, but he didn’t speak. He was waiting for her to get to her point. The doctor was probably used to people getting things wrong. Walking onto his ward, making assumptions. It was exactly what she was tryingnotto do.

‘The suspect has—’ she double-checked her notes ‘—harm OCD. I’ll be honest, I have no idea what that is. He’s distressed, and I don’t want to make him more anxious, but this is critical—’

She heard a familiar grinding squeak from a desk chair on the other end of the line.

‘Harm OCD stems from a person’s fear that they will do something awful. For example, a new mother is on a train platform and, for a split second, she imagines pushing the pram off the edge, in front of the train.’

Field blinked. When Toby was born, she sometimes imagined stepping onto a bus, leaving the pram behind at the bus stop. She’d always known she’d never do it.

‘People with this form of OCD aren’t able to dismiss these intrusions as we might,’ Maxwell went on. ‘So, the new motherstarts to avoid train stations. Soon she’s avoiding roads, and bridges. The more she worries about the intrusive thoughts, the more frequent and disturbing they become.’

‘Okay,’ Field said, slowly. ‘I’m following.’

‘Harm OCD stems from people’s desirenotto cause injury.’ Maxwell’s tone was firm, like he was talking to an idiot. Field used that voice on new recruits.

‘So, harm OCD doesn’t lead people to actually hurt anyone?’ she proffered.

‘No,’ Maxwell said quietly. ‘If they hurt anyone, it’s usually themselves.’

Chapter 88

Sunday | Evening