'Did someone throw you in?'
'Not that I know of.'
'Then what were you doing in the river?'
'Drowning?'
He smiled slightly. 'People don't normally go swimming in the Thames. If there is something you have become involved in that's got out of control, then maybe we can help.'
'I haven't done anything wrong,' I told him. 'I haven't broken any law.'
'You don't always have to break the law to end up out of your depth, Mr Petersen. The police are here to protect the citizens from harm and to keep the Queen's peace. If you are being threatened or intimidated…?'
'No one is threatening me.' They weren't. Not now.
'Understand that you can talk to us if there's a problem. We may be able to help.'
'Thanks, but I think I'm OK.'
He paused for a moment, thinking, then stood up and picked up the tape deck. 'Interview ends at…' He checked his watch and recited the time and date. Then he handed the recorder to DS Vincent.
'If you could get a transcript typed up for me for tomorrow, I can go through it with DI Tindall in the morning.'
'Yes, sir.'
'And you could find the constable who was keeping an eye on Mr Petersen for us and let him know he can go home.'
'You're not going to arrest me then?' I asked.
'The police are not in the habit of prosecuting witnesses, Mr Petersen. We would like you to come down to the station and sign a copy of your statement, but apart from that we won't be needing anything else from you, unless there's something more you would like to tell us?'
'No. There's nothing else.'
'Very well.' He waited while DS Vincent gathered up his notebook and tape recorder and went in search of the constable.
'Do you play golf, Mr Petersen?'
'Golf? No, why?'
'The head of the CPS plays golf.'
'CPS?'
'The Crown Prosecution Service. The people for whom we must gather the evidence and to whom we must make our case. The head of the CPS is responsible for deciding who gets prosecuted and who does not.'
'And he plays golf?'
'Apparently he plays with some of the Queen's Bench Division at the Royal Courts of Justice. I believe you are acquainted with one of the masters there, by the name of Checkland?'
'Yes. We met quite recently.' Was this another interview, without the recorder this time?
'I just wanted you to know. If I find out that you were in any way responsible for the death of one of my officers, it won't matter who you know or what favours you are owed. Do I make myself clear?'
I took a deep breath. 'Yes. I understand.'
'Good morning, Mr Petersen.' He quietly pulled the door closed behind him.
After a minute or two, Blackbird reappeared. She was not alone.
'Daddy!' Alex threw herself onto the bed, wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me fiercely.
'Careful, darling, he's still not well.' Katherine, a few steps behind our daughter, was being Mum. 'Sorry, she's been dying to come in here ever since she first heard you'd woken.' She tried to ease Alex from around my neck.
She managed to move her from lying on my chest, but my daughter was not going to be parted from me so easily. She lay alongside me, her head on my shoulder, curled into the crook of my arm, her curls tickling my nose as I stroked her hair. Katherine gave up trying to separate her from me when I nodded it was OK. It was better to concede to being hugged than to have her fight to stay.
'How are you feeling?' Katherine asked.
'I've been worse,' I reassured her, noticing Blackbird slipping out of the room past a man who was standing in the doorway, looking out of place. Tall and bearded, he was caught at the boundary, unwilling to enter, but also unwilling to leave. I looked curiously at Katherine.
'This is Barry,' she introduced him. 'Barry brought us over in his car.'
My Fey hearing found the evasion in that sentence, and the look between Katherine and our daughter confirmed that there was more to this than they were saying. They were terrible at keeping secrets at the best of times.
I nodded to him. 'Hi, Barry, you don't have to stand in the doorway. You can come in.' He edged into the room, still looking uncomfortable, as if he didn't think he ought to be here.
Katherine took a deep breath. 'Niall, you might as well know now. Barry is my fiance, we're getting married.'
I looked between the two of them, while my daughter hugged me extra tightly as if I might erupt. It took me a moment to realise that a week ago it would have sparked a deep sense of resentment in me, but a lot had changed in the past few days.
'Well, that's great news,' I told them. 'Congratulations, to you both. Really.' Barry smiled at this positive reaction. I offered him the hand that didn't have a drip attached to it and he shook it gently, conscious of my debilitated state.
Katherine was more sceptical about my reaction.
'We've been seeing a lot of each other, but I didn't know how to tell you. Alex here has been sworn to secrecy, haven't you, sweetheart?' She reached over and ruffled her hair.
'Katherine, it's your life. I wish you every happiness together.'
'Thanks,' she said, and seemed to mean it. 'And I'm not the only one with developments on the relationship front. I've met your girlfriend. She seems very nice. What an unusual name.'
A moment of panic hit me when I realised I had no idea what name she'd given them. 'Is it?' I said lamely.
'Yes, I've never come across a Blackbird before, have you?'
'It's kind of a nickname that stuck,' I explained.
'Well you've been keeping her quiet, too. Where did you meet her?'
'I met her on the Underground and she insisted on taking me for coffee. We've not been together very long.'
'Don't look so embarrassed, Niall. It's good that you've found someone, even if she is a lot younger than you. She's barely left your side, you know, and she's been worried sick about you. We've got to know each other over the past day or so. I like her.'
'So do I.'
Reassured that there wasn't going to be a row between her parents, Alex sat up on the bed, taking in the room and its contents.
'Dad, what do these buttons do?' She pointed to a row of buttons on the wall.
'I have no idea, sweetheart. Just don't press any of them.'
Katherine interceded. 'Barry, would you mind taking Alex and seeing if you can find something for her to drink? I think I saw a water fountain near the door.'
'I don't need a drink. I'm fine,' my daughter declared.
'Don't be difficult. You haven't had a drink for at least two hours and you know what you're like. You'll wait until there's no chance of getting one and then declare you're dying of thirst. Go on with you, you can come straight back to your dad once you've drunk it.'
She reluctantly agreed to go on condition that she could come back and Barry guided her outside. She was comfortable with him and they had clearly spent a lot of time together.
'He's OK, your Barry,' I told her as he closed the door behind him.
'He's a good man, Niall, a gentle man.'
It was a remark I would have taken as critical before, but I took it as another positive sign that I could accept
