Category Archives: Night Shift

December 2019 ‘So, you’re finally back.’ ‘Only for a stopover. Did you miss me?’ asked Philippa. ‘Of course,’ the man said opening his arms for an embrace. He seemed genuinely pleased. ‘I’m sorry I never had the chance to say goodbye in person.’ She patted his back lightly. The pair walked abreast down a picturesqueContinue reading “Bonus Epilogue”

Two weeks later ‘Can I change your mind… about quitting the health service?’ ‘Dr Steer, working in the NHS; it’s fire-fighting… it’s politics over patients and I cannot take it anymore – the injustice. The medical registrars – we’re the ones who keep the hospital running in and out of hours yet it’s the managementContinue reading “Chapter Thirty-Six”

Philippa charged at Tim, using the pew as a springboard. He did not seem surprised. Instead, his expression was one of disappointment. He pulled the trigger. The pain that ensued was paralytic – the most pain she had ever experienced in her life. The shock from the taser caused her to lose all control ofContinue reading “Chapter Thirty-Five”

The man made no response despite her rather unsubtle entrance. Philippa inched forwards, the cannula poised in her right hand, ready to plunge it into the man’s neck, if it came to it. One further step. Still, the man did not flinch. ‘Hello?’ she said quietly. Then she spotted the man’s jaw flicker, as ifContinue reading “Chapter Thirty-Four”

The name sent an arctic chill through her body. Rob Gadra had told her the tragic story behind the former Princess Royal Hospital employee tonight. With one click, Philippa entered the deceased girl’s profile. She was sure that she had never come across the girl. So why did the numerical clues found at each sceneContinue reading “Chapter Thirty-Three”

An intricate yellow-gold bangle rattled against the lino. Philippa Haven picked it up off the floor and bounced it on the palm of her perspiring hand. It was heavier than it looked. Two hearts, where the clips were hidden behind, stared back at her like the eyes of a hawk. Diamonds were evenly spaced alongContinue reading “Chapter Thirty-Two”

On the map, Shinji had marked the locations of each murder with an ‘x’: Surgical Four, Medical Six and portacabin three aka fifty-five. However, he had also circled Medical Six and beside the ward, written the word: symbol. ‘Symbol?’ Philippa muttered aloud. Her phone had two percent battery remaining. The doctor flicked through the savedContinue reading “Chapter Thirty-One”

05:45 ‘You must be Mrs Nyarko?’ ‘Yes, I am. Please, just call me Suki.’ The tearful lady had moved to perch on the bed, next to her husband, whose face was noticeably asymmetrical. Saliva drooled from the corner of his mouth.   ‘My name is Philippa, the doctor on-call tonight,’ she said, trying in vainContinue reading “Chapter Thirty”

Philippa drew blood at the first time of asking and handed the porter the sample to run. She needed these results more than ever. ‘Two minutes!’ Manuel said. He had a fresh Spanish accent. Gemma took a breather as Philippa pressed for a pulse. ‘Still no pulse.’ ‘Any more adrenaline, Philippa?’ Karan asked with aContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Nine”

‘Me?’ he stammered disbelievingly. Philippa nodded. ‘Go and lead this arrest. I will stay here and try to stabilise Shinji. I’ll join up with you later, Karan.’ ‘Are you comfortable with that?’ ‘Are you?’ ‘I’m happy to; I just want to make sure you are.’ ‘I have full faith in you. Gemma, Luigi, can youContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Eight”

The steel doors of the mortuary proved a strain to open, allowing Philippa Haven to fully appreciate the strength Ariel must have possessed in those biceps. She stepped out into the corridor. It felt strangely warm. Her bleep went off. And in that moment, her heart stopped, because she had heard this adrenaline-activating siren onContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Seven”

In relation to the pathology lab, the mortuary was geographically and thermally at the polar opposite of the hospital and the chilly atmosphere urged Philippa to move hastily. The corridor down this wing was adorned with a weird framed collection of decorated eggs which did their best to mask the peeling paint. At these earlyContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Six”

Death… In her time as a doctor, she had grown at times, expectant of it. Her first experience of it was at the tender age of four when she held the hand of her dying father as he took his final breaths. He had pancreatic cancer and passed away shortly after the diagnosis as hisContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Five”

‘Shinji, I forgot to show you this.’ The detective took the Polaroid photograph with robust eagerness. Every clue seemed to shoot fresh energy into his body, much like a defibrillator. ‘Any idea where this was taken?’ he asked. ‘No, but it’s just a brick wall; it could be anywhere in the world… Pisa, given theContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Four”

04:10 A consultant once taught her: ‘If you get on with everyone at work, then you’re not working enough.’ Her hands now trembled from the verbal tirade that had just erupted. Her cheeks were wet and her shoulders tense. She began to rue letting the consultant get beneath her skin. Leaving the pressure canister ofContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Three”

By the time both Karan and the nurse had ditched their gloves, the hooded person had fled. ‘They’ve gone,’ said Philippa. ‘I don’t know who it was – someone was standing by those hedges.’ ‘Are you –’ ‘I wasn’t seeing things.’ ‘I meant to say, are you alright?’ ‘I’m fine,’ she snapped. ‘What happened atContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-Two”

She handed the device to the detective. He juggled it in his frail hands as if it was a piece of burning coal. Then he used a curved fingernail to pry open the battery compartment. There was a standard AA battery enclosed but when he lifted it out, he nodded his head gently. Using aContinue reading “Chapter Twenty-One”

Philippa Haven took out her mobile phone and turned on the camera function. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance… the five stages of grief. She had jumped directly to anger; how could there have been a denial stage when she had undeniably failed to save Rob’s life? But his tragic death had chopped away at theContinue reading “Chapter Twenty”

‘I’ll be right back,’ Justin said, protecting the precious syringe of blood cautiously. But was he shielding much more; a secret that was linked to the events of both tonight and right now? Philippa’s head oscillated between Justin and Karan, like a metronome dial. She had to act now. ‘No,’ she said suddenly. ‘Justin, you’veContinue reading “Chapter Nineteen”

What was he doing cutting across the graveyard in the direction of the hospital building? At one point, the cemetery trespasser seemed to look up and his light zapped across her window, forcing her to hide behind the edge. She continued watching with enthusiasm until her angle of vision no longer allowed her to trackContinue reading “Chapter Eighteen”

‘What time did she die?’ In truth, she did not know why she even asked. ‘Must have happened just before the rendezvous, around one-ish? It was fortunate that you sorted her resuscitation status and ceilings of care in time so, thank you for that or we’d have had a futile arrest call to deal with,’Continue reading “Chapter Seventeen”

Either the room had been given an injection of light or the ailing detective was becoming paler as the night wore on. A fan had been drafted into the room to help with Shinji’s fevers, the Get-Well cards became victims, gunned down by the breezes fired from the spinning blades. The patient was turned awayContinue reading “Chapter Sixteen”

‘What creepier stuff?’ ‘I’m surprised no one mentioned it at Induction, but wait, it’s the sort of story that would bring smiles and intrigue so of course they wouldn’t tell you. Plus, the conspiracy remains that it was a coverup.’ ‘What are you talking about, Rob?’ ‘The ghost?’ Was he joking? ‘The ghost of MelissaContinue reading “Chapter Fifteen”

The crimson pinhead-sized light on the card-reader turned green in response to Philippa’s badge. There was a soft click as the glass doors leading out of the hospital back exit unlocked. The shrill as they opened reminded her of the eerie image at the conclusion of that cryptic video. Just as Rob Gadra had described,Continue reading “Chapter Fourteen”

‘How is Mr Nyarko?’ Justin asked. ‘He’s better,’ replied Philippa, ‘thanks to you. I’ll keep him an eye on him throughout the night. If the nurses bleep you about him, can you divert them straight to me please?’ ‘Sure.’ ‘And the rest of the wards?’ Gemma asked. Philippa felt guilty; she should have been theContinue reading “Chapter Thirteen”

00:55 ‘Here,’ she said handing both her phone and scarf to Shinji Nyarko, as if she was the suspect being interrogated at the police station. ‘Can you pass me that?’ Philippa heaved a tattered sports bag onto the bed next to Shinji Nyarko. The detective fished for a lead then began transferring the images. ‘TheContinue reading “Chapter Twelve”

Philippa Haven thanked the nurse for the message then hastily shut the door behind her. ‘Not on this; too risky in case the killer can trace it. Use a hospital computer, but forward it to this email,’ said Shinji as he wrote down the address on the back of a Get-Well card and handed itContinue reading “Chapter Eleven”

Philippa told Shinji Nyarko about handover where she had been introduced to the members of her team and when she received the phone call at the end of the meeting. ‘Was anything particular about the voice on the phone? Anyone you might recognise?’ ‘No.’ ‘How did it sound?’ ‘Most likely modified through an app ofContinue reading “Chapter Ten”

A detective… The disclosure of her predicament was undeniably a serious temptation but just as Philippa Haven contemplated this, the killer’s haunting words slithered into her mind: if you do, there will be consequences – serious consequences. That was when her bleep made her gasp, because this was neither A&E nor any of the wardsContinue reading “Chapter Nine”

Thursday 3rd October 2019 00:00 A serendipitous comment had yielded Philippa Haven a potential first clue. It made her consider the possibility of yet more clues lying within the perimeter of Bed Sixteen. What was the significance of the scarf that did not belong to Jonathan Wickshaw? Perhaps it was not a clue at all,Continue reading “Chapter Eight”