‘Is she inside, Constable?’
The young Chinese constable stood to attention and saluted. ‘Yes, sir, the doctor treated and sedated her as soon as she arrived.’
They were on the fourth floor of Shanghai General Hospital, outside one of the rooms the police reserved for the victims of crime.
As if hearing his name being called, a man in a white coat, stethoscope dangling from around his neck, appeared next to Danilov. ‘Can I help you?’
‘Possibly, Doctor…?’
‘McLeod. I’m the registrar here. This patient should not be disturbed.’
The doctor was polite but firm. A tall man, he towered over the small Chinese constable standing next to him.
‘I was hoping to ask her a few questions.’
The doctor laughed and as he did so his shoulders moved up and down in tandem. ‘You’ll be lucky. The amount of sedative we’ve given her would keep an elephant asleep for a week,’ he said in his soft, lowland Scots burr.
‘Can I at least look at her?’
The doctor stroked his ginger moustache and nodded, opening the door. Inside the room, the light was dim, a nightlight giving off a pale glow at the side of her bed. Danilov could make out her body beneath the tent of a sheet. Her face was swathed in bandages with only a small hole for her mouth and nostrils. It was like the ghost of Tutankhamun had taken up residence in a hospital room in Shanghai.
The doctor whispered. ‘We treated over one hundred and fifty cuts on her body before we lost count. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.’
‘How is she?’
The doctor closed the door. Still whispering, he said, ‘Too early to say. She’s lost a lot of blood, too much blood. We’ve managed to stabilise her condition and now all we can do is wait. I saw a lot of terrible injuries during the war but nothing like this. Whoever attacked her, wanted her dead.’
‘Any identification on her when she was brought in?’
‘She hardly had any clothes on, never mind ID.’
Danilov pinched his lips with his index finger and thumb. ‘One last thing, Doctor. Did she say anything as you were treating her?’
The man thought for a moment. ‘She kept screaming a name over and over again.’
‘Danilov?’
‘That’s right. How did you know?’
‘I was told. It’s also my name.’
‘Why was she screaming your name, Inspector?’
‘That’s what I need to find out.’ He turned to Strachan standing behind him. ‘Check with the constables who brought her in. Have they seen this woman before?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Do it now, Strachan, before they wander off.’
‘Yes, sir.’ Strachan turned and walked down the stairs.
‘Anything else that might be useful, Doctor?’
‘There was something. After we sedated her, before she went under, she suddenly sat up in bed, her eyes open wide, and said, “Tell Danilov, let the game begin.” Then the sedative kicked in and she lost consciousness.’
‘Are you sure it’s what she said?’
‘It was in the clearest English I’ve ever heard. Let the game begin.’