“You do the same, Michael,” Richard said.

Michael turned and walked off down the long corridor, his hard soles clicking quietly on the polished floor until he vanished through the heavy double doors.

Richard stood by himself in the hallway for a moment.

The building around him was silent apart from the steady hum of the ventilation high overhead.

He turned the brass handle and pushed his way back into Emily’s room.

The little bedside lamp was on, throwing warm yellow light over the nightstand and the corner of the white blanket.