I turn and greet Martin’s carer. “Hello, Lois.”
“I wasn’t expecting you today.” She peers around me. “No Tristan?”
“He’s working.” I brush my damp hair back from my face. “As am I, unfortunately. You remember my partner, Detective Wilkes?”
“Of course.” She nods at Maddie. “Detective.”
“We’re here to see Polina Ogarkov.”
“Porter,” Maddie interjects.
“Polina Porter,” I correct myself. “I believe she’s working today?”
“She’s in the dayroom,” Lois replies. “You know where it is.”
“I do. Thank you, Lois.” I smile politely as I set off in the direction of the dayroom, Maddie beside me.
As we enter the room, it’s uncharacteristically quiet. The first thing I hear is the rain pelting against the window and the unmistakable tones of Del Boy and Rodney in a random episode ofOnly Fools and Horsescoming from the TV in the corner.
I scan the room until my gaze comes to rest on a slim young woman with ivory skin and jet-black hair tied back in a long ponytail. She’s wearing a lilac-coloured tunic and black trousers, the standard uniform for the home. Crossing the room toward her, I notice that the name badge on her breast pocket has the namePollywritten across it.
“Polina Porter?” I call to her in a soft tone of voice so as not to startle any of the residents dotted around the room.
She looks up from where she’s leaning over a table tidying a stack of games and puzzles and smiles. “It is still strange to me when people call me my husband’s name,” she answers, her accent belying her Eastern European roots. “How may I help you?”
“Detective Hayes.” I show my badge. “And this is Detective Wilkes.” I nod to Maddie and she flashes her badge too.
“Is this about Delores?” Polina asks softly and I nod. She sighs, slipping the last few pieces of a puzzle into a box and setting it down. Sliding onto a chair at the table, she then motions to two empty chairs. “Please, have a seat. What would you like to know?”
Maddie and I sit down as well, and I take out my notebook.
“You were Mrs Abernathy’s carer, correct?” Maddie asks, and I let her take the lead on the questions as I make notes.
“One of them, yes,” Polina replies. “It’s so sad. I know that we are not supposed to have favourites in this job, but she was one of mine. It’s hard not to get attached, and Delores was so sweet.”
“Could you please clarify your duties when it came to Mrs Abernathy?” Maddie continues.
“The same as the others.” Polina shrugged. “Depending on the shift, I would help her in and out of bed and get washed and dressed, make sure she ate. During the week, we would take turns driving Delores to visit her friends at Northwold Community Centre.”
“So you helped her with her eating and drinking?” Maddie clarifies.
“Yes,” Polina replies.
“Did you ever prepare any of her food?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “That’s not my job. Delores was mostly able to feed herself, but every now and then she’d get frustrated or distracted, so we made sure she’d eaten and drunk enough. So many of them end up suffering from dehydration if we don’t keep a close eye on them.”
“But there would’ve been many times when you had access to her food and drink unsupervised,” Maddie confirms.
“I’m going to stop you right there, Detective, because I know where this is going and I’m going to save you some trouble,” Polina says calmly. “Yes, I and many of the other carers have more than enough access to cause harm to Delores or any of our patients. They are very vulnerable, and we hold positions of great trust. I’m not naïve enough to think that people in my position have not abused that trust before, but I would never harm Delores. Like I said, I was more than fond of her. I cannot prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am innocent, however the substance used, this… what do you call it?”
“Arsenic,” I answer.
“Arsenic.” Polina shakes her head. “I am not familiar with this, and I would not know where to find it. Anyone working in the care environment has full access to many lethal drugs which are quick and undetectable. From what I have heard, someone was giving this substance to Delores over some time. Believe me, if I’d wanted to harm Delores, I could’ve made her death look completely natural.”
“Well that’s blunt.” Maddie raises her brows.
“That is not a confession.” Polina’s mouth curves slightly. “I am simply trying to make you understand that if it had been one of us, you most likely would never have known about it.”
