"Nothing broken, I don't think Sarah. They didn't get round to the hot water torture", he whispered.

A medic put a restraining hand on her.

"Let's get on with helping your friend now. You can come in the ambulance with him if you like".

Sarah dumbly nodded her head. The paramedics got very busy, administered some injections and got him ready to be transported to the ambulance below.

"Are you able to identify the bodies madam", asked one of the police officers.

There were two bodies and Sarah knew who they were going to be before they were shown to her. The first was the man that had followed her in the train. His gun was only feet away from him where it had been kicked by the police squad. His chest was a mass of bloody stains.

She expected the other body to be Ferret Face but it was not.

"I don't know their names", she said. "I've seen him before at a railway station in Surrey but the other one is completely unknown to me. Judging from the voices I heard, I think one of them has got away".

The reaction was instant with barked commands and scurrying figures. But they returned empty handed. It had been long enough for Ferret Face to make good his escape.

Later, Tim told her that it was when Bayswater Road went quiet that Ferret Face had been alerted. He had gone to check out what was happening, must have seen the police closing in and took the chance to get away through the fire escape and across the roofs. Callously, he had left his colleagues without any warning to take the consequences.

"I knew you would come eventually", Tim explained as she sat besides him in his hospital bed. "I just hoped you would realise what was going on before they heard you". He moved to make himself more comfortable and winced.

"We've been very lucky, they were in a killing mood tonight and they were planning to take their time. They may decide to come back again. I think we need to call for some temporary reinforcements".

He used a mobile phone to make a call and, to Sarah's relief, within less than half an hour, several tall athletic looking men had positioned themselves outside the door to his private room.

The only time they disappeared was when the police came to take statements. Sarah stuck with her pseudonym and Tim stated through puffed up lips that the burglars had thought he had cash hidden away and were trying to get him to tell where it was.

When the police left, the fit looking guys were quickly back in position. Then it was the turn of the Ward Sister who complained that the men were in her way.

Completely unfazed, they listened to her very politely, smiled cheerfully - and then ignored her completely.

Tim was asleep by now which was the best thing for him, Sarah decided. Let his body recover in the most natural way. She didn't dare to go back to the flat. Ferret Face could easily return and she'd had enough for one day. There was a second bed in Tim's private room and she dozed her way through the night on that.

The ward sister hadn't liked that either pointing out tartly, if unnecessarily, that she was running a hospital not a hotel.

One of the big fellows standing outside had seen Sarah's discomfort and magically the ward sister was gone. How they'd achieved this, Sarah didn't know or care. Exhausted she collapsed and slept.

She awoke to a gentle kiss on her cheek. Opening her eyes she found Tim was already up and wanting to go.