"Hmm. Does he talk to you about it?"

"I mostly listen. I've tried to be careful not to fraternize with him too much, after the pencils thing."

"Ah, what happened there? ...I'm - I'm sympathetic, mind, this seems like a very trying workplace and him an agreeable fellow."

"Roby seemed like a gentleman. I thought the family would reward me with a few pounds if I helped him."

"By giving him a pencil?"

"All the nurses do things like that. Little bits of help."

(What does 'I mostly listen' mean-- hm, is he going to answer if she asks with Terrence right there, it's hard to tell.)

"It's a sign of a kind heart. I'm sorry it backfired. ... I recall it looked like you wanted to say something when we first arrived, I suppose I just wanted to see if that was anything we could help with."

"I just had a question about where the syringes were kept, nothing important."

"Oh, of course. Pardon the intrusion. Thank you for your help, Mr. Edwards."

Terrence leaves.

Hm. Okay. Well, if this doesn't work she can always try talking to Nessa again, and in the meantime nothing ventured nothing gained etc etc. "Hi," Inaaya says, when it looks like Terrence has left, "I'm-- also one of the people Aarons hired for the Roby case?"

"Yes?"

"And-- I know Mr. Markham was just talking to you and it's gotten you in trouble already, but everyone else at the hospital is, well," and the common factor between her and Edwards as opposed to everyone else in this small town in Scotland should be apparent.

"Of course." He smiles at her. "I know. I really was just doing a favor for him."

Nodnod. She did believe him about that, there's no reason not to. "I just-- I don't know. Was wondering if you'd heard anything."

"Frankly, even if there was something interesting the other nurses wouldn't tell me."

"...yeah. That's.... yeah, that makes sense. Thank you anyway."

Meanwhile--

Nurse Price is on a break and sitting at the Red Lion for lack of anything better to do.

Oh, that's very convenient. And a very good excuse to get away from people who might have knives and people who may or may not want to use it to stab him. (Or at least don't trust him as far as they can throw him.) Though now he has to have a conversation with someone without coming across like he should be in that institution too, haha. He walks up to her. "Do you mind if I ask some questions about Roby. Dr Aarons wants to know what I think of him, but-- I have only spent a short time with him. You've seen him over a much longer term."

"Go ahead," Price says.

"Has he improved over time?"

"Yes, especially once we got him on the laudanum."

Even very while very tired, Jing Yi is good at suppressing winces. "In a 'throwing things around less' sort of way, or a 'more with it and coherent during the day time' sort of way? I remember Dr. Aarons mentioning issues with insomnia?"

"Fewer night terrors. He tends to be kind of incoherent on the laudanum, but you'd expect that from such a heavy dose. He's perfectly sane when he's on it. He's never thrown anything."

...Uhuh. That's Not Ideal. "Do you think he'd do okay in the outside world, without access to laudanum." (Not that he definitely wouldn't have access, just-- 'he'd be fine provided he spent all his time and money in opium dens' is not 'being fine.')