The queue had curled itself around the back of the medical tent in search of shelter. As soon as Ruso arrived, a bandy-legged man stepped out of the line and pushed to the front amidst much complaining. His reply of “I’m not sick!” did nothing to pacify his competitors. Ruso addressed the rest of the queue. “I’ll just have a quick word with . . . ?” “Lucius, sir.” “With Lucius here. I can see he’s keen to get back to work.” As the queue avenged itself with jeers and some questioning of whether Lucius knew what work was, he led the man under the shelter of the examination area. “Two things to tell you, sir. I was supposed to be sharing cook duty with Perky the other night, only he never turned up at the tent and nobody’s seen him since.” “Didn’t anyone question it?” “Only me, sir. There’s always people coming and going. But nobody can remember seeing him after that, and I heard they’ve found a body in the wall.” “Take no notice,” Ruso assured him.
