YOU fiction: Sudoku

Maggie waited until she heard a snore before she gently pulled the newspaper from her handbag, careful not to make a sound and wake the dozing patient.

She’d been sitting beside her mother’s hospital bed for a good half an hour by now and had kept close watch of the frail woman and every slight movement she made, sitting on the edge of her chair, ready to jump into action should she need to.

It took all her willpower not to break out into sobs every time she laid eyes on the big black bruise that had replaced most of her mother’s face. It had been a terrible fall, but at least she hadn’t broken anything.