Jenny took her hand away. She didn’t speak for a long time.

‘What do you mean?’ she said eventually.

Dorothy pointed to the piece of paper. ‘I think your dad got rid of Simon Lawrence’s body in someone else’s coffin.’ She tapped the paper lightly, as if she was scared it might attack her. ‘This one.’

‘How do you know?’

Dorothy put her fingertips to her forehead. ‘I know how his mind works. There were no cremations for a week after Simon went missing. He wouldn’t want the body in the fridge that long, so I think he buried him.’

‘Mum, you realise what you’re asking.’

Dorothy’s eyes were wet. ‘I do.’

‘I think you’re—’245

Dorothy snapped around and Schrödinger slid off her lap, slinking across the room. ‘You think I’m mad?’

‘I didn’t say that.’

‘You didn’t have to.’ Dorothy tapped the paper again. ‘Say you’ll help me.’

Jenny put her hand on top of Dorothy’s. ‘Give this to Thomas.’

‘He’ll think I’m mad.’

Jenny made a face.

Dorothy gripped her hand tight. ‘I have to know. I have to find out what he did. He was lying to me the whole time. Everything I believed in was built on sand.’

Jenny thought about Craig’s affair with Fiona. She thought about Orla fucking Karl behind Liam’s back. She thought about Peter Longhorn and Melanie Cheng. The lies, the deceit, the betrayals.

‘It’s illegal,’ Jenny said.

‘I know.’

‘It’s immoral.’

‘I know that too.’

‘It’s hard work,’ Jenny said. ‘Digging is hard work.’

‘I know.’

‘You’re seventy years old.’

‘Thanks for reminding me.’ Dorothy leaned forwards so that their faces were inches apart. She held Jenny’s hand, gripping tight. ‘I’m a strong woman. You’re strong too.’

She wasn’t talking about physical strength.

Her grip was tighter, Jenny feeling it in her knuckles, across her wrist.

Dorothy was whispering now, they were so close. ‘I need my daughter to be strong. I need to do this.’

Jenny stared at her mother’s face and swallowed.

She didn’t have a choice.246

She found her way through King’s Buildings more easily this time, even though it was getting dark. She strode into the James Clerk Maxwell Building and up the stairs, still a surprising number of people around. Maybe being a student or academic was like any other profession now, working longer and longer hours for less money, fuelled by the fear of dropping behind.

She stopped at room 4.16 and stared at that Quantum Club poster. No one had really properly explained to her what they did in that club, and she wondered if Hannah had overlooked something there, if there was anything more sinister to it.