‘It’s OK,’ he said, ‘I know why you were there. I think I should thank you.’

‘I just thought …’

He nodded. The relief on her face made him wonder what she’d been going through.

‘Working on anything?’ he asked, figuring she was owed a minute’s conversation. Jack and Eve were downstairs in the car, getting to know one another.

‘I’ve been on Johnny Bible background: deadly dull.’ She perked up. ‘One thing though. I was going through the old newspapers in the National.’

‘Yes?’ Rebus had been there, too: he wondered if that were her story.

‘One of the librarians told me someone was looking at recent newspapers and asking about people calling up ones from 1968 to ’70. I thought the combination was a bit odd. The recent papers were all from just before the first Johnny Bible murder.’

‘And the others were the years Bible John was operating?’

‘Yes.’

‘A journalist?’

‘That’s what the librarian says. Only, the card he handed over was a fake. He contacted the librarian by telephone.’

‘Did the librarian have anything?’

‘A few names. I took them down, on the off chance. A couple of them are journalists. One is you. The others, God knows.’

Yes, Rebus had spent a long day poring over the old stories, arranging for photocopies to be made of the relevant pages … building his collection.

‘And the mysterious journalist?’

‘No idea. I got a physical description, but it doesn’t help much. Early fifties, tall, fair-haired …’

‘Doesn’t rule too many people out, does it? Why the interest in recent papers? No, wait … Looking for cock-ups.’

Siobhan nodded. ‘That’s what I thought. And at the same time asking about people who’d shown an interest in the original Bible John case. It might sound crazy, but maybe Bible John’s out there looking for his offspring. Thing is, whoever he was … he’s got your name now, and your address.’

‘Nice to have a fan.’ Rebus thought for a moment. ‘Those other names … can I see?’

She found the relevant page in her notebook. One name leapt out: Peter Manuel.

‘Something?’ she asked.

Rebus pointed. ‘Not his real name. Manuel was a killer back in the fifties.’

‘Then who …?’

Reading up on Bible John, using a killer’s name as an alias. ‘Johnny Bible,’ Rebus said quietly.

‘I’d better have another word with that librarian.’

‘First thing in the morning,’ Rebus advised. ‘Speaking of which …’ He handed her the envelope. ‘Can you see to it that Gill Templer gets this?’

‘Sure.’ She shook it. The cassette rattled. ‘Anything I should know about?’

‘Definitely not.’

She smiled. ‘Now you’ve whetted my curiosity.’

‘Then unwhet it.’ He turned to leave. He didn’t want her to see how shaken he was. Someone else was hunting Johnny Bible, someone who now had Rebus’s name and address. Siobhan’s words: Bible John … looking for his offspring. Description: tall, fair-haired, early fifties. The age was right for Bible John. Whoever it was knew Rebus’s address … and his flat had been broken into, nothing stolen, but his newspapers and cuttings disturbed.