The two attackers closed the outer door and got to work. First they stripped the couple and bagged their clothes. Garments were taken from a suitcase and scattered on the floor, as though left there in haste by a pair of lovers. Next the inner lab was unlocked and the bodies dragged inside. One of the men answered his mobile phone and nodded. ‘Only two,’ he said.

The van was waiting outside. Three more men came in and began stripping the lab. Everything was to go: the cabinets, the benches, the fridges, the Flexi chairs bought by George as a treat last Christmas; the rats, two mini pigs, one cyno monkey – which was quickly subdued by injection – as well as the pictures on the walls of grandparents, children, holidays and weddings.

After the lab was emptied, the men disappeared for a few minutes and came back dressed in white protective suits, carrying cleaning equipment. They began scrubbing the floor and walls. Finally, when the place looked more like a garage again, the bodies were positioned. The men opened Emily’s legs and placed Mike on top of her. One of them pulled his trousers down and simulated anal sex with Mike. Another took a picture on his iPhone. Finally, a scrap of paper was placed on the bodies. On it was written in blue pen: Bitch.

A groan caught their attention and they were startled to realise that Mike was still alive. One of the men pulled his foot back and kicked his head like a football. Mike fell silent, and the man who’d kicked him bent over and put his fingers to his throat: nothing.

The men left and got back in the van. It was fully dark now, and there was no one about. Another man, who hadn’t been part of the tidy-up, came into the garage and looked around. Satisfied, he nodded and took out his phone, snapping a few pictures to prove that the job had been done and done well. Then he left, locking both the inner and outer doors using the keys he’d been provided with.

Inside the lab, Mike’s mobile phone began to ring.

Chapter 4