Middle finger. ‘And that’s the thing with the washing and the shaving and the superglue. It’s not just about removing forensic traces. It’s another message. It’s like stamping the carcase “not fit for human consumption”. You’re warning the rest of us, don’t get taken in, this one isn’t even worth shagging. You’re protecting other men from the mistakes you made. You’re the good guy, you’re providing a service, making sure nobody else wastes time on them.’

Tony scratched his head with both hands, as if creatures were crawling over his scalp.

‘So what is it that you’re looking for? It’s more than auditioning a girlfriend. I think you’re looking for a replacement. You had your perfect woman and something went wrong. And before you could make her pay the price for her fall from grace, she got away. And you can’t find peace without her so you need a replacement.’

He threw himself down on the bed, forgetting it was so hard. He yelped and sat up again. ‘I didn’t think it through when I told Carol to find a dead woman who looks like her. But that’s it. She’s either dead or on the missing list. Because if she was around to be killed, he wouldn’t need to bother with anybody else. And he didn’t kill her then, so although he kids himself he’s looking for a replacement, what he’s actually looking for is an excuse to kill them. He kept Nadia alive for three weeks. He believed he could mould her but then he had to kill her when she couldn’t make the grade. But killing her was such a kick he’s convinced himself that it’s a waste of time trying to get them to toe the line. He’s run out of patience when it comes to training them because, whether he’d admit it or not, he’d rather kill them than keep them.’ Index finger. ‘He’s not looking for a replacement now, he’s looking for satisfaction, and unless he gets a perfect replica more or less straight away, he’s going to be just like Mick Jagger. Trying and trying.’