‘Do you get on well with your mother?’ Dan says, hoping so badly he will say yes. He wants Atticus’s mum to have spoiled him rotten, pinched his cheeks. For her to let him for ever be a little boy round her. He has a feeling that Atticus needs that kind of unconditional love. The kind his own mother and late father showed him. Dan’s early childhood was guarded by a large pair of hands, his falls softened, his tears dried.

‘Well enough. She wanted me to be a girl so she could plait my hair and take me shoe shopping.’

Dan rubs his palm over his heart to ease the ache Atticus’s words have put there. Atticus, apparently sensing Dan might be getting somewhere, waggles his feet. Today’s choice of footwear is a pair of brown brogues, with purple laces. They both take a moment to admire them. ‘Shoes are another weakness, along with coffee,’ Atticus says, ‘although from now on I shall drink only Black Ivory beans, consumed by elephants and collected from their waste. Or perhaps I’ll switch to Tetley.’

Damn you, Atticus. Dan almost smirks. He hides his reaction by looking down at his Jordan high tops and hates himself for hoping Atticus likes them. ‘At least get Twinings,’ Dan says, and realizes he’s being pulled off track. He clears his throat and carries on: ‘Your file suggests you suffer from anxiety. I’m looking for a trigger. Work stress can be a big factor.’

‘I don’t find art stressful, I find it boring, mostly. I help set up the exhibitions, but other than that, my father doesn’t ask too much of me. As long as I go and visit Mummy every now and again, I’m golden. Not that she even notices I’m there, the old lush.’

Dan wonders if Atticus is also an alcoholic. He once had a client who kept talking about her mother’s drinking problem. It took a couple of weeks and the smell of brandy for him to realize she was talking about herself. He makes a note on his clipboard. Now it reads Fitz Fitz Fitz Fitz Fitz Fitz, drinking problem?

When he looks up Atticus smiles almost shyly and says, ‘Are you unravelling my mystery so soon, Daniel? Do share your findings. Was it Professor Plum in the study with the candlestick?’