Without warning, the man in the grey suit stood up and fired a Taser gun directly at Jameson’s back. Jameson’s body flexed against the chair and the ropes that bound him, as if trying to flatten itself. He didn’t make a sound as the jolt of electricity hit him, but the expression on his face screamed extreme pain. A second later his chair rocked on to its side and crashed to the floor. With his hands and feet tied, Jameson couldn’t break the fall and his head hit the concrete with a loud thud. His body continued to tense as the volts circled his system, and then Grey-Suit released the trigger and Jameson was still.

‘Marcus!’ Bloom strained against her ropes. ‘If you think hurting him is going to make me do what you want, you are bitterly mistaken, young lady.’

Seraphine chuckled, then picked up her chair and carried it close to Bloom’s. ‘I’ve always loved that tone you use when you’re taking command. I copied that, you know, kind of made it my own.’ She reached into the pocket of her jacket and removed a small yellow object which she placed in her lap. ‘H6,’ she said under her breath.

Bloom stared at the pencil. Its lead was pointed and sharp and, at the opposite end, a small cap of red paint prophesied what was to come.

‘How did you know?’ asked Seraphine. ‘When did you know?’

‘When did I know what?’

‘That Sarah was really Seraphine. When did you figure it out?’

‘I began to suspect you might still be alive, and maybe even involved, after the incident on the bridge. I knew that if you were, you’d want to get as close to our investigation as possible. I thought of all the women I knew and had spoken to over the past month and I realized there was only one I’d never met.’

‘Marcus’s lover.’

Bloom nodded. ‘So I looked up experts in functional psychopathy. As soon as I saw your surname, I knew.’

Seraphine looked pleased. She rotated the pencil in her hand. ‘If you join me, I’ll make sure this goes nowhere near your gorgeous Marcus. But if you refuse, you should know, I have been practising … All those cadavers … All those hospital morgues.’

Jameson was lying motionless on the floor. How long until he recovered? Was he OK? How hard had he hit his head?

‘What on earth could you need me for?’ Bloom asked. ‘Even if I did have some special insight – which as a matter of fact I do not – it couldn’t match the sophistication of your game.’

‘Really? You still don’t know?’

‘I have no idea whatsoever.’

‘I don’t need you for anything, Augusta. I don’t need anyone for anything.’

Bloom frowned. If Seraphine didn’t need her, then what the hell did she want? ‘So?’

‘So?’ Seraphine’s eyes were sparkling, playful.