The pair listened as Marcus explained to an officer on the end of the line that they had discovered the box containing the glasses.

‘They are sending someone now and, yes, we do have to stay for the moment,’ he groaned.

‘It’s too cold to be standing on the street. Let’s get a coffee and come back in five minutes,’ Jane suggested, wanting to put some distance between herself and the box with the strange message.

‘Sounds like a plan to me,’ Steven said, while Marcus nodded in agreement.

The three set off in silence, heading towards Bridge Street, passing some of the most beautiful historic university buildings in the city.

‘What do you think it meant?’ Jane was the first to break the silence.

‘What did what mean?’ Marcus walked with his head down looking at all the footprints in the snow.

‘Now You See Me… What do you think it meant?’

‘It is rather cryptic.’

‘It is, isn’t it,’ Steven said thoughtfully.

‘I know, sir, get onto CCTV.’ Singh closed the door to Barrett’s office.

‘He’s playing with us, Joe.’ Barrett stood behind his desk looking out over Parker’s Piece. Families had come out to play in the new snow. Children built snowmen and threw snowballs while dogs romped around them.

‘The schools broke up yesterday,’ Palmer told him, also watching the people below as the phone began to ring.

‘Barrett,’ he snatched the phone up quickly. There was a long silence while the person on the other end of the phone delivered information. ‘Very well, thank you for the update.’

Palmer raised an eyebrow.

‘They’ve got Andrew Wade. Picked him up a few hours ago.’

‘Right.’ This news didn’t excite Palmer. He was now more convinced than ever that Andrew had nothing to do with the murders. ‘No way he could have left the glasses there, though, is there.’

‘We don’t know how long they’ve been there,’ Barrett said sitting down. He wasn’t ready to let his suspect entirely off the hook just yet. ‘He lied about the last time he had contact with his father and then he left the country, while on bail. He knows something.’

‘Or he’s just an idiot,’ Palmer said flatly.

‘The box with the glasses has been sent over to forensics. Let’s see if they come up with anything. In the meantime, I want you to speak to Shane Matlock again. I want to know why he was paying the mortgage on a house he wasn’t living in, especially when he has a pregnant girlfriend to support. Tell him to come to the station.’

‘I will.’ Palmer started to move towards the door and then stopped. ‘What do you think it meant, the words on the box?’

‘Now you see me… now you don’t,’ Barrett said slowly.

‘Do you think the message is for us?’

‘Perhaps.’