“Someone should stand guard till the cavalry gets here,” he said, once Fox had ended the call.

“And let you go upstairs on your own?” Fox was shaking his head. “If Rory Bell is in there, his sidekicks might be too. What do you think they’re doing?”

“Best-case scenario, having a powwow with Traynor.”

“And worst-case?”

“I don’t really want to think about it.”

“Nobody’s answering anyway,” Fox commented.

But as they approached the building, a neighbor emerged, maneuvering a bicycle ahead of her. Fox sprinted forward, holding the door open. The woman thanked him with a smile as she strapped on her helmet.

“Thank you,” he replied, ushering Rebus inside.

They climbed the three stories in silence. When they got to the door of Jessica Traynor’s flat, Fox indicated that it wasn’t quite closed. Rebus pushed it open an inch and listened.

Silence.

Another inch and he had a view of the hallway.

No sign of life.

He let it swing wide and walked in, calling out “Hello?”

The varnished wooden floor creaked beneath him as he made his way along it, passing the bicycles belonging to Jessica and Alice. Again, the door to the living room wasn’t quite closed, so he opened it. Owen Traynor was seated in one of the chairs, head leaning back, hands draped over the sides. He was in shirtsleeves and looked pale and almost drugged.

“Mr. Traynor?” Rebus said, eyes taking in everything around him. No students, no Rory Bell.

“How did I know I’d be seeing you again?” Traynor’s mouth seemed parched, his voice brittle.

“Any bother here?”

Traynor looked at Rebus and shook his head. His eyes were hollow from lack of sleep.

“Been here all night?” Rebus asked.

“Maybe.”

“Jessica and Alice?”

“I sent them elsewhere. Forbes too.”

“So you could talk to Rory Bell in private?”

Traynor’s gaze grew more focused, but he decided not to answer. His fingers were beating out a silent rhythm against the sides of the chair. Rebus turned his head towards Fox and indicated that he should take a look around. Then he moved towards the chair and crouched down in front of it.

“It didn’t do any good, you know—moving those cars out of the car park. We got them anyway.”

“I don’t blame Alice, even though she told me I should—after all, she’s the one who got Jessica and Forbes interested.”

Rebus heard the sound of a vehicle squealing to a stop in the street outside. He straightened up and walked to the window, peering down onto the roofs of two patrol cars, their lights flashing.