“Okay,” Yuri said slowly when the story of the world’s newest, greatest-ever love affair had been recited. “So when you say ‘vanished,’ what exactly makes you think that?” He could well imagine how besotted and loyally devoted the lovely Gwendoline was to her new beau, but boys Horatio’s age…The lad would be a magnet for babes and cougars alike; he could quite easily be staying in some lingerie model’s luxurious bedroom, fucking himself senseless night and day. Lucky little bastard. Yuri tried to focus on the girl again.

“I spent Tuesday night in his flat with him,” Gwendoline said. “I left early Wednesday morning to come back here and get changed for work. We had tickets to see SungSolar play at the J-Mac club that night. He never showed up.”

“So that’s a day and a half?”

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said with sulky resentment, “but we liveline each other all day long. I visit his HazBeanz once or twice a day. After I left here on Wednesday morning, his altme was offline. He didn’t respond to any type of call, not even a straight phone ping. He wasn’t in HazBeanz when I went to check at lunch, and the manageress said he never came in that morning. My altme ran a check through London’s ER registries, and he wasn’t admitted to hospital. When he didn’t show for the concert, I even called his parents. They didn’t know where he was, and now they’re worried. I went back to his flat but he never came home last night.”

“You stayed there all night?” Yuri queried. “By yourself?”

“Yes. I accessed the London police network this morning, but their Turing said I can’t file a missing person report until Horatio’s been gone for forty-eight hours.” She hung her head, long hair falling like a ragged curtain across her face. “I know you must think I’m really stupid for calling you, grandfather, but I didn’t know what else to do. Horatio wouldn’t just vanish without telling me, I know he wouldn’t. We know everything about each other. We never kept secrets.”

“Does he know who you are?” Yuri asked.

“He knows mummy and grandma are well off, but that’s all.”

“So he doesn’t know you’re actually a Zangari, that you are Ainsley’s granddaughter?”

“No,” she said in a tiny voice. “Please, I just want to know he’s okay.”

Ainsley patted her shoulder. “It’s all right, sweetheart, you did the right thing letting me know. We’ll find him for you. Can you give us a moment, please?”

Gwendoline nodded meekly and left the lounge.

“I ran a check through the London police network,” Poi Li said. “Horatio wasn’t involved in any incident yesterday morning, and there’s no arrest record. The police don’t have him in custody.”