‘There is a wide ledge underneath that window, part of the roof for our downstairs neighbour’s balcony. Ted fell onto that, then rolled into our neighbour’s balcony canopy, which broke his fall.’

Thea unclenched her hands. Moses reached up and adjusted the camera, widening the view until Thea could see the person sat next to him.

She clenched them again.

It was Ted. Except this wasn’t the Ted she had seen previously, with his shy smile and goofiness, the one who had joked about knowing Russian.

This Ted could no longer joke.

Propped up next to Moses was a blank waxwork of the man Ted had once been.

But even waxworks have the illusion of life about them, a twinkle painted onto the eyes, a smile carved into their faces. This Ted was empty and unfinished, eyes vacant, head lolling to one side with drool gathered at the side of his mouth.

Moses didn’t look at him but rubbed a hand over his forehead as if trying to massage away a headache.

‘He’s been like this for … three days now. His body functions, so he’ll swallow if he’s fed something … like a … like a baby … but—’

A jagged half-cry, half-gulp made him stop talking and he bent forward over the desk suddenly, his shoulders heaving. Ted remained upright due to the strap around his chest, his eyes glassy.

Moses pushed himself up again and angrily swiped at the mess on his desk. ‘Max was right – I can’t do this on my own. Look what I’ve done!’ His voice broke again. ‘I thought I’d factored it in. I know that if a body’s REM sleep is tampered with then hallucination is a possibility. The brain goes into stress mode and compensates where it can. I knew that. I thought I’d dealt with it. And anyway, when the person gets normal sleep again, the body would reset itself. The person shouldn’t become …’ he turned for the first time and looked at Ted ‘… this.’

For a few minutes it seemed as if Moses was transfixed by Ted. He gazed at him. The only sign he’d not become catatonic as well was the slight tapping of his fingers on the desk.

‘I won’t believe this can’t be fixed. I just need to be able to think better. I’ll edit all of this together, my record. Put it on a memory stick, keep it safe – just in case.’ Moses turned to the camera once more, a manic edge to his voice. ‘I did this. So I will undo it. On my own. No one else gets hurt.

‘I think I know what to do.’

Thea let out a breath. The video stopped.

Upstairs, something smashed.

Chapter 33

The knife had been left embedded into the dresser earlier that day.

Now it was in Ethan’s hand.