The small grey cat woke Michael Jakes just before noon on Saturday. Schrödinger was hungry, and clawing at the pillow and bedclothes, her insistent purr bringing him to consciousness. The cat showed no recognition that this was a day of rest. After stroking her for a few minutes, he clambered out of bed, ran his fingers through his hair and slipped into a bathrobe. Padding downstairs, he topped up the cat’s biscuits and opened a sachet of the soft food that she liked to have in the mornings.

Coffee and The Times. Privilege of a day off. He picked up the heavy paper from the mat and saw that the post had come too, a large envelope in his sister’s handwriting. That was a surprise, as he normally only heard from her on his birthday and at Christmas. They weren’t close. She had the career, the car, the husband, the semi-detached house and the 2.4 children. But inside, Jakes knew that she was as screwed up as he was. The only difference was she didn’t admit it and wouldn’t talk about it. He tore open the envelope and saw that another smaller one was within, as well as a note from Sue.

Dear Michael,

I hope you are well and taking good care of yourself. You can see from the enclosed that the day we feared is almost upon us. Try not to let it upset you. I promise you he doesn’t know where you live.

All my love

Sue

Jakes set the smaller envelope on the coffee table. It was neatly written and addressed to him, care of his sister. He didn’t know if he dared open it. In the end curiosity overcame him, and he tore the envelope in his hurry, pulled out the one carefully folded sheet and began to read. But before he reached the end he broke down. His shoulders shook, and his vision blurred. The shadow of the past fell on him once again.

Chapter Nineteen

DC Rainy Macintosh was standing in the grand vaulted entrance of Imperial College in London, waiting for the academic to show up. This Saturday appointment was the culmination of half the morning and much of the previous day on a second piece of homework set by Gillard: trying to find what, exactly, the mesh or netting marks on the victim’s body came from. Metal, wire, plastic, wire-in-plastic or something else?