‘You’re here to shut you up about the fraud,’ said Nick dolefully, ‘and I’m here so pressure can be brought to bear on Driscoll.’

‘That’s about the size of it, I guess.’ Michaela leant against the wire of her cage, stretching her fingers through the holes and bowing her head. Then she pushed herself upright and smiled – a tight, grim, fleeting smile. ‘I should never have got involved with these fucking people,’ she said, to herself as much as to Nick.

‘What are we going to do?’

‘What can we do?’

‘Not much,’ Nick admitted.

‘There’s only one sliver of sunshine that I can see.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Well, there are just the two of us here. Which means, I reckon, that they didn’t get Wada.’ She paused and noted Nick’s reaction. ‘Ah. I see you know her too.’

Wada had disengaged herself from the Japanese tour party as soon as the coach reached Ely. None of the other disembarking passengers had seemed to notice her slip away, not even the Showa era seamstress she’d sat next to. But then they had the cathedral to concentrate on before the next leg of their tour. Wada was just an unremembered face.

Walking the genteel streets of Ely, while it was safer than remaining in Cambridge, didn’t represent a solution to her problems. She had no doubt that what had happened was a direct response from Nishizaki to Morrisette’s demand for cancellation of some of the sales made at the Emergence auction. It was likely the men who’d attacked Morrisette hadn’t known Wada was there.

That wasn’t much help now, though. Whoever had sent the men would soon work out who she was and assume she’d been acting as Morrisette’s accomplice. They’d also assume she had a copy of the incriminating Emergence files. Which made her someone they’d badly want to find.

Wada had expected a blunt refusal to cancel the sales rather than a raid on the house. Her plan had been to persuade Morrisette to go to the media with her story at that point. Talking to Holgate’s Guardian contact without Morrisette didn’t strike her as a promising strategy. Where was the proof that what she said was true? Where was the first-hand climatological testimony? That kite wouldn’t fly.

Wada’s dismal conclusion was that on her own she couldn’t accomplish much. And trying to accomplish anything risked drawing her pursuers to her. She had few resources and no allies.

Except Holgate. Maybe he could be induced to do some digging on her behalf. She put a call through to his landline number. No reply. Then she tried his mobile.

‘Wada?’ he answered promptly. ‘About time.’

‘About time for what, Mr Holgate?’