‘I don’t know. I mean …’

They stared at each other. ‘Why has she called herself “Rumpelteazer”?’ Mac asked.

Clara gave a gasp of realization. ‘It’s from the book! Luke’s book, the one Emily gave him before she left. Don’t you remember? The T.S. Eliot one about cats.’

Mac shook his head. ‘Is it?’

‘Yes!’ Her eyes were wide with excitement. ‘The message she wrote inside the cover. “For Mungo something, from Rumpelteazer. Love you Kiddo.” It’s her! It must be! How would anyone else know about that?’ She jumped to her feet, feeling a mixture of elation and shock. ‘Bloody hell, Mac! Bloody hell!’

‘He could have shown it to loads of people over the years,’ he said. ‘This could be from any old nutcase. Some weirdo who’s seen the news story and thought they’d stir up trouble. It’s probably some sick joke. Seriously, Clara, I wouldn’t—’

‘But it could be Emily,’ Clara persisted. ‘No one ever knew what became of her. And her disappearance was pre-Internet, it’s not like it was common knowledge.’

‘Why all the “no police” drama, though? The “don’t tell my family’’ stuff. Bit cloak-and-dagger, isn’t it?’

But Clara was undeterred. ‘Look,’ she said impatiently, ‘we don’t know why Emily left when she did, or what she’s been doing since. But bloody hell, Mac, what if it is her? She’s heard about her brother going missing and wants to help? Imagine if, because of this whole horrible nightmare, Emily comes back to her family!’

‘But what if it’s the nutjob who’s been stalking Luke, who’s abducted him?’ Mac persisted. ‘What if this is just some fucked-up trick?’

She turned back to the screen. ‘All the more reason to agree to meet them,’ she said quietly, and after a moment’s thought, she began to type her reply.

14

London, 2017

No matter how frequently she checked her inbox over the following hours, Clara’s message to Emily remained unanswered. Perhaps Mac was right; maybe it had been some lonely weirdo with too much time on their hands – yet she couldn’t quite shake the hope that it really had been Luke’s sister who’d contacted her. While she waited for a reply she imagined reuniting Emily with her family, picturing how ecstatic Rose and Oliver would be to finally see their daughter again, and felt a surge of excitement.

To distract themselves, she and Mac went back to compiling their list of women and by the next morning they had an assortment of names on their list: a mixture of ex-girlfriends, colleagues and former flatmates, people who could count as significant women in Luke’s life – none of whom, she had to admit, seemed likely candidates for the role of Luke’s abductor. ‘I guess it’s a start,’ Mac said, doubtfully.

‘Who shall we contact first?’ she asked.