‘They did, but only places they thought he could be hiding. Then they took his laptop and his Xbox from his bedroom but they didn’t go through our stuff. They didn’t go anywhere near the garage.’

‘It’s pretty macabre.’ She runs a finger over one of the blacked-out figures and her eyes meet mine. ‘I think you should tell them. Don’t you?’

Monday 3rd November 2014

ICE9: I can’t do this any more.

Jackdaw44: Oh FFS. Not this again.

ICE9: No, not this. My relationship. I feel claustrophobic and trapped. I’m not happy.

Jackdaw44: So leave.

ICE9: I can’t.

Jackdaw44: We could get a place together. I fucking hate living at home.

ICE9: You live on another planet.

Jackdaw44: What’s that supposed to mean?

ICE9: It’s a ridiculous idea.

Jackdaw44: Why?

ICE9: I’m miserable and you’re not helping.

Jackdaw44: Sorry.

Jackdaw44: Let’s both sneak out and go for a beer.

ICE9: OK. Meet you at the Victoria at 9 p.m.

Chapter 25

Every seat in the waiting room has been filled and the air is ripe with coughs, sneezes and the occasional wail from a bored toddler or hungry baby. Liz had to do battle with the receptionist to get me an appointment. I would have given up after the initial ‘There are no appointments left’ but she wasn’t deterred. Not even when the receptionist suggested that perhaps we would be better off going to the walk-in centre if I was having a ‘psychiatric episode’ as Liz put it. The poor woman eventually relented when Liz mentioned that I’d had my bloods taken at the surgery and that, if anyone knew what was wrong with me, it would be the doctor who had those results on her computer. We’ve been here over forty minutes so far and, during that time, my best friend has asked me twice if I’d like her to ring Mum or Jake and four times if I’m ‘having another funny turn’ because I look ‘weird’.

‘Look, here.’ She jabs a nail at an article in the magazine she’s reading. ‘This is Tinder, that app Marco told me about.’

‘Sorry?’

‘The dating app. The one for straight people. I don’t know why Caleb lied to me about meeting him on Grindr. I don’t care if he met him in a pub or online. Just as long as he’s safe.’

‘Right.’

For the last ten minutes Liz has been filling me in on her night out with her son and his new boyfriend. According to Liz, Marco was an absolute scream and she couldn’t have picked someone better for Caleb herself. Her exact words were, ‘Marco’s young, dark and fit. If he wasn’t gay I might have gone for him myself.’

She nudges me. ‘So do you think I should download it then? Give it a go?’

‘Sure, why not?’