Angelina stared at him. ‘Rory, you don’t look like it is. What’s the matt—’

The shrill sound of the telephone stopped her in mid-sentence. She jumped up and grabbed the receiver. ‘Hello?’

‘Hello, Angelina, it’s Stacey here. I’m calling you from Julian’s flat.’

‘And?’

‘He’s not here.’

‘Oh.’ Part of her was relieved Stacey had not found him in a pool of blood on the floor. ‘Any sign that he’s been there recently?’

‘No. I checked the bed and it was immaculate, although he could have made it before he left this morning. There was no sign of a breakfast bowl or mug and his toothbrush is dry, too.’

‘Stacey, I think you’ve been watching too many detective series on TV. You sound like a pro!’ Angelina tried to make light of the situation.

‘Well, it’s only common sense,’ she replied brusquely. ‘What would you like me to do now?’

‘Perhaps you could check his clothes are hanging in the wardrobe, just in case he’s decided to go away without telling us.’

‘I’ve done that as well, actually, although it’s difficult to tell as I have no idea how many clothes he’s got. But his wardrobe is certainly full and doesn’t look as though it’s been emptied.’

There was a silence as the two women tried to think what to do next.

‘Well, I just don’t understand,’ Angelina said eventually. ‘It’s so out of character for Julian to do something like this. You know how he thrives on his rigid routine, Stacey. He’s just not a spontaneous person.’

‘I know.’

‘Well, I think I’d better try ringing round the hospitals, just in case he had an accident and has suffered some kind of memory loss. You do hear that happens.’

‘Yes, you do,’ Stacey replied doubtfully. ‘Okay, Angelina, I’ll head back. It’s blizzard conditions here and I think Mr Peters is going to shut the office for the afternoon. They’ve closed the courts as many of the jurors didn’t make it in. Let me know if you hear from Julian and I’ll obviously do the same. Try not to worry. I’m sure he’ll turn up, like a bad penny, wondering what all the fuss was about.’

‘Thanks, Stacey. I’ll call you later.’

Angelina put the receiver down. She just didn’t understand it. Something was wrong, she knew it.

She turned round to speak to Rory, but saw only his half-finished soup bowl and the empty chair on which he had been sitting a few seconds ago.

Jazz and Celestria sat on either side of Tom, like two guardian angels. Celestria had so far refused to break her vigil, grasping Tom’s hand tightly in her own, as if by the sheer force of her love, she could keep her husband’s frail heart pumping the precious life force around his body.

Jazz sat listening to the beeps and whirs of the machines keeping her father alive. The sounds became like a mantra in her head and if she concentrated on them, it took some of the pain away.