Hughie was right, parasomnia was a fascinating phenomenon. Some people suffered terrifying hypnagogic hallucinations, where a person believes they can see a mysterious stranger standing at the foot of the bed. Others acted out their dreams — people had been observed dancing barefoot in the rain. Some raided the fridge, and then when awake, wondered where yesterday’s leftovers had gone. A few drove in their sleep. Others had sex. A rare disorder called sexsomnia had been used as a defence in rape cases. What they all had in common was the fact that they had sleepwalked as children.

Sam pushed the papers aside and leaned back against the pillows, his mug in both hands. He knew about some of these conditions, but because they were usually assumed to be medical or drug-induced, no cases had come to his personal attention, so he wasn’t surprised that Laura hadn’t met one either. He was to meet her today at the mill to discuss her observations. She had said there was something about Shields that she found disconcerting, but she could not pinpoint what it was. It was this that had sent her to him for help. She wanted Sam to meet Freddie Shields so he could observe him in person and help her understand why she felt this way.

It was some years since he’d felt so excited by a new case.

* * *

After a supreme effort, Annie Carson had returned to sleeping in her bedroom at night. If it hadn’t been for her son Callum, she would have slept downstairs all night with the TV on. But she didn’t want Callum to know how frightened she was. So frightened, in fact, that it was in her mind to talk to her eldest son about selling up and moving. She didn’t want to uproot Callum, but her house was no longer her home, her safe place.

What troubled her most was the theft of Callum’s photograph. It left her unwilling to allow Callum out of her sight. Oddly, it had affected him badly too. She had expected him to be dying to get back to school and tell all his mates about the strange man in his house and the police coming around looking all serious. But he didn’t even want to go in. He said he felt ill, and asked could he stay at home for a few days?