The Ghosts were irrelevant, they’d never lead us to anyone, but whoever was inside that room, and about to activate a questionable device, was on the inside. And we needed to unmask them. They couldn’t know that we’d intercepted the Ghosts, that Jake and Robin would be working fast to deactivate the device. We needed them to think everything was still in place so that when they tried to trigger it we would know who they were.

I needed to return to that room, keep cover, drink tea, continue to talk about what school options there were for intellectually advanced but socially immature eight-year-olds. And ignore the fact the room could blow up.

*

I took several deep breaths as I opened the double doors to the conference room. I took in the people still happily talking and pouring tea and munching biscuits. No one stood out. No one had the look of someone itching to activate a countdown switch.

I arrived back at my table. ‘Sorry about that, everyone. Mrs Moulage just needed a little help with something.’ I sat down and dropped my handbag on the floor between my feet. ‘What have you been discussing?’

‘Husbands hiding things from us,’ said Camilla as she put her teacup down. It was hard to read her face but considering what Frederick had been through in the last week she was clearly going to have noticed something serious was happening.

‘That sounds an understandable problem.’

‘In pursuit of the Ghost,’ an out-of-breath Jake crackled into my earpiece. I kept my face impassive as I took a sip of lukewarm tea.

‘I think they all take advantage of it.’ Naomi looked round at everyone. ‘I mean, using work as a cover for when they just can’t be bothered to actually get home in time to do some parenting?’

‘Argh . . . For fuck’s sake . . . You little . . .’

I tried not to wince at the sound of what sounded like a head hitting a wall.

Naomi sighed. ‘I want to believe him when he says he has to be away for certain dates. But how come it seems the Security Services can’t do without him every time a school social is planned? Or when my mother is staying with us?’

‘Robin! Get to the device!’

‘It sounds like you’ve been getting right to the heart of exactly what the “We are Family” initiative is all about.’

‘I’m at the device now.’ Robin spoke fast. ‘It’s a black square box about thirty centimetres wide and plugged into the phone socket below the large window. There are five small lights on the top right corner, all green. Three switches on the side. I have no idea what the hell it is.’