And then Rob’s name appears in the chat window. He’s back online. Jake types a quick final message to Kirby, his big fingers trembling.

Thank you so much – please don’t tell Rob we’ve talked. Surprise! Must go. xx

Before Kirby can reply, Jake deletes the message thread and logs out.

47

Kate

‘I want to come to London,’ Kate says, standing outside the pub in the centre of the village, just up from the harbour café. Bex and the other beach cleaners are all inside, trying to drown their horror at what happened tonight. News of the body found on Pendower has spread fast and the pub is even busier than usual for a hot summer night. Locals and holidaymakers are sitting at the tables outside, milling around, chatting animatedly, each with their own theory. The community is in shock.

‘I understand,’ Rob says.

She’s told Rob about today’s unexpected visit from Hart and Strover, the CCTV footage from the pub, the near miss with the car and finally the body found by Stretch. She’s also explained that she recognised the dead man as the Bluebell barman, the same person who sat beside her in the harbour café and spiked her coffee. She omitted to mention how the police came into possession of the CCTV footage. There doesn’t seem any point in involving Jake in all this. And she hasn’t told him about Capgras, the syndrome that Bex mentioned, which also seems to have come from Jake.

‘I need to see Dr Varma,’ she says.

It’s the second time they’ve spoken in five minutes. She rang Rob from inside the pub, but it was too noisy. It’s Bex’s idea to be seen by Dr Varma. Bex is starting to think Kate’s losing it. More so than usual.

‘He’s gone back to London,’ Rob says. ‘But he’ll be down again at the end—’

‘I can’t wait that long,’ Kate interrupts, her voice shaking.

‘OK,’ he says quietly, in that caring, unflappable way he spoke to her in the early days, when she really wasn’t very well. ‘I’ll give him a call, see if he can see you sooner.’

‘If I come up tomorrow…’

‘Leave it with me.’ Rob pauses. ‘It must be tough for all of you down there, after what you found.’

He’s right. The police arrived quickly, sealing off the far end of the beach, but not before all of them had seen the body, the contorted expression of surprise on the man’s gaping, broken face. She and Bex stayed to give statements, explaining how they found the body. Kate didn’t say that she recognised the man. She just told them to contact DI Hart of Wiltshire Police. Hart rang her shortly afterwards, said he would be in touch. He also said that it wasn’t Rob’s car in Cornwall earlier that morning.