Somewhere below her a phone starts to ring, so Kate returns downstairs from the apartment’s rooftop terrace. She can’t find the receiver at first and then she works out that the ringtone, more of a futuristic pulse, is coming from the bedroom. She pushes open the door and sees the handset by the bed. She hesitates before she answers it.

‘You’ve found the bedroom then,’ Rob says.

‘I heard the phone and thought I should answer,’ she explains, feeling like an intruder as she glances around Rob’s private world. They’ve never shared this space before – the bed, its white cotton sheets. On one wall there’s a large canvas photo of them together on Porthbean beach, smiling at the camera. She looks tired but happy. In her mind, Rob’s life in London has always felt so separate, but the connections to Cornwall, their life down there, are here, plain to see. Another surge of happiness runs through her.

‘It’s OK, I meant you to pick up,’ he says. ‘Make yourself at home. I hope you like it.’

‘It’s beautiful,’ she says, lying down on the double bed. ‘And so big. Amazing. I can’t believe you’ve been keeping it from me all this time.’

‘I wanted you to be ready, well enough to enjoy it.’

She can smell his scent on the pillows, clean and fresh as heather. It feels so good to be here – secure, cossetted, safe. Her worries of earlier are falling away with every passing second.

‘When are you coming back?’ she asks.

‘Late, I’m afraid,’ he says.

‘No worries,’ she replies, but she feels a pang of disappointment.

She turns to look at a photo on his bedside table. It’s of her, walking out of the surf in her bikini, a little chubbier than she’d like. Should she ask him about Cara? Tell him that she thinks she’s being followed? It sounds so paranoid, on a par with thinking that he’s been replaced by a double. Maybe it’s just another symptom of Capgras.

‘Dr Varma should be with you shortly,’ he says.

‘That’s good.’ She pauses, feeling awkward at the prospect of Ajay’s visit. She hasn’t told Rob the real reason why she wants to see Ajay and she wonders if she’s wasting his time. Once again, Rob sounds like himself on the phone. ‘Will I be asleep when you get back?’ she asks.

‘I hope not. We’ve some catching up to do.’

‘Shall I get some supper for us?’ she asks, smiling at the thought of what they might do together later.

‘I’ve put a few things in the fridge,’ he says. ‘You go ahead. I’m sorry.’

‘It’s OK. Really.’