‘Leave it with me,’ she says. ‘And sorry, you know, for being a bit off with you earlier.’

‘No worries.’

Jake hangs up and then he freezes, staring at the screen. At last he’s found a Kirby who matches the criteria. Worked at one of Rob’s companies, looks like the photo on Facebook – and died five years ago.

Jake reads the information again, eyes widening in disbelief. Kirby’s definitely dead. He reaches for the phone to call Kate, recalling the chat he had on Messenger. If he wasn’t talking to Kirby, who the hell was replying to his messages?

62

Kate

‘Rob said you wanted to see me urgently,’ Ajay says, glancing around the apartment as they make their way over to the kitchen area.

Kate wonders if he’s been here before. ‘Thanks for coming,’ she says.

Is it urgent? Or is she wasting Ajay’s time?

‘Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee? Glass of wine?’ she asks as he perches awkwardly on a high kitchen stool.

‘I’m fine, thanks,’ he says, smiling. And then his expression becomes more serious. ‘Rob mentioned what you saw on the beach in Cornwall. I’m so sorry. It must have been very distressing for you.’

Of course. Ajay thinks he’s here to debrief her about the dead body. That’s what Rob must have told him after she rang from the pub in a state last night. It was upsetting, but it’s not what she wants to talk about.

‘We were both shocked – I was with my friend Bex when we found the body,’ she says, wondering how she’s going to turn the conversation to Capgras. Doctors must hate it when patients try to self-diagnose.

‘Would you like to tell me a little more about it?’ he asks. ‘How you felt?’

‘Actually, I wanted to ask you about something else,’ she says, hesitating. Ajay smiles, encouraging her to continue. ‘It sounds a little crazy.’

‘Crazy?’

She realises it must be a loaded word in his world, one that he probably tries to avoid.

‘Delusional,’ she offers instead.

‘Tell me,’ he says.

She takes a deep breath. ‘Every time I see Rob,’ she begins, shifting her position on the kitchen stool, ‘I think it’s not him.’

Jesus, she does sound crazy. Unhinged. Ajay looks at her, unblinking, as if she’s the only person in the world. She likes that about him, his undivided attention.

‘Who do you think it is?’ he asks quietly.

‘An impostor, a double, I don’t know,’ she says. ‘Just not Rob. It’s as if he’s been replaced by someone.’

‘And this has been happening for how long?’ he asks.

She’s reassured that he’s taking her seriously. A diagnosis would make it so much easier when she next sees Rob.

‘The past four days. Since he came down to see me in Cornwall on Friday.’