The candle’s shaking so much in her hand that she spills some wax on the floor. She puts it down beside the bed and lights two others she brought with her in her luggage, calming candles from Cornwall. Relax. She needs to get everything in perspective. The power cut, the dead phone line, the shutters – there’s a perfectly rational explanation. They’re all part of the problem with the apartment’s software, the same issue that prevented her from leaving earlier tonight. It’s either an accident or an over-cautious Rob. The drone is more problematic. There was nothing accidental about that. Maybe its appearance was a coincidence, an envious neighbour who enjoys buzzing the rich kids in their penthouse suites.

I’m sorry, this isn’t how I wanted it to be.

What did Rob mean? Will he be back tonight? And which Rob will it be? The old thoughts are returning like smoke, seeping in under the door, circling and swirling around her. She is certain it was Rob’s voice on the phone earlier, but she won’t be able to cope if someone else turns up here now. An impostor, his double. The man from Thailand.

She looks around for her phone to call Ajay. She needs his reassurance that her damaged brain is playing tricks, nothing more. She knows she should ring Rob first, ask him what’s going on, but she’s lost her nerve.

She finds her mobile on the sideboard in the kitchen. No signal. She purses her lips, trying not to cry. The steel blinds must be blocking reception. What sort of security measure is that? Protection against bloody cold-callers? She just wants to be back in Cornwall with Bex and Stretch. And maybe even with Jake too, camping on the rainy hillside like they used to.

There’s hardly any power left on her phone either. Perhaps the landline’s working again. She finds the receiver in the bathroom. Dead. She looks around. There’s a ticking sound high up in the corner. The blades of a wall fan are turning lazily in a faint breeze. Climbing up onto the end of the bath, she can see the evening light outside. No sign of any steel blinds. She holds the phone up by the fan and looks at the screen. One bar of reception appears. Balancing carefully, she dials Ajay’s number. Engaged.

And then a distinct sound echoes through the apartment. The front door. She listens for a moment. Silence. On an impulse, she decides to try Jake’s number.

‘Hello?’ she calls out, waiting for the phone to connect. More silence. ‘Rob?’

The door again, closing behind whoever has just come in.

‘Rob?’ she repeats, louder now, her voice shaking. ‘Is that you?’

Why hasn’t he said anything? The silence is scaring her. She climbs down off the bath, knocking over the candle as the phone connects through to Jake.

‘Rob?’ she calls out.