‘He’ll bring you to the house in Brittany,’ Rob interrupts. ‘I think you’ll like it. Home from home. I can explain more then.’

‘Do I have a choice?’ she asks. ‘If I don’t want to go with him?’

She’s always wanted to visit Brittany, see if it’s really like Cornwall, but not in these circumstances.

‘I’m so pleased you’re better, Kate,’ he says, ignoring her question as if she’s a truculent teenager. ‘Now I need your help.’

‘My help?’ What does he mean? It’s a while before he speaks.

‘I think he’s here,’ he says, quietly.

‘Who?’ But she knows already.

‘Gil – the man from Thailand.’

She should be pleased that he’s talking about his double again, sharing his anxieties. It’s how she always wanted it to be between them – no secrets. But she’s not. She’s scared. She can’t even be sure who she’s talking to.

‘How do you know?’ she asks.

‘His face was picked up on the Underground earlier this morning. I need to know where he turns up next, where he’s heading.’ He pauses. ‘He’s here to destroy me, Kate. All that I’ve achieved. My work, my new life with you. We both might be in danger.’

‘And I’m the one to help?’ she asks, thinking back to the assessment she’s just completed, her ability or otherwise to identify someone. Was it Gil that she just spotted on the Underground? She’s sure it was Rob.

‘There’s no one better,’ he says. ‘I can’t wait for you to be with me in Brittany.’

He hangs up. She stands there holding the receiver for a few seconds before replacing it. She tries to focus on Rob, the man who came to her hospital bedside and talked about art, helped her to get better, helped her to become the person she has always dreamt of being.

She walks back to join Ajay, who is still by the desk. The room’s spinning and she wonders if she’s going to throw up again.

‘Are you OK?’ he asks, looking at her with concern.

‘I need a glass of water.’ She goes over to the sink to steady herself. ‘Are you coming to Brittany too?’ she asks, still trying to process what Rob’s just told her.

‘I’ve got more appointments this morning,’ he says. ‘And I must lock up here. Your driver’s waiting downstairs.’

‘Can you take this off?’ she asks, touching the neckband.

Ajay casts his eyes downwards, as if in shame. ‘Rob will remove it when you reach the house,’ he says.

‘Why not now?’ she asks, increasingly alarmed.

‘He wants to download the data himself,’ he says. ‘It’s early days, still in beta testing.’

He looks up at her, knowing that she doesn’t believe him.