‘Long story.’ There’s no time to explain how he impersonated Kate on Facebook and chatted to Rob’s dead friend Kirby. It seems increasingly likely that he was actually talking to Gil, who presumably wanted to send a message to Rob that he was coming for him. And now he’s here in the UK, ready to fulfil his threat.

‘A Tesla registered to him was seen driving around Cornwall at the weekend,’ Hart says. ‘I thought Kate should know. She’s not answering her phone. Maybe you could pass it on when you see her?’

‘We would if we knew where she was,’ Jake says. ‘We don’t have Rob’s exact address.’

‘We’re still struggling to find one for him too,’ Hart says. ‘Seems like he uses his Cornwall address for everything. Businesses, car, tax returns, the lot. What was Rob so worried about anyway?’

‘Doppelgängers are meant to be a sign of your imminent death,’ Jake says, not sure how much to elaborate. ‘It’s all a bit Brothers Grimm, but Rob thinks he met his doppelgänger – a man called Gil – at his twenty-first birthday party in Thailand. This bloke Gil apparently threatened to hunt Rob down one day and destroy him, ruin his career.’

‘I’ll call you,’ Hart says, hanging up.

Jake and Bex start to walk back down towards Shepherdess Walk, but they both stop in their tracks as they reach the corner. A Tesla is slowing down by the building’s entrance. They watch as it parks across the street, two wheels up on the pavement. The rear windows are dark. Nobody gets out. It appears identical to the one that ground to a halt on the hard shoulder last night.

Jake doesn’t have a good feeling about this. ‘Let’s wait here,’ he says, holding out a hand to stop Bex from walking any further.

85

Silas

Silas looks on in the Parade Room as Strover runs the number plates through the DVLA database, confident that the Tesla caught on CCTV in the Gablecross car park will turn out to be Rob’s. Kate mentioned that Rob was considering buying another Tesla and Silas has no desire to believe in doppelgängers. What was it that Jake said? A bit Brothers Grimm.

‘Any luck?’ he asks, leaning in to look at Strover’s screen.

‘I thought it was familiar,’ she says, scrolling down through the data. ‘Same number plate as the one Kate was given in Cornwall by her gallery friend. Registered keeper: Gilmour Martin, at the “care of” address in N1.’

‘Oh Christ,’ Silas says, running a hand through his hair. It’s not what he was expecting at all.

‘And the timing fits,’ Strover says. ‘Gilmour flew into Stansted six months ago, a week before the 14th of February, the date of the CCTV footage.’

‘We need to visit this “care of” address,’ Silas says. ‘Where is it again?’

‘Nile Street. Shoreditch.’