‘Sure,’ he says. He’s got a grip now.

‘When did you first realise that it was Rob and not Gilmour?’ she asks.

Silas looks across at her as they reach his car. She’s been uncharacteristically quiet since Rob’s death. It happens a lot in police work, when you back the wrong horse. She was convinced Gilmour Martin existed. He was too, for a while.

‘There never was a Gilmour Martin,’ he says as they both get into the car. Rain has started to drift across the deserted car park. ‘Gilmour didn’t frame Rob. Rob framed Gilmour, created him – a French-speaking figment of his imagination. His darker side made flesh.’

‘What about the matching fingerprints from Thailand?’ she asks.

He reaches for the ignition and then pauses as the rain intensifies, hammering down on the car roof. She’s owed an explanation.

‘That’s the moment when I knew Gilmour and Rob were one and the same,’ he says, sitting back. ‘Rob changed in Thailand, came up with his big plan. Whenever he needed to break the law, he decided he would adopt Gilmour’s persona. He would always blame his double, claim he was being framed. The brain farm in Brittany? Gilmour Martin’s idea. When Rob shot the man in Cornwall, he was driving around in a Tesla registered to Gilmour. The backstory he created online? The fake Facebook friends like Kirby? They all added to the myth that Gilmour wanted to bring him down. And of course he fed Kate with the same tosh too – just enough disinformation to make her question her own sanity.’ Silas shakes his head. How’s Kate ever going to recover from this? Jake’s support will be crucial, if she’ll accept it.

‘But how did Rob expect to get away with it, that’s what I don’t understand,’ Strover says.

‘The arrogance of the psychopath,’ he says. It never ceases to amaze him.

‘And the night of Kate’s crash? The video sent to Jake?’ Strover asks. ‘Was that all Rob too?’

Silas nods, glancing out at the car park. It seems a long time ago now. ‘Back then, Rob was beginning to assemble his team of super recognisers. He just hadn’t bothered to consult any of them. He came here the day before the accident, to check out Kate’s work movements. The following night, he’s sitting in the corner of the Bluebell pub, watching, waiting to abduct her, but then someone else gets to Kate first.’

‘The barman.’

‘He spikes her drink, on the orders of the OCG, whose members she had identified.’

‘And who’d recently been arrested,’ Strover adds.