“Siân.” Alex hesitated. “It’s a liberty to ask this when you’re dropping everything to help; but, would you come alone—without Calvin? It’s just…Max…” Alex looked at his son who had come to stand right beside him, offering all the tacit support he could give even without an adult understanding of the situation. Alex was perfectly sincere about not wanting his son to deal with Will’s successor yet; but something also repelled him about the idea of this strange cousin of a matter of months being in his flat, privy to his personal life.

“Not a problem, Alex. I understand. Give me time to get a few things in a bag. If I need more tomorrow I’ll bring Max here.”

She rang off, and was at his door before he’d finished his call to Anna to explain what was happening. He reassured her that everything concerning Max was under control. Anna knew her former husband to be a calm man who would refuse any provocation to panic; she saw this must be unusually important to him and that he was clearly very worried. Max trusted Siân, and Anna approved—though she’d get back when she could.

Alex was pocketing his passport and a few other things as he let Siân in, only to find Calvin with her after all. He looked at her uncomprehending while she greeted Max with an affectionate hug.

“Calvin’s not staying, Alex; he’s just dropped me off. But he has something important to say that I think you need to know.” She swung around and challenged her boyfriend with intensity.

Alex was wary. “I’m a little pressed for time, Calvin. Is it relevant?”

“Very. Let me drive you to the airport, Alex. We’ll talk on the way.” His voice tonight was not his usual mix of ingratiating charm and confidence, but had tones of apology and hesitancy. “And you ought to bring these papers that relate to Dee—which I know you’ve found…”

Alex wanted to laugh: but the situation was painfully serious, and he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This was a family treasure hunt, wasn’t it? A personal family mystery, or at most, an intriguing set of riddles for future generations to tease themselves on. But Calvin’s words implied that the stakes were actually much higher—that this mystery may even have a sinister edge. Now, when Alex spoke, his voice was lethally quiet, and Siân realized she had never heard it sound quite like this before.

“What,” he asked, emphasizing each syllable with weight, so that even his son looked up at him with concern, “does this have to do with you?”

“Possibly I spoke too freely in the wrong quarters; perhaps I just have some associates with a questionable set of priorities; but certainly someone is now very keen to get their hands on a particular inheritance of yours.”