He placed the paper on the dining table and turned to survey the room—the sheer chaos that was now Siân’s flat. Not an item, it seemed, had escaped examination, even though all had been done with astounding economy of time. He could appreciate why Siân felt so personally defiled. He had summoned the caretaker, who even now was repairing the woodwork around the front door, and for thirty pounds cash in hand he had further volunteered to find someone to tidy up and put everything back on the shelves—just as soon as Alex and the police had finished their work. Detective Inspector McPherson, Simon’s contact, had sent some plainclothes officers on ahead of him to meet Alex early, and they were already hard at work in the bedroom and along the hall, dusting for any trace of prints and searching for the least hint of DNA. Judging by their chat with one another, Alex didn’t think it sounded hopeful.

He looked in broad morning light at the main living area, and there seemed to be a lot of mess—but in fact little, or no, real damage. It would all be put right in a matter of hours, and Siân could return home after lunch if she still insisted—though he’d prefer she remain at his flat today while he sorted things out. He had to be at work by eight, but he still had a lot of details to take care of before he’d even think of her coming back here alone. He glanced at his watch, wondering what was holding James McPherson up. But just then the voice of the caretaker alerted him from the front door that someone had indeed arrived at the top of the stairs, and Alex moved toward the door to introduce himself. What he saw, however, took him by surprise.

The tall, good-looking man who stood rooted to the floor in the doorway arch of the living room had a dropped jaw, his eyes were roaming wildly, and his usual lightly tanned complexion was blanched. Alex recognized in Calvin the genuine symptoms of shock. The face and expression were in no sense prepared for what was in front of him, and it affected him deeply. For Alex, this unprompted first reaction told him something he needed to know about the man, and he was quite certain that his cousin was not directly involved in the events of the previous night.

“Oh God. Where is she, Alex?” He placed a modest-sized weekend bag on the floor beside him and turned around briefly, incredulous, to see the two men dusting for prints at the other end of the hallway.