They were back on schedule, she thought, with relief.

As she closed the oven doors, she suddenly sensed someone standing behind her.

She turned.

There was no one.

The whole kitchen was feeling like a fridge.

Her breath came out as vapour.

She shivered. The temperature seemed to have dropped, dramatically. She closed the door to the hall, but the room felt even colder still.

And again, she sensed someone standing behind her.

Then she heard a click, and felt a sudden jolt of static electricity on her shoulder.

She spun round.

And stared straight into an angry, shrivelled face.

77

Thursday 27 December

Finally, completely satisfied now, Jason removed The Skiver from his easel and laid it carefully against the wall. He put a new gesso board on the easel, and removed the photograph of the construction worker. His mind turned to the miserable old couple in the pub – he could see them sitting there, but could he recall their faces enough to paint the detail he wanted? It was a bugger that the photograph had gone.

In his mind the old man had been saying, I should have divorced you twenty years ago but now I’m stuck with you until death truly do us part. And the woman was saying, I don’t like you but you’re better than nothing.

More in hope than anything else, he clicked on his photo album on his phone and, to his amazement and joy, the photograph was back. Had it really ever gone, or had he mistakenly filed it elsewhere?

All had been quiet downstairs for a long while. Outside, in the street below, some bright floodlights had been set up. He glanced out and saw a team of people, in white oversuits, on their hands and knees inside the cordon doing a fingertip search, while another group, identically dressed, was filming or photographing with a large camera.

He was hungry. Maybe he’d grab a bite to eat before he started, make a strong coffee, and work on into the night. He realized he was almost living on coffee and would have to try and cut his caffeine intake after the exhibition, when things quietened down.

The door burst open behind him.

78

Thursday 27 December

Emily stood there, looking terrible and breathless, close to hysterics, her chef’s cap about to fall off.

‘Jason!’ Her voice was close to a scream.

‘What?’

‘There was someone standing behind me in the kitchen.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘A woman.’ She nodded at him, as if he should know who it was.

‘A woman? What do you mean? Who?’

She started shaking. So much so that for some seconds she struggled to speak, then finally she blurted, ‘Angry. She looked so angry. Hideous. Oh God, so horrible.’

‘What woman do you mean?’

‘In the kitchen.’

‘How? Did you open the door to the garage or something? Paul from Go Pest told us under no circumstances should it be opened until he advised us. Don’t you remember?’