He wanted to say this wasn’t the scene where the hero marches off to make a heroic sacrifice. Except in a way it was. He was also about to do the most selfish thing he had ever done. He looked again at the wonderful shape of her face. He remembered her passion. He saw how her character informed that. She was the first woman who’d ever truly allowed him inside. Even as she was now, without happiness, when even saving her father would bring her no happiness, still her whole being was something vast and meaningful to him.

He turned and headed back to the van. He looked back to see Ross staring after him, to see Sefton going back to her, wondering what was going on. He kept walking.

*   *   *

Ross’ mind was racing, trying to work out what could take Costain off alone. She could only make puzzled eye contact with Sefton. Hadn’t she and Costain shared every secret? Was he … was he just fleeing? She watched him drive off, making herself give him the benefit of the doubt. He had told her he’d be back. This was something their team did. She had to trust him.

An alarm came from her phone. She looked at it to find a note from Forensics. ‘Your fingerprint search was one of the few tasks I was able to complete successfully in the current circumstances,’ it began, ‘so it went to the top of the queue, but I find the implications extraordinary…’ Ross scrolled quickly through the message and got to what those implications were.

‘Oh my God,’ she said.

‘What?’

‘One of those photographs of fingerprints inside a prehistoric long barrow, fingerprints put there four thousand years ago, matched the prints found at the Ripper murders.’

Sefton stared at her in shock. Then he grabbed the phone. ‘Where,’ he said, ‘is this long barrow?’

*   *   *

After a few minutes’ driving, Costain pulled the van to a halt, breathing hard. He’d been going far too fast. Only the emptiness of the streets had saved him. He’d switched off his phone as soon as he’d turned the corner. He was sure Ross would leave him messages. He didn’t want to hear them. He reached into his jacket. He found the secret inner pocket, closed his hand on the object. He wanted to see it, to make sure no secret power had taken it from him.

The Bridge of Spikes was a plain gold sphere, small enough to fit into his hand.