Connie looked him up and down as he considered the question. He was soaked through, deeply wet, not as if he’d recently come out into the rain. The shovel was covered in mud right up to its handle. Fergus/Harris was, too. His hands, trousers and jacket, his face and hair. He’d been in the cemetery a long time. And he’d been digging.

‘Not just Edinburgh. This whole plane. This existence. I don’t live here any more.’

‘Where are Meggy and Elspeth?’ Connie asked.

In an ideal situation, she’d have spent a lot longer on the small talk, reassuring her patient, setting up the harder parts of the conversation. But she had the worst feeling.

‘They’re going to pass over with me. We’re going to be a family together on the other side.’

‘Harris—’

‘I’m Fergus,’ he said. ‘Elspeth is Fergus’ wife, and Meggy is Fergus’ daughter. I had a brother too, but I lost him somewhere.’ He glanced around as if expecting to see Xavier sitting waiting for him.

‘All right. Fergus, then. I need you to show me where Elspeth and Meggy are. They don’t need to die for you to complete your journey.’

‘How would you know?’ he yelled, stepping towards her and jabbing a finger angrily in her direction. ‘Just how the fuck would you know what I need?’

‘Do you remember Harris?’ Connie asked standing her ground. ‘I’m not saying you’re him. You’re Fergus, I accept that. But do you recall what happened to Harris?’

He frowned at her and shook his head.

‘I know some things about Fergus’ life. I think it might help you to hear them. I’m going to share a secret with you about that, then you have to share a secret with me.’ She didn’t wait for him to negotiate before continuing. Every second mattered. ‘Harris’ mother died a few weeks after he was born. He was one of twins, in fact. There was a brother. Their mother was suffering from post-natal depression. She couldn’t help feeling sad, and she obviously didn’t get the treatment and help she needed. The hormones in her body were messed up. It happens to lots of women, but if a doctor doesn’t realise what’s happening and intervene, it can become very serious.’

Fergus jabbed the shovel in the rivulets of muddy water at his feet.

‘Harris’ mother took her own life. It’s hard to imagine how desperate she must have felt to have done that. In her confusion and bleakness, she also took the life of Harris’ twin brother. There’s no doubt at all that she wasn’t in her right mind when she did it. Sometimes these tragedies just happen. I wish they didn’t, but they do. It’s an aspect of humanity we don’t talk about often enough. Sometimes the machinery of our brain breaks.’