‘Miss Trent?’ the man called, but it was a courtesy, no more. Neither expected her to be here. And so it proved. The two rooms were empty of her presence.

Though her things remained.

At first Alasdair did not understand. Were these her things? Had he misremembered? The furnishings came with the apartment but the clock on the mantel, the coats and hats and umbrellas and gloves in the hallway, the clothes in the bedroom, the great sea trunk, the little crowd of objects by the bedside table, all were hers. The bed was made, the clothes neatly put away but all still here, nothing to even suggest a departure, planned or otherwise.

He went back into the main room.

‘Well, she is not here but neither has she done a flit,’ observed the man, Orange, whose eyes ran swiftly and critically over furnishings, wallpaper, doors and windows and locks as befitted an agent paid to take care of another’s property. ‘Ay, ay—what’s this?’

He kneeled before a rusty brown stain on the carpet near the sofa. A second stain could be seen beneath the legs of the sofa when he pushed it a little to one side. The man exclaimed and stood up, pulling away the cushions on the sofa and finding further stains, larger this time, discolouring the fabric.

‘What has happened here?’ the agent demanded, turning to Alasdair.

Alasdair stood behind him and said nothing. He felt the disbelief, the confusion clouding his head.

But Mr Orange was insistent. ‘I must ask you, sir, what has been going on in this apartment?’

Alasdair pushed the agent aside, kneeling down to see for himself. It was blood, though neither had spoken the word out loud.

‘How can I say? You know as much as I.’

But the agent was outraged. ‘This is a respectable establishment, sir. Whatever has occurred here, whatever has happened to this young lady, it is not allowed. I am afraid she will have to vacate at once.’

And Alasdair sprang to his feet. ‘Damn you—the young lady has disappeared! Do you not understand this fact?’

‘That is no concern of mine,’ countered the man, and he drew himself up stiffly in the face of this sudden truculence. ‘I have a duty to my client. I shall be forced to terminate the lease henceforth. Please remove the lady’s items immediately.’

Alasdair advanced a step towards the man.

‘These rooms, sir, are paid for until the end of the year. And I have paid for them. If you do not wish to receive a legal writ and a visit from my lawyers, if you do not wish to see your position with your employer terminated forthwith, you will get out—’

‘I shall do no such thing—’

‘Go! Get out now!’ And Alasdair grabbed the man by his collar and shoved him bodily out of the apartment and slammed the door after him.