‘Cordelia? Aye, when she warned me about breaking the Official Secrets Act she said that it was your temper that we should both be afraid of. Does she know about the time you stuck the fork in the wall?’

I couldn’t help but laugh at the memory of it – at the ridiculousness of our situation and the secrets that were leaking out. ‘She does, aye,’ I said. ‘She’s seen me with my dander up. But she gives as good as she gets. That business with the body in the blue suit, with Loveday – the farm next door.’

‘Don’t think on it – you’ll only get upset.’

He bent down and picked up the little lamp. Looked at the sink as if he was about to leap up and then spring into the rafters. He looked too shaky on his feet for it to even seem vaguely possible. He tottered a bit and reached out for me. I grabbed his arm and he half fell against me. The heat coming off him was intense, like I’d opened the oven door. He was slick with sweat and there was a new smell coming off him, like food left out in summer.

I didn’t get a chance to ask him what was happening inside him. The next thing the door handle was rattling and then a key was turning in the lock and the sound of raised voices was flooding in from outside.

‘… one bloody thing! One piece out of place and it all goes wrong!’

‘… more to lose than you. These aren’t names on a print-out, they’re real people, real lives …’

‘… how long I’ve been planning this! We need to put on a united front, if he gets any sense of what’s coming he’ll pull the plug and then we’re all in shit so deep you’d never come up for air …’

Pelletier was in the doorway. He spread his hands wide. Gave us a rueful smile as if he were a dad whose kids were making a fuss at a birthday party. He placed a flask and two metal cups down by the door. ‘Sera said you might need something to warm you up. She’s a kindly soul, don’t you think? It’s no hardship to make her happy.’

John gave a little groan and then slithered down to the floor, knocking the lantern over. The angle of illumination changed completely and the hole in the ceiling above the sink was suddenly in complete darkness. I felt him grip my arm. He was putting it on.

‘Jesus, you look awful,’ said Pelletier, wincing. ‘Here, let me help you …’