‘As soon as we do that, Ian will know we’re on to him for sure,’ Julie said.

‘Possibly. But the way he suddenly turned up at my mother’s funeral suggests to me that that ship has already sailed. So, let’s just suppose it was Eva who seduced, blackmailed, bribed or otherwise persuaded Ian to work for Moscow. I very much doubt she remained in the picture, or took the lead role in running him for any length of time, which means – at worst – that she’ll merely pass the details of our approach back to Moscow.’ Kate shrugged. ‘Igor Borodin is too smart to respond to that in a knee-jerk way, but it will demonstrate to him that we’re on his trail and getting closer. Under pressure, teams make mistakes, as we’ve learnt many times to our cost.’

‘And if she was just his lover,’ Julie said, ‘she’ll alert him back here.’

Kate thought Julie was missing the point a bit, but didn’t say so. ‘If you assume that Ian and Eva remained on good terms, then, yes, we gain nothing from a trip to Prague, bar alerting him and possibly Moscow to the fact that we’re investigating his past. But my observation is that Ian doesn’t handle women or his affairs well. So he may have broken it off badly, in which case Eva may have things to add to our understanding. I’ll go with Callum and be there and back in forty-eight hours at the outside.’

Julie seemed about to protest, so Kate said, ‘I need you to do a deep dive into the files. See what you can do to trace through every tiny step of Ian’s history. Eva’s time in Chile may not be all he’s attempted to clean up.’

Julie nodded to indicate that this made sense, though she still looked disappointed at missing out on a trip to Prague and, glancing at Callum, Kate was fairly sure she knew why.

She sent them both home and went round to her aunt’s Chelsea townhouse. The front door was slightly ajar, so Kate walked into the hallway and then immediately wished she hadn’t. There were raised voices from the kitchen.

‘I’m sorry,’ Rose said.

‘You always are,’ Simon replied.

‘Please … I don’t want to rake over the past.’

‘Nor do I. The question is whether the past is behind us.’

‘Of course it is. We agreed that we need to look forward. And that is what I am trying to do.’

Kate retreated rapidly and rang the doorbell. It was a while before Rose answered. ‘I’m glad you came.’

‘That sounds ominous.’ Kate followed her aunt into the handsome kitchen at the rear, with its view of a small but beautiful garden, carefully lit to enhance its effect. ‘Everything all right?’ Kate asked.

‘Of course.’ Whatever the argument had been about, Simon had disappeared and Rose was determined to put on a brave face. ‘Wine, whisky?’ she asked.

‘Tempting, but I’m fine, thank you.’