‘I care about you. I thought I could trust you.’

‘You can,’ he lied.

‘You lost someone recently, you know how much that hurts. Did you even think for a second about how unsafe you were? You’re not immortal, Adrian. Bad things can happen to you just like they can to anyone else.’

‘I know, I just thought I could get ahead of the curve with it. I didn’t want to get you in trouble with the DCI. Besides, it wasn’t premeditated, I just thought of it on the spot.’

‘Whether that’s true or not, you put yourself in danger.’

‘I know.’

‘Look. Whatever’s past is past. I want you to promise me from this moment on that you will be honest with me. And you can’t do stupid reckless things unless I’m there with you! You can’t just throw your life around like it doesn’t matter, OK? It matters to me.’

Adrian smiled while simultaneously feeling like a total bastard. ‘OK, I completely understand, I won’t do it again.’

‘I was terrified something had happened to you. I can’t take it at the moment, Adrian. Promise me. No more looking for trouble.’

‘I promise.’

‘Is there anything else you remember from when Finn had you in the house? Did he say anything about who he was working with?’

‘Nothing. I know it’s a male, but that’s all. Finn kept referring to him as a he.’

‘Brilliant.’

They walked into the humanities block and up to the reception desk. There was no one there. Adrian leaned on the counter and peered inside, then knocked on the glass. A woman jumped at the sound and looked over. Adrian pulled his warrant card out of his pocket and pressed it against the glass.

‘I wonder if you could help us.’

The woman walked over and examined the warrant card before sliding the glass open.

‘Is this about those terrible murders? I heard it was a couple of students, is that right?’

Adrian ignored the question. ‘I have a list of students here, who all studied with this department in the uni over the last few years. Do you have a record of which classes they attended?’

‘I should do. Can I see the list?’

Imogen pulled the sheets of paper from her pocket and handed them over to the receptionist.

‘I’ll just put them through the system for you. What is it exactly you are looking for?’

‘We just need to speak to any of the teachers that taught these students. So just the names of the professors, please.’

She sat down and started to type from the list into the system.

‘Gillian Mitchell, Gillian Mitchell, Hugh Norris, Helen Lassiter, Mitchell, Lassiter, Mitchell, Norris.’ She scribbled an initial next to each student’s name and stopped speaking aloud, instead just jotting the information on the sheet of paper.

‘Who is MP?’ Adrian said, noticing the different initials she had written next to a couple of names.

‘Dr Pike? He’s the head of the department. He doesn’t teach any more. He only works part-time, but you are in luck, he is in today. I’ll give him a call if you like and get him to come to the desk.’ She picked up the phone.