Hannah shook her head. “Nothing. Whenever I surprised Damon, he was writing his column. Thinking about it now, maybe he anticipated that I’d turn up in his study unannounced from time to time. Maybe he was extra vigilant during those times. Oh, who knows, who cares! I want to stop caring! I need to stop.” She pulled at her hair with both hands. “But I can’t, even now he’s dead, because he didn’t just have a heart attack or a fatal car crash—he was murdered. That means people more powerful and effective than me suddenly need to know all his secrets as much as I do. Which means new hope for me, and new dread, because now I might find out the truth. It’s horrible. You being here means I can’t let myself give up. It prolongs the torture. Can you understand that?”

“You think Damon’s murder was directly linked to his . . . pretending to love you, or to whatever made him feel he had to do that?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know,” said Hannah. “Maybe I’m imagining a pattern or shape that isn’t there, but when someone lives a lie—makes a lie of their entire life the way Damon did—aren’t they tempting fate in a very specific way?”

“How do you mean?” asked Simon.

“They’re issuing a challenge, to death and to the truth: ‘Come and get me.’ Well, one of them turned up this morning,” Hannah said matter-of-factly, as if she were talking about an actual visitor rather than an abstract concept. “I think they both did,” she added quietly after a few seconds. “I think they arrived together.”

From: Nicki <[email protected]>

Date: Tue, July 2, 2013 09:19:13

To: <[email protected]>

Subject: Distress signal

Hi Gavin,

Something strange and upsetting has happened. Why am I telling you this, when I’m not supposed to be writing to you at all? I don’t know. There’s no one else I can/want to tell. Have you heard of the journalist/columnist Damon Blundy?

N x

From: Mr. Jugs <[email protected]>

Date: Tue, July 2, 2013 09:23:08

To: <[email protected]>

Subject: Re: Distress signal

Hasn’t everyone? Not a particularly nice man.

G.

From: Nicki <[email protected]>

Date: Tue, July 2, 2013 09:30:26

To: <[email protected]>

Subject: Re: Distress signal

Why do you say that?

N x

From: Mr. Jugs <[email protected]>

Date: Tue, July 2, 2013 09:32:10

To: <[email protected]>

Subject: Re: Distress signal

Are you kidding me?? I only know him from his little-boy-seeking-attention columns, but based on those, he’s always struck me as pathetic—someone who gets off on needlessly hurting people. Why? What’s the weird, upsetting thing that happened? And why aren’t you telling me about either of your encounters with this policeman? I still want to know about those.

G.

From: Nicki <[email protected]>

Date: Tue, July 2, 2013 09:40:21

To: <[email protected]>