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being helped into an ambulance. But she didn’t know what had been wrong and felt it would seem overly nosey to ask them.
    ‘That music,’ Mr Henderson said angrily, gesturing upstairs. His face was blood-red and his eyes burned in a way that Emma had never seen before. ‘Your boyfriend’s had that on full blast ever since I got back from the shops. Edna’s trying to get to sleep in here; she’s not well, you know. She gets distressed easily. She was crying when I got back home, sitting in the corner of the room, covering her ears. People think just because you’ve got dementia that you don’t matter. But she matters to me. I love her.’
    Tears welled up in his eyes as his anger faded.
    ‘Doctor says she’s dying,’ he added. ‘Please let her rest. Please get your boyfriend to turn the music down. He won’t even answer the door for me. I’ve been up there three times, but it hasn’t done any good.’
    Emma looked at Will and Lizzy, who returned anxious glances.
    ‘Sorry,’ she said, feeling desperately sorry for the old man but also wanting to get to the top floor without delay. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said again, sidestepping Mr Henderson and heading for the next set of stairs, almost launching at the first step.
    ‘I’ll call the police if you don’t turn it down,’ Mr Henderson shouted, before breaking out into a bronchial cough. But Emma had already turned the corner at the top of the stairs.
    She reached the front door, fumbling with the keys to a rock soundtrack. The music was coming from inside their apartment, and it was extremely loud. Dan never played music that loud, and that thought only intensified her sense of foreboding about what lay inside.
    ‘Dan!’ she shouted. ‘Are you in there?’
    She was really panicking now, feeling dizzy with nerves. The key wasn’t going into the lock, so she began banging on the heavy wooden door with her fists.
    ‘Dan!’
    ‘Come here, Em,’ Will said, taking the keys gently from her. ‘Let me do it.’
    Emma stepped back, surprised to find that she was crying.
    Lizzy hugged her. ‘Everything’s going to be all right,’ she said, but she didn’t sound convinced anymore.
    Will unlocked the door and a crescendo of guitars and drums swept out onto the landing.
    ‘Danny, you in here?’ he shouted, moving into the apartment. He turned left towards the lounge, from where the music was coming from, while Emma and Lizzy headed for the kitchen.
    ‘Dan?’ Emma neared the kitchen. ‘Where are… oh my God!’
    ‘What is it?’ Will shouted.
    ‘Something’s wrong,’ Lizzy replied, as Emma stood in stunned silence, taking in the scene. Her worst fears were realised. Blood rushed to her head, sending her reeling, and she placed a steadying hand against the fridge-freezer.
    The kitchen was smashed up: broken plates and dishes littered the floor, the bin had been overturned and emptied, the blinds were half torn down, and the water was running in the sink.
    ‘My God,’ Will said, as he appeared breathlessly at their shoulders and surveyed the damage.
    ‘What the hell’s happened?’ Lizzy asked, of no one in particular.
    ‘The other rooms,’ Emma said, pulling herself out of her shock.
    She turned and headed for the bedroom, flinging open the door, expecting to find something horrible inside. But there was nothing. The bed was immaculately made, just as she had left it. Everything was in its right place. A faint hint of Dan’s favourite aftershave hung in the air. Emma turned to head for the bathroom, the last remaining room of the apartment.
    ‘Oh, shit!’ she heard Will shout from behind her. ‘Shit! Call an ambulance! Somebody get an ambulance!’
    ‘What’s wrong?’ Emma rushed out into the hallway. Will appeared from the bathroom, his hands covered in blood. ‘Oh no,’ she said, covering her mouth and shaking her head. She backed against the wall. ‘Please say he’s okay.’
    ‘It’s not Dan.’ Will’s face was pained as he held