Jake Conley picked up and inspected the plain brown wrapping paper he had earlier discarded under the coffee table. The address was in neat handwriting, firm and masculine and suggested a confident, educated person. On what had been the rear of the package was the sender’s details: Josh Lamp, 72b Choristers’ Gardens, Tiverton, Devon EX16 6DN. The only remarkable thing about that was its unbelievability. A quick check of the postcode showed it to be King’s Crescent, Tiverton, and a further check proved that no such street as Choristers’ Gardens existed in the town, either. At that stage, realising that someone had gone to lengths to keep their identity secret, he did not bother to seek out the fictitious Joshua Lamp. Scrunching up the paper and tossing it back under the table, he turned his
