Tanya rang Dwayne on his mobile phone at eight o'clock that morning. He answered.

"Yes Tanya. I thought I told you not to call me at work."

There was a background noise of music and singing. It didn't sound like office noise at all. Also, what was Dwayne doing at work when the office hours were nine o'clock till five?

"Dwayne. I want to see you tonight at six. No excuses."

"OK. Six o'clock."

Dwayne finished his shift and drove home. Tanya, inviting herself, caused him to change his plans. Kidnapping the Professor was his plan, but his assistant would do just as well and she was coming to him! He arranged things in the cellar: he laid out the butchering knives next to the dissection kit on the worktop; a length of rope would help restrain Tanya; a cloth gag would keep her quiet. He went upstairs to wait for his girlfriend.

Tanya arrived at six o'clock. Dwayne let her in.

"Come in Tanya." He gave her a kiss on her cheek. "Sit down and I will order in a Chinese takeout."

"Thanks Dwayne."

Tanya sensed something was wrong. He was kissing her on the cheek all the time now. That was not usual. She went to the fridge to get some beers, then sat down on the sofa.

"So, Dwayne. How were the courses? Interesting?"

"Yes, thank you. Very interesting. I think I'll move into management."

"But I thought you were in management already?"

"Yes, I am. What I meant to say was I want to move higher in management. Now. What about a movie while we wait? You choose."

They started watching a romcom while waiting for the food.

"Dwayne, there's something bothering me about the time I called you this morning. It sounded like you were in a factory or something. There was shouting and singing, and the sound of machinery. What's going on?"

"Oh, that was a video they were showing us of workers in an abattoir. We had to start early because we were running behind schedule. That's all."

"I don't buy it. You never kiss me on the lips anymore and I think the business with the video this morning is a pack of lies. Dwayne, what's really going on?"

Dwayne was getting stressed. This was not how it should be. He should have the upper hand, not her. It was time to tell her the truth.

"The thing is, I have lied to you. I don't work for the EPA, never have. I work at the abattoir. Have done since being kicked out of the university by your boss. I failed the final year because my dissection skills were not good enough. Well, I think they are A+ now."

"So, the EPA was a lie and you are still dissecting. Are you the one the police are looking for? Are you responsible for the dissections that the Professor found? Did you dissect his dog?"

"Yes, that was me. I did them all. After the frog, there was a pattern; the frog was a diversion. The animals I used increased in size. I got to the end of the first week with a rabbit. Then I started on larger animals. The sheep and the cow were exceptionally difficult. I had to build an A frame to slaughter the latter ones."

"You're crazy. All this because you wanted an A+? Well, I can tell you the work you presented was only worthy of an A. Both the Professor and I agreed. An A Dwayne. You did not progress at all."

"No. You're wrong. The later work was an A+. What about the dog? Dissecting that was a work of art. There was the act of dissecting and then the psychological harm done to the Professor to see his beloved dog pinned to a presentation board. Exquisite."

"You really are mad."

Tanya was thinking about how she could get away. Dwayne was stronger than she was. In a straight fight, he would probably win. She needed a weapon. The problem was, everything was so neat. She would have to rely on her self-defence moves. She looked around. The front door was to her right, about ten paces away. Another door led to the kitchen, while a door separated the lounge from the rest of the house. The front door was the best option. She stood up. Dwayne watched her. She made a run to the door. Dwayne intercepted her and grabbed her shoulders.