Benton Spence did wonder who had sent him the concert ticket. It was obviously someone who knew what he liked - the performance was for his favourite piece of classical music - and who knew him well - or so the lipstick kiss on the bottom of the accompanying note suggested. The combination of intrigue and flattery only made Spence want to go all the more.

He arrived early at the concert hall and went to the crush bar for a drink. As soon as the auditorium opened, he took his seat and waited. The audience took their seats, but those next to him remained stubbornly empty until - just before the auditorium doors were closed - a woman sat down to Mr Spence's left. She was tall and muscular, dressed in a severely-cut, black trouser suit. Benton looked at his neighbour. She glared at him in return, and Spence turned away. In that brief moment of distraction, the seat to his right was occupied.

"Hello Benton." The voice, barely audible above the buzz of the audience, was familiar. Spence tried to keep his attention focussed on the orchestra. "What?" the voice said again. "You don't want to talk to me?"

Reluctantly, Benton looked to his right. "Hello Calliope," he said to the red-haired woman sitting next to him.

She smiled in return. "It's good to know you remember me," Calliope replied. "Especially after all that time we spent together."

Mr Spence's throat contracted and his mouth went dry. "Unh," he began, but he couldn't say any more. A strange numbness began to spread down the left side of his face.

"I told my cousin Alecto about us, about what happened," the redhead continued. "She wanted to meet you, and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity." The muscular woman on Benton's left glanced towards him and nodded. "I remembered how much you liked this piece of music. I remembered what you liked to do while you listened to it. I remember how it inspired you."

Mr Spence tried to focus, tried to stand up; but his body shook with the effort - shook so much that it did not respond. The woman beside him - Alecto, as Calliope had called her - put a firm hand on his shoulder. His tremors subsided, but his fear did not.

There was a round of applause from the audience as the conductor bowed to the auditorium, then raised his baton.

"So," Calliope said. "Shall we listen to this together, one last time?"

Benton's neck spasmed, and his head nodded in a parody of assent. The orchestra began to play.