I found Baaz slumped on the beach where we’d agreed to meet, just south of the marina. He was balled up against the cold, shivering. Leaving the bar immediately the fight broke out, he’d swapped the crimson turban for a plain, black wrap. I hoped he’d walked the long way around. It was quiet, just a couple of kids drinking beer and making out by the promenade. Further off, a string of joggers pounded along by the sea.

‘Don’t worry about it,’ I said, squatting down beside him. ‘What’s done is done.’

It had taken me well over an hour to get to him, ducking down side streets and back alleys. It was a relief to escape the blue light shed by the police cars. The cops had made it into the bar while I was still upstairs. I’d forced a window and scaled a drainpipe, before taking off over the roofs and dropping down into a private garden. The Shabak would put two and two together almost immediately – if it hadn’t had someone in place in the joint all along. I hoped Sveta had stayed put until the cops covered the bodies. To them it would just look like a gangland shootout.

‘No,’ he said. ‘I messed up.’ His voice cracked. Tears fell on to the already wet sand between his bent knees. He was shaking – though whether from nerves or the cold I couldn’t tell. ‘If I’d done like you said and hidden the gun, you wouldn’t have had to kill the barman.’ His shoulders heaved. A light breeze from inland carried his sobs off over the sea. ‘I knew how important it was. I know how much trouble we’re in. And now it’s my fault he’s dead.’

‘Hey …’ I put my hand on his shoulder. We were too exposed. The city was no longer safe – if it ever had been. ‘It’s OK. I asked too much of you, that’s all. It wasn’t your fault. If he hadn’t drawn on me, he’d be mixing Moscow mules right now.’ I could see how he was pinned. I’d been hanging from the same hook for days. I wanted to tell him that at least the barman hadn’t been his oldest, only friend. ‘We create our own Angel of Death, Baaz. He made his. That’s all there is to it.’

He wiped the snot out of his moustache with the back of his sleeve.

‘And I’ve made mine by coming here, haven’t I?’

‘I’m not going to tell you anything that isn’t true. This is dirty work and we’re up against it, that’s for sure. All hell’s going to break loose in the morning. Let’s hope Ezra was right about Talia keeping us alive.’

‘Yeah, but which Talia?’ He managed a weak laugh at his own joke.