Once Gordon had come to realise this, his father had made sense to him again.

‘Good old Victa, gotta hand it to him,’ Dog said without feeling. He followed Gordon out to the room’s Juliet balcony. Below, teenagers were arguing with the security staff about being allowed in without ID. Politely, the uniformed Tongans were standing firm, but if the teenagers really wanted to press their point, they would leave in an ambulance.

‘Christian bouncers, I used to think that was a contradiction in terms,’ Gordon said. ‘Now. Just tell me. Why does Leonie want this meeting?’

‘Maybe she wants some thanks for paying your court costs.’

‘How far away is she?’

‘Couple of minutes.’ Dog looked at his phone.

‘Yeah, well, maybe you can thank her for me. I can’t be late for this lunch. She can meet me at The Lodge later. She does still live there, on paper.’

‘She might move into this place,’ Dog said. ‘She was saying how those stairs to The Lodge would kill her hips. She said she might install an electric chair—is that what they call it? No, an electric chair is something else.’

Nobody knows what it’s called, Gordon thought, but everyone can see themselves riding up and down in one. Then again, an electric chair would be an idea.

‘Okay, I’m off.’ Gordon moved towards the door.

‘It’s the Chinese agents,’ Dog said urgently. ‘She’s with them now. Ken Grainger. Or Cara. Or both! The only thing that can bring them together: Leonie and a big sale. Fuck, I didn’t want to be the one to tell you.’

‘She’s selling?’

‘She’s threatening.’

Gordon felt the floor give way beneath his feet. He, Kelly and Ben, and Lou too, lived under the illusion that they were a family trying to sort out their future. But they were really just Leonie’s toys: effects of what she had done, what she could do, what she might do next.

‘Mate, she can’t help herself,’ Dog said, wringing his hands as if he had nothing to do with it. ‘She goes on all the time about how when she first came here, this beach was full of bigots and misogynists, and most of all it was full of bigoted misogynists. But none of them was as bad—those old crusties were all hypocrites one way or another—none hated her quite as much as Noel’s little princess. She wants to drive Kelly out of her mind. Moving you in together, she’s fucking with you.’

‘Kelly has always said Leonie’s some kind of evil genius.’

‘But it’s not the main game. She’s going to sell the whole thing out from under you. It’s the end of your lifestyle, pal.’

Gordon tensed. ‘I wouldn’t call it a “lifestyle”.’