Because the others are still active farms, he answered his own question. And they’re all staffed by strapping young farmhands, with customers to supply, and firms to take regular deliveries from – all of which would make it hard, if not impossible, for anyone to launch a take-over and get away with it. Frank, on the other hand, was a sitting duck. His wife was dead, his daughter was in Australia, and he and his son were at loggerheads, so he had no one to fight for or with him. The lane finished in a dead-end, so there was little danger of passers-by witnessing anything strange and reporting it. And now these men had effectively got rid of Yvonne, there were no neighbours close enough to interfere with their plans.

‘There’s no way out, old man,’ Karel said, grinning slyly as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and brought a photograph up on the screen. ‘You’ll do as you’re told, or you won’t be the only one who suffers.’

He turned the phone round and leaned forward, and Frank’s blood ran cold when he saw a shot of Evan and Marie coming out of their house.

‘There’s more,’ Karel said, quickly scrolling through the photos to find the one he wanted.

This time the image was of Jo’s house, and Frank felt the blood rush to his head when he spotted his granddaughter at the living room window, which told him that the photograph had been taken before the family had left the country.

‘As you can see, we’ve been planning this for some time,’ Karel said, slotting the phone back into his pocket. ‘And don’t make the mistake of thinking your daughter’s safe because she’s in a different country, ’cos she’ll be home soon, and we’ll be at the airport to meet her and Miss Emily if you don’t do as you’re told.’

The sound of his granddaughter’s name leaving the man’s mouth caused Frank to almost throw up. Aware that he had no choice but to go along with it – for now – he said, ‘OK, I’ll do whatever you want. But you’ve got to leave my kids out of it.’

‘Oi, Billy Big Balls, we’re giving the orders, not you,’ Nick scoffed.

‘He look pale,’ Irena said quietly to Karel. ‘I think he need eat so he does not get sick. Can I get him plate?’

Looking at Frank, Karel said, ‘Yeah, go on, then.’

Touched that, despite her involvement, she still had some level of compassion for him, Frank thanked her with his eyes when she glanced at him before making her way to the door – but he didn’t allow himself to smile, for fear that it would enrage Karel and make him question her again.