Grumbling and swearing, he groped about in the lukewarm liquid. Trying not to think about what was bobbing about his throat. Thank God he was six foot tall – four inches shorter and his mouth and nose would be submerged. The scum layer was warm, steaming gently all around him. Further down it got colder – between the putrid froth and the knee-deep sludge at the bottom of the tank. The sludge was slightly warm too, oozing into his nylon tracksuit and socks, filling his trainers.

Milne cursed again. A kilo of heroin would sink. And that meant he’d have to duck under the surface to get it. Not that he hadn’t already been there, having fallen head-first through the inspection hatch. But still: fuck this shite.

Gritting his teeth he waded forward, feeling for the parcel in the sludge with his feet. Nothing. ‘It’s not—’

‘Shhhh!’ Josie dropped her voice to a harsh whisper: ‘Shut up! Someone’s coming.’

He froze.

Thin light swept past the access hatch, caught in the steam rising from the rotting sewage, and then a posh accent brayed out. Jagged and angry. Very, very angry. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’

‘I … I was looking for someone.’ Josie trying her ‘little girl’ voice again. Only this time there were no takers.

‘You think I don’t know what you are? Eh? Think I’m stupid?’

‘I don’t think you’re—’

‘We’ve had ENOUGH! Whores and drug addicts coming round here all hours!’

‘But—’

‘ENOUGH!’

‘You know what: fuck you granddad, you can—’ A muffled thunk and the sound of something hitting the ground: something undernourished and three months shy of her nineteenth birthday. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

‘Enough …’ And then it went quiet for a bit. And then there was some crying. And then some grunting. And then scraping, like someone was being dragged— the stars were blotted out again. Milne backed away quietly until he was against the far wall of the septic tank.

Click and a beam of cold white light leapt through the access hatch, making the milky-brown liquid glow. More grunting and then an almighty splash as the something was unceremoniously dumped in, making a tidal wave of human waste. Milne closed his mouth and his eyes and prayed for the best.

When it was over he wiped his face, and stared at the thing floating face-up in front of him.

Some fumbling and a curse and then the torch was hurled in after her, bouncing off Josie’s cheek and spinning away into the scum. It stayed lit, sinking through the layers of liquid, glowing like a firefly. Flickering. Then dying. Leaving the tank in darkness once more.

The sound of heavy lifting came from above and slowly the patch of stars disappeared. Clunk. And they were gone. Milne and Josie were entombed.