‘Nathan,’ he said, holding out his hand. ‘I’m sorry you’ve had to wait.’

Nathan stood up and shook Tom’s hand, both men quietly weighing each other up. It was at least twenty years since they had seen each other, and Nathan was almost unrecognisable. When he and Jack were friends they had both had long, wild hair – in Jack’s case dark, in Nathan’s a mousy colour. Now he was almost bald, and what hair he had was neatly cut. But the nose and eyes hadn’t changed.

‘Tom, I’m sorry to barge in on you like this, but I need to talk to someone and you were the first person I thought of.’

‘Let’s go to my office. Do you want a coffee or anything?’

Nathan shook his head. ‘Your guys have looked after me well, thanks. I’m just about coffeed out.’

As they walked along the corridor, Nathan briefly touched Tom’s arm. ‘I was sorry to hear about Jack. He’d done so well, and then to die in a crazy speedboat accident. To be honest, I couldn’t believe it. He was always reckless, but he wasn’t stupid.’

Tom said nothing until they were through his office door. ‘Thanks, Nathan. It was a shock to us all.’ He felt uncomfortable. Any mention of his brother automatically put Tom on edge.

‘I don’t suppose Jack ever told you that we stayed in touch right up until he died,’ Nathan said. ‘I know when we were kids I was wild and probably wasn’t a particularly good influence on him, but he was his own guy, you know. He did what he wanted, and I don’t think being friends with me was as bad for him as you thought.’

‘It’s all so long ago now, Nathan. We’re both very different people. What have you been doing with yourself?’

Nathan sat back in his chair and folded his arms. He looked Tom straight in the eye. ‘I’m a professional gambler. I’ve lived in the States for many years now, mainly Atlanta, but as you can hear I’ve kept my Manc accent. They think I’m some hick with no idea half the time, and that suits me.’

Tom looked at Nathan’s clothes and shoes, and surmised that gambling must be a profitable business for him. ‘What’s your game?’

‘Poker. I don’t play the tables, or rarely. Maybe a bit of blackjack, but never roulette. I like to feel at least an element of control. It seems to have worked for me, and I like living over there. It’s a long time since I’ve been back to Manchester.’

‘So what brings you here now?’