He looked up defensively. ‘I did my best. One by one, I cut the others out of the game. It wasn’t hard – they weren’t that good, either. Finally, it was just him and me. He said, “One last hand, then?” and dealt before I could say anything. I sat looking at my really good hand. A full house. Aces and jacks. On any other occasion I’d have given my right arm for a hand like that. I didn’t know what to do and while I was still thinking about it, he saw me with everything he had. It was all piled on the table in front of him and he just pushed it towards me. There was a big crowd around the table. His eyes were sparkling. He was enjoying being the centre of attention. He was excited.’

Luke shifted position, ignoring the throbbing.

‘I didn’t know what to do. I knew I could beat him but it would ruin him. I considered folding and letting him walk away but that wouldn’t do him any good in the long run. He’d be back for more the next night, and he’d lose the lot – and more besides – because he’d never believe he couldn’t win it all back again with the next hand. So I laid down my cards and watched his face as he realised he’d lost everything. He carried it off well but his eyes were . . . well, you can imagine.’

Ellis could imagine it very clearly. The bright lights winking off jewellery and crystal glassware. The hum of excitement. The admiring crowd. And a young man very much out of his depth. He looked across at Parrish. Possibly two young men very much out of their depth.

‘What did you do?’

‘I picked up my winnings, shook hands and walked away. I wasn’t going to keep any of it. He wasn’t much more than a boy,’ said the very young man talking in the dark. ‘I don’t take that sort of money off children. I thought I’d wait outside and give it all back to him but I couldn’t find him anywhere. Then I thought perhaps that was too easy, and a sleepless night would do him good. Teach him a lesson. Give him time to see the error of his ways. So I took the water taxi home.’

He was silent a long time. ‘I should have realised.’

‘That he would shoot himself?’

Luke nodded.

Ellis said gently, ‘Luke, you couldn’t have done anything. It was already too late. From what I remember, while you were waiting for him at the front, he was blowing his brains out around the back.’

He said angrily, ‘I should have known. I thought I was acting for the best.’ He fumbled for the glass on the floor.

‘Don’t you think you’ve had enough?’

‘You can never have enough.’