Jon stared at her before he burst out laughing. ‘For Shaka’s sake. Are you new to life, Callie? Who d’you think was the mastermind behind Dan’s whole criminal organization? You seriously think Dan had the smarts to run a nationwide operation? Dan took care of the day-to-day stuff, but Tobey was the strategist, the brains. How else was he going to finance his political ambitions? Why d’you think Eva was so keen to get rid of him? When Durbridge got to the top, he wanted to hand it all over to Dan, wash his hands of that world and get out. And, as PM, he fully intended to keep his promise to come after any and all criminal organizations dealing in Prop. And, what’s more, Dan – and Eva – knew it. Without Tobey, Dan knew he didn’t stand a chance against Owen Dowd and all the other sharks circling round him. And, without Prop, Eva knew the Outfit would be obsolete within a year.’

‘I don’t believe it.’ Callie’s words were boldly said, but a trace of uncertainty was already clouding her eyes.

‘Why would I lie?’ asked Jon.

‘For what it’s worth, that was going to be Dan’s announcement to all of you on the night of his dinner party – how Tobey was the puppet master, the one at the top really running things,’ Eva piped up. ‘He was going to permanently crash and trash Tobey’s political career.’

I looked at Tobey. His expression was unreadable as he watched Eva. Was it true? Was Tobey running the Outfit this entire time? I’d thought him capable of a lot of things, but not that. Never that. I’d underestimated him.

‘Tobey?’ Callie said softly, seeking some kind of assurance that Eva was wrong.

Tobey glanced at her and shook his head, before turning back to Jon. He still hadn’t spoken a word in his own defence. Nor had he denied it.

‘What purpose was my presence at the dinner supposed to serve?’ I frowned.

‘The guests that night were picked to ensure maximum damage. There’s no way Tobey would’ve succeeded in stopping all of you from spreading the word. By scuppering Tobey’s political career, Dan was trying to ensure that their crooked empire would live on,’ said Jon. ‘He wanted to make sure that Tobey had nothing else in his life but the Outfit.’

‘And how d’you know all this?’

Jon gave me a pitying look.

I shook my head, the truth slowly dawning. ‘All the time you were working with my daughter you were secretly working for Dan.’

Behind me, Callie gasped.