Suki took a swallow of her drink. Then she said: ‘He was friends with the Constantinou brothers. They’re club owners, boxing promoters and regular clients at Sylvester’s, the nightclub Mom owns, the one I worked in. I don’t think I’ll go back to that. Maybe Mom won’t either.’

‘Now you’ve got all that cash to spend?’

‘Mom didn’t ask for that, or expect it. She didn’t want that.’ Suki gazed at him. ‘I think she wanted to come back not only to honour Josh’s wishes but maybe to confront old demons. To look your mother in the eye in the solicitor’s office and say, Fuck you.’

‘She’ll take the cash though.’

‘I know how disgusting all this must seem to you.’

Connor took a gulp of the whisky. ‘What sort of nightclub?’ he asked.

‘What, you think we’re strippers, parading around stage wearing a G-string and a smile? I told you: Mom is the owner, and I serve drinks at tables. Nothing too shocking.’

‘You said you only met up with her recently.’ Connor’s interest was piqued. ‘How come?’

Suki explained about her life in the trailer park with Aunt Ginny and the shocking letter she’d read after Aunt Ginny’s death, revealing the fact that Dave and Jo Vance hadn’t been her real parents at all.

‘It took such balls for Mom to come back here, you know. She’s still scared of your mother, but she faced her down and I’m proud of her for that. I told you they killed her pet dog Blue, right in front of her? Slit the dog’s throat, then threw his body into a tomb.’

‘You did.’

‘Yeah, but did I mention that they did it while your mother stood by and watched? She said the same thing would happen to Mom and her whole family if she didn’t leave town. And then Jeb and Ciaran Cleaver took it in turns to rape her, right there in the goddamned church! They tossed the dog’s body into the grave of a woman called Polly James – she’s buried just in front of the altar.’

‘Are you making this up?’ asked Connor, although he didn’t think she was.

He had a sickening feeling that she was telling the absolute truth. His mother! All right, she was a bitch. He knew that. Interfering in his love life, warning off his girlfriends, controlling Aysha to the point where she’d been about to commit murder, dominating Dad and making his life one long caged misery. But orchestrating a rape? Overseeing the slaying of someone’s pet dog?