Lenny and Reggie were impressed with Steel’s house; it was like something from a Hollywood movie. They had opened the safe easily enough, and were searching through the contents, finding two hundred grand and some good watches. They took the money but left the rest. They weren’t gas-meter bandits, after all. Reggie glanced through the documents in case there was anything interesting, but they were just deeds to the house and paperwork for the cars – nothing worthwhile for them there.

They left the house as quietly as they entered it, laughing once they were out of danger. It amazed the men that Christopher Steel was so bloody open to attack. Even a fucking amateur could have done him. No one could argue with a shotgun, no matter how fucking hard you might think you were – it was a known fact. He had gone down in their estimation. How could you respect a cunt? Reggie said as much.

Lenny laughed at his outrage. ‘Well, we’ve done our bit. Now it’s time for a holiday!’

‘He was a hard fucker, though – fairness where it’s due. Took two fingers off before we got the safe combination. I wonder what state he will be in when we get back to the farmhouse.’

Lenny shrugged. He didn’t really care. ‘Hopefully he’ll have bled to death. The sooner he’s gone, the sooner we can start to enjoy ourselves.’

Reggie grabbed Lenny’s thigh and squeezed it contentedly. ‘Are you happy, Len?’ It was said quietly, with meaning.

Lenny smiled slowly and said, ‘I am, as it happens. Very happy.’

Reggie grinned. ‘Good.’

Chapter Forty-Two

Christopher Steel was lying on the filthy floor of the barn and he was fuming. His hand was screaming with pain; they had taken off his middle-and forefingers with bolt cutters and it had fucking hurt. It was throbbing and he was losing a lot of blood. All this over eighty poxy grand. He could have paid that fifty times over and not missed it. But his greed had been his downfall, as his old mum had predicted all those years ago when he had half-inched his little brother’s birthday money. He felt the sting of tears and blinked them away hastily. But he felt such futility at how he had ended up, trussed up like a kipper and destined to die in a shithole like this. He supposed they would bury him deep and that would be the end of it. He tried to sit up, but it was impossible.