‘Sorting that little lot should keep them out of mischief till the morning. Thanks for the good word, Chuck. You did right to come.’

‘That’s all right then.’ Lazer got to his feet. ‘I’ll be making tracks. It’s time for some shut-eye.’ He moved to the door, opened it and turned with a grin. ‘See you at the club tomorrow.’

The door closed behind him and a small trapped wind raced round the room, looking for a way out and died in a corner. It was Donner who broke the silence first.

‘If Brady pulls through and talks …

‘Fifteen years each,’ Manton said in a whisper. ‘There isn’t a judge in the country would give less.’

‘We could be in Liverpool by morning,’ Donner said. ‘A quick passage to Spain and no questions asked. I know the right people.’

‘That kind of thing costs money.’

‘Plenty in the safe at the club. Seven maybe eight grand.’

‘Faulkner’s, not mine.’

‘We could go a long way.’

Manton made his decision and nodded. ‘There’s just one thing. What if the coppers are on to us already? They could be hanging around the club right now waiting for us to show.’

‘That’s an easy one.’ Donner shrugged, his face quite calm. ‘Send Jango. He’ll find out for us.’

‘But will he go?’

‘I don’t see why not.’ Donner grinned. ‘Especially if you don’t tell him the score.’

Manton started to chuckle and shook his head. ‘You’re a hard bastard, Donner.’

‘It’s the only way,’ Donner replied. ‘What about Garvald?’

‘No point in hanging on to him any longer. He should still be out cold. We’ll take him with us and dump him on the side of the road going over the moors.’

Squires limped into the kitchen from the passage. ‘Jango’s gone to check on the bloke upstairs, Mr Manton. How long is he going to be with us?’

Before Manton could reply, there was a high-pitched cry from somewhere deep inside the house and he swung round quickly. ‘That sounded like Jango!’

Without a word, Donner snatched up the shotgun and ran along the dark passage.

Ben Garvald drifted up from a wall of darkness and opened his eyes. The room was festooned with cobwebs – giant grey cobwebs that undulated slowly.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, fighting the panic which rose inside him. When he opened them again, the cobwebs had almost disappeared.

He was lying on a narrow bed against one wall of a small room. A shaded light hung down from the ceiling and curtains were drawn across the window.

He swung his legs to the floor and sat on the edge of the bed for a while before trying to stand. There was a bad taste in his mouth and his tongue was dry and swollen. Whatever had gone into that tea had been good – damned good.