‘I don’t know. Now I’ve told you, I suppose I should try and win it, otherwise you’ll simply tell the stewards I wasn’t trying.’

‘I won’t do that,’ I assured him. ‘But, yes, you should try and win if you can.’

‘But Valance will surely then send the incriminating video to the BHA.’

Just like Jimmy Shilstone, Marcus was terrified of both consequences, of winning and of not winning: heads you lose, tails he wins—there were no alternatives.

‘He won’t,’ I said decisively to Marcus, in just the same way I’d said it to Jimmy. ‘He’s invested too much in getting you under his control to just toss it away because you defy him once. He may be angry but he won’t send the video.’

‘How can you be so sure?’

I couldn’t be, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.

‘Trust me,’ I said. ‘Win if you can.’

‘Oh, God! I don’t know.’

‘Does Mr Kline know the horse isn’t to win?’

‘What do you mean?’ Marcus asked.

‘What I mean is, has Valance also got some hold over Noel Kline?’

‘How would I know?’

‘Well, find out. See what Kline says to you in terms of instructions for the race. If he knows that you know that the horse isn’t to win, the instructions will probably be quite vague, as he’ll also know you won’t be following them. Then let me know the answer, preferably before the race is run.’

I remembered back to when I had asked Charles to play the part of an integrity officer to find out the name of the mystery caller. He’d not only found out Marcus’s name and address but also some other little gems of information, such as the fact that he was trying his best to save up to buy a second-hand car, to make getting to the races easier.

‘How are you getting to Hexham?’ I asked.

‘Mr Kline is taking me. We leave in about fifteen minutes.’

‘Discuss the race tactics during the journey and call me again when you get to the racecourse, before you’re required to switch off your phone.’

‘Okay.’ He said it slowly as if not quite sure. Maybe he was having second thoughts about having called me in the first place.