He laughed. ‘No chance of that. They’re still goin’ at it hammer and tongs inside. I’ve put my ear to the wood. I can’t actually hear all the words but there’s no doubt they are arguin’ about somethin’, and I think it’s about Marcus Capes. I’m sure I heard his name shouted at least twice.’

It may not have actually been due to Anton Valance’s carelessness that I’d found out about his trip to East Witton, but breaking Marcus’s collarbone had been extremely careless of him. He should have realised that it would be counterproductive, making Marcus more determined to defy him, not less so. Maybe Asquith realised that, and hence it was another source of friction between the two of them. I hoped so, anyway.

But it had also raised the poker stakes another notch or two.

‘How about you?’ Chico asked.

‘I’m with Marcus. They beat him up quite badly, and also smashed up his place. But I’m going to come and join you now.’

‘Yeah, okay, but keep your phone handy in case they come out. I’ll text you if they do.’

‘Great. See you in a bit.’

I hung up and turned to Marcus. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Sore.’

‘You’re bound to be sore. Think of it as just the result of a fall in a race.’

He looked across at me. ‘But this is different. All racing falls are accidental. This was done on purpose. Somehow it makes it worse.’

It certainly did.

‘Will you be all right here on your own for a bit, or is there someone else I could call to come round? I need to go and do something.’

‘I’ll be fine.’

‘You will need to go and have an X-ray on that shoulder to check everything’s in its proper place. Where’s the nearest hospital?’

‘There’s one at Northallerton. The Friarage Hospital. I went there last year when I got kicked on the knee by a three-year-old.’

‘Where’s Northallerton?’

‘Twenty miles east of here. But it’s quite small. There’s a bigger one in Darlington, but it’s farther away.’

I’d driven past Darlington only an hour or so ago on the way south from Sedgefield racecourse, and I didn’t want to have to go back that way, as it was in the opposite direction to my home.

‘You’ll have to get a taxi.’

‘How?’ he asked, pointing at the remains of his phone.

‘Does Doris have a landline?’

‘She won’t want me using that.’

‘But this is an emergency,’ I said.