Ben nodded. It all made sense to him. ‘You’re at the port. Waiting for the shipment to come in. You’ll oversee the unloading of the cargo, then you’ll call Nazim’s people to come and take it away. They’ll put it on a truck, maybe more than one, if my guess is right, and transport it to Paris. But it’s not the last shipment they’ll be bringing in. This doesn’t stop, does it? Because these people own your whole life now.’

Segal’s confusion had morphed into pure fear. He quavered, ‘H-how do you know all this?’

‘Never mind me,’ Ben said. ‘Let’s talk about you. You don’t have to work for Nazim any more. Margot is safe. The men who were holding her are dead. You’re off the hook. But we need to act fast. Do you understand what I’m telling you?’

‘They’ll kill me.’

‘We’re not going to let that happen, Julien. Trust me. We can make all of this disappear.’

‘That’s impossible. I’m in so deep. When the authorities find out what I’ve helped those people do, they’ll send me to prison for thirty years.’

‘Maybe nobody needs to know,’ Ben said. ‘When this is over, maybe you and Margot can just go back to your lives like before.’

‘The cargo ship is expected to arrive sometime around eight-thirty this morning,’ Segal said. ‘Things are in motion that can’t be stopped.’

‘Let’s take this one step at a time,’ Ben said. He looked at his watch. Le Havre was a couple of hundred kilometres from Paris. ‘Give me your location and I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

‘With Margot?’

‘With Margot,’ Ben replied. ‘And then you need to tell me what this is all about. There are some blanks to fill in.’

‘And if I refuse?’

‘I’ll turn her over to the care of the police, and make sure that she tells them everything that I know,’ Ben said. ‘At that point, your life really is over. You won’t be safe anywhere, not even in prison.’

‘You’re not leaving me much choice, are you?’

‘I’m offering you a chance,’ Ben said. ‘The only one you have. You can thank me later. After you’ve hugged and kissed your wife who, in case you’ve forgotten, was a hostage until a couple of hours ago.’

Segal heaved the deepest sigh. ‘No. I’m thanking you now. Whoever the hell you are, I owe you a debt I couldn’t ever repay for taking her away from them. Margot means everything to me. And that evil bastard Nazim knows that. He told me he’d do to her what he did to poor, poor, sweet Romy.’ His voice choked up as he said her name. ‘He’s a monster. I hate him more than I can possibly tell you.’