‘I still can barely bring myself to talk about it,’ Segal said miserably. ‘That was the first time I ever met that murdering maniac Nazim al-Kassar. He was the leader. The man with the knife. He slaughtered poor Salim like an animal, as though it was nothing to him. The severed head fell on the floor right beside me. I truly, truly believed that mine would be next. When I heard the words “Now it’s your turn” I almost choked with terror.’

Margot covered her face with her hands. ‘Oh, God. Julien.’

‘Nazim’s had plenty of practice at slicing off heads,’ Ben said. ‘And worse things.’

‘I can’t imagine anything worse than what I witnessed that day,’ Segal said. ‘I still have nightmares. But the biggest nightmare is what has become of my life since. I’ve often wished that they had killed me, too.’

That was too much for Margot to hear. She burst into tears.

Segal went on, ‘But I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t have the courage to die the way Salim did. On my knees, I begged them to spare my life. Told them I’d do anything if they would let me go. I offered to lead them to where Salim and I had hidden the artifacts from the temple. Then I told them who I was, and about all the contacts I had across the world, and how I could help them to get their hands on a lot more. I truly didn’t care what they did with them, whether they smashed them to pieces or took them as booty, as long as they agreed to let me go.’

‘You sold out,’ Ben said. ‘Not just yourself, but the brave man who’d just died to protect what he believed in.’

‘Yes, I was a coward,’ Segal said. ‘And I did what cowards do best. I survived. At first I was certain that Nazim was tricking me. But he was true to his word, because he suddenly had a use for me. The truth was that he had no intention of smashing up the artifacts. They were far too valuable for that.’

‘And that’s how you became his partner in crime.’

‘God help me, it wasn’t out of choice. I came home to Margot, and never said a word about what had happened in Syria, and got back to work, and prayed every day that it was over and I’d never hear from them again. Then a few weeks later, I got the call. Nazim al-Kassar was in Amsterdam and wanted to set up a business meeting.’

‘That sounds real cosy,’ Roth sneered.