The guy nodded in amazement. ‘Word is that they murdered the captain, the crew, every poor bastard on board. Cut their heads off. That’s the rumour, anyhow. It’s crazy. I never heard of such a thing happening here. This is France, not Africa.’

Ben thanked him and let him go on his way, then ran back to the car to relay the news to Roth and Segal.

‘It’s got to be our ship,’ Roth said. ‘What are the odds, right? No way it can’t be. This is not good, guys. Not good at all.’

Ben’s whole strategy felt as though it was unravelling at an alarming rate. ‘If it’s Nazim, it almost certainly means that he’s found out that Margot’s free. Which tells him that he’s lost his hold over you, Julien. He’ll have a pretty good idea who’s responsible, and he knows we’re a step ahead of him.’

‘Or were,’ Roth said. ‘He’s just pulled a killer move on us.’

‘He’s resourceful,’ Ben said. ‘I’ll give him that. Damn it.’ He shook his head.

‘Yeah, well, looks like we’re wasting our time here, boys. The sons of bitches could be anywhere by now.’

‘Perhaps there’s still a chance,’ Segal suggested. ‘What if we were to revert back to the idea we talked about earlier? Instead of intercepting the cargo here in Le Havre, we can return to Paris and surprise them tonight as they deliver it to their secret processing plant.’

‘Forget it,’ Ben said grimly. ‘If Nazim even suspects that his plans are blown, he won’t touch those tunnels again with a pole a mile long. He probably already had an alternative location lined up as a contingency plan. And that leaves us back at square one, because we have no idea where to start looking for him now. None.’

‘In short, folks, we are royally screwed,’ said Roth, master of the understatement.

‘Not just us,’ Ben said. ‘If Nazim’s fentanyl hits the streets.’

Defeat. It was a hard word to say. An even harder reality to admit to. But right now there was no way past it.

Ben sank into his seat and watched the raindrops gather and trickle down the windscreen glass like tears. In moments like this, there wasn’t much else to do but pull out your cigarettes and lighter. He bathed the tip of a Gauloise in comforting orange flame and drew in the smoke. The three of them sat gazing in the direction of the port, watching the big ships and smaller boats in the distance. Maybe if they sat staring at it long enough, their ship would come in and everything would be okay.

Or maybe not.