‘To fight an animal, sometimes you have to become an animal. You’ve got to give back what you get, and more… if you want to survive. No room for the Geneva Convention in a place like that. They didn’t abide by it and neither did we.’

Her curiosity was piqued now. ‘Like what did you do exactly?’

‘Nothing they wouldn’t have done to us.’

His blue eyes flickered with a cold harsh emptiness. He turned to look away, up into the black void of the night sky.

Now he made more sense to her, at least in terms of his past. Not only had he killed in the service of Queen and Country, it sounded like he’d also been driven to participate in some pretty brutal atrocities. Dylan certainly didn’t seem quite so happy-go-lucky any more.

She suddenly noticed Toni and some of the others standing together a short distance away. She didn’t want them to think she was too friendly with the prison officers for fear of being perceived as a snitch, so she moved away from Dylan, melting back into the crowd of inmates.

He turned as if to talk to her, then saw that she was gone. He glanced around, puzzled by her sudden disappearance. He looked a little crestfallen. Or perhaps that was just a trick of the light.

Chapter 83

Doctor Bodie reflected on how surprising it was to see Bailey Pike back in his office. Considering her general reticence on previous occasions, the fact that she had voluntarily booked an appointment with him marked a significant turning point in her progress.

‘You know, I’m over the moon to see you here, Bailey. To have decided to come here of your own accord, that’s a big deal.’

She was sitting opposite him, arms crossed, her hair hanging down in its customary way over the left side of her face. She smiled thinly at him in that impenetrable way of hers.

‘I’ve been thinking about what you were saying last time,’ she began, ‘and I thought it made sense to come and chat to you about it.’

‘I’m glad you finally feel ready to open up. Talking is the best form of therapy after all.’

‘Last time I was here, you mentioned post-traumatic stress disorder. I just wanted to understand a bit more about it.’

At last, she was taking steps to acknowledge her condition. Maybe today he’d get to find out how she had got that nasty scar. He flexed his knuckles with relish.

‘I’m very pleased you asked, Bailey. Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD as it’s commonly known, happens to be one of my specialist areas. It can affect anyone who’s undergone a particularly traumatic experience.’

‘Like a combat veteran, for example?’

He sensed that she was deflecting, not quite wanting to talk about her own situation just yet.

‘Yes. Precisely. They often suffer from the symptoms. Nightmares, amnesia, flashbacks…’

He paused and studied her for a few moments. He spoke gently.

‘If you’re suffering from these kinds of symptoms, Bailey, and I suspect that you are, based upon what you said in our last session, then the first step in getting rid of them is to try and talk about the experiences which caused them. Shall we do that?’