He lay there in stunned surprise.

‘What the—?!’

But she wasn’t done yet.

She squatted down behind him, slipped her thumbs into the collar of his shirt and yanked it hard so the top two buttons of his shirt popped off, along with his clip-on tie, then she pulled it tight across his throat so the stiff fabric was biting into the flesh of his neck. Okuri eri jime – sliding collar strangle.

He flailed and batted at her hands as he tried to twist out of her grip. She tightened her hold on his neck, torqueing the material of his shirt so it constricted his neck even further. He coughed and gasped, his eyes wide with shock.

‘If I apply just a bit more pressure here,’ she twisted his collar a fraction tighter, ‘I’ll be cutting off the flow of blood to your brain. In twenty seconds you’ll be unconscious, in under a minute you’ll have permanent brain damage, and not long after that you’ll be dead.’

He stiffened and then went slack, passive in her grasp.

‘Jesus…’ he stuttered in a choked gurgle, ‘I thought… I’d met… some… nutters… in the army… but you’re… one crazy bitch!’

She was stuck now. She’d passed the point of no return. She had no option now but to get him to admit it. And as for what she’d do after that, she’d cross that bridge…

Still keeping a firm grip, she slightly loosened her hold on his neck so he could speak without restriction. He let out a wheeze of relief.

‘I understand your problem,’ she said. ‘I know you’re not completely in control.’

‘Problem? My only problem right now is you.’

‘Post-traumatic stress disorder. Afghanistan. Flashbacks.’

He was silent for a few moments, his chest rising and falling.

‘What would you know about that?’ he said softly.

‘More than you think,’ she replied, trying to get him onside. ‘Trust me, I know where you’re coming from.’

‘Let go of me.’

‘Not until you admit it.’

‘Admit what?’

‘Killing them,’ she hissed in his ear.

‘They were Taliban. I had no choice.’

‘I’m not talking about the Taliban. I’m talking about Sharon. I’m talking about Alice. Poodle. Natalie.’

‘You what…?’ He sounded genuinely puzzled.

‘You killed them and you scalped them.’

‘No I didn’t. I didn’t do anything of the sort.’

‘Maybe you don’t think you did, but you did. During some kind of flashback.’

‘I wasn’t even here when Sharon was killed. I had the day off.’

‘You’re lying,’ she growled. ‘I don’t like liars.’

She squeezed his neck tighter again, causing him to cough and twitch. Then she eased off again to let him speak. He took a gulp of air.

‘I had to go to a veterans group meet-up. It’s normally on Sundays, but they switched it to Tuesday because of a transport strike. So I had to arrange a last-minute shift swap.’

‘Rubbish!’

‘You can look at my rota if you don’t believe me.’ He nodded downwards with his chin. ‘It’s in my top pocket.’