Jack had expected this by-the-book response from Ridley. ‘Maybe not. But I won’t let them go after her full throttle. All that’ll do is drive her out of her home and lose her the love of her life. She identified De Voe and now she’s going to bring him to us. We owe her – for being our Judas Horse, we owe her.’

‘Our what?’

‘It’s a horse that you trap and train to do as you ask. Then you set it free and, because it’s trusted by the other horses, it can betray them and lead them back to you. They don’t see it coming. That’s the gist of it: De Voe will follow her into our trap because he trusts her.’

‘So, this is why you’re keeping her close and not allowing her to report to Gifford or Lee before she reports to you? You trapped and trained her, so she’s yours.’

‘Yes, she is. And when all of this is over, I want to let her go,’ Jack said firmly.

‘Well . . .’ Ridley took a moment to empty his glass and pour himself another. ‘I can’t wait to meet this woman, Jack. She must be quite something.’

Jack’s burner phone buzzed in his pocket. Ridley offered to hang up so that Jack could answer it, but Jack said no and let it go to voicemail.

From inside the empty bar, Jack then played the voicemail on speaker, so that Ridley could hear it. ‘Richard. Michael De Voe here. So, I’ve secured the emeralds for the necklace you commissioned, and that’s being created as we speak. It’ll match the ring you chose in every detail. As a bit of a side issue, my assistant mentioned you were into your horses, said one of your girlfriend’s Arabians had just won something or other. Anyway, as you’re spending a good chunk of cash with me, the least I can do is stand you a day at the races. What do you say? Oh, and that bracelet you showed me. I’ve had it valued and it’ll bring the price down by £800. Call me back when you get a moment and we’ll arrange things.’

Ridley could practically hear Jack grinning. ‘Be careful, Jack. He’s a game player. And he’s used to winning.’

‘Not this time, sir. This time he loses.’