They reached the boat. Sophie and George climbed on, followed by Karene and Jake.

‘Dr Bloom,’ said George. ‘Would you untie us, please?’

She looked at the thick rope looped over the bollard and then up at the foot soldier already on the flybridge and starting the engine.

‘Dr Bloom, I will not ask you twice.’

She didn’t have a choice. Once the rope was free, she looped it over her hand, stepped on to the yacht and watched the harbour wall move slowly away.

80

The outbuilding smelt of wood and cleaning fluid. Harry sat as instructed in the black plastic chair with metal legs. Antony Bello leaned against a small desk in the left-hand corner of the room and Seraphine stood beside Abdul to the right of the door. Harry wondered if she would stay and watch.

‘You say that you have no memory of Alina or Naomi,’ said Bello.

‘That’s right.’

‘Let’s see how right that is.’ A phone was lying next to him on the desk. He pressed a few buttons and a male voice came through the speaker. ‘Put the boy on,’ said Bello.

The voice sounded young and scared but it was unmistakable.

‘Jake?’ Harry began to stand but Bello pointed at him and he lowered himself down again.

‘Dad? Dad? Is that you?’

‘Where are you, Jake?’ Harry met Bello’s amused gaze. ‘Who are you with?’

‘You may begin,’ said Bello.

Jake cried out in pain. Harry ran at Bello. He didn’t have a plan; he just wanted to hurt the man. Suddenly he was skidding across the floor on his side. The force of Abdul’s punch sent him crashing into the chair.

‘Sit down or I will make this worse for your son,’ said Bello, still absolutely calm.

Harry wiped blood from his mouth. He had bitten his cheek when the punch landed. He righted the chair and sat in it.

‘Dad? Dad?’

‘It’s OK, Jakey,’ said Harry. ‘Be brave. I’m going to make it stop.’ He stared at Bello. ‘I can’t remember. And hurting my boy won’t change that.’

‘What do you know?’

‘Only what I’ve been told. I was working on a search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean in 2015. If these women were there, I may have met them.’ He shrugged. ‘That’s it.’

Bello leaned closer to the phone. ‘Again.’

Jake’s cry was louder this time.

Harry swallowed his bile. He looked at Seraphine who was watching, almost bemused. She wasn’t going to help him. He was on his own. ‘Please. Don’t hurt him. Hurt me. I’m the one you should be hurting.’

‘Oh, don’t worry, Captain Harry Peterson. I will hurt you too.’

Harry sagged a little in his chair.

‘You took Alina to your cousin. I know that much. Then what?’

Harry shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I told her to start a new life?’