‘Fucking hell, Michael, you can’t lose it now. We’re so close. You need to pull yourself together, get a fucking grip.’

Michael took a deep breath and expelled it slowly. He was aware that he needed to keep himself on an even keel. ‘I’m all right now, Declan. It’s over.’

Arthur Hellmann was embarrassed at such a naked display of emotion, especially from a man like Michael Flynn. It was unseemly, humiliating – the man was almost hysterical.

Declan turned to him and said angrily, ‘Well, come on then, Arthur. Where is the fucker?’

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Two

Chapter One Hundred
and Thirty-Two

Jessie woke up as the man shook her. She felt so drained, so ill. She didn’t even know where she was for a few moments; it was a while before she remembered the truth. Then it all came rushing back, and she closed her eyes in distress. She blinked back tears, looking at the man’s filthy smile which was as familiar to her now as her mother’s beautiful one, and she wondered if it would be the last thing she ever saw in this life. It was such a frightening thought. She hoped not. She hoped she would just go to sleep and slip away, that she could at least take away some of his power and die without him witnessing it. He was looking at her intently, and she couldn’t turn away from his gaze. Her legs were swollen, and they felt like they were burning. Her toes were black, and she knew she had a serious infection. She had a temperature and she was burning up, sweating like a pig. Her hair was stuck to her head, and she couldn’t concentrate any more. She just wanted it to be over.

The man was smiling at her as he said conversationally, ‘You look awful, Jessie. Really bad.’

She didn’t answer him; he didn’t expect one anyway.

‘I must tell you this.’ He was giggling like a girl, and she could see the euphoria he was experiencing – it was almost tangible. He was sitting on the bed, with his hands underneath his behind, like a teenage girl who had just found out a juicy piece of gossip about her worst enemy.

‘I want to show you a photograph. I know you will understand the importance of it. You’re a very intelligent girl. I must be honest with you, it wasn’t something I expected.’