He decided to wait, let her speak. Pity? He no longer knew what he felt.

She swallowed hard.

‘You thought I’d crumble when you mentioned Thomas, right?’

Before he could answer, the onion rings arrived, along with her wine.

‘I’m in a new place, Joe!’ she whispered as the dish was placed between them in the middle of the table. ‘Beyond your justice.’

The waiter turned and left without a word.

‘So,’ she said, ‘are we doing the whole act? I mean, I quite fancy that steak and ale pie.’

‘Whatever you want. I’m not hungry.’

The beginnings of a smile tugged at the edges of her mouth as she considered the onion rings, eyeing them up from various angles. A deranged mind? Diminished responsibility? This couldn’t go on.

‘Did you see The Sopranos?’ she asked as she stared at the dish between them. ‘The last episode, how it just stopped? It’s the same here. This is gonna stop. It’s over.’

‘Just like that?’

‘I’ll stop. Never do anything again. I promise.’

He took a long breath, watching her as she sat back and drank some wine. Promise? He had no idea what she meant.

‘That’s not how this ends. You must know that.’

‘You, your partner outside in the car park, and whoever else there is waiting for me? You should all know.’

He tried to stay absolutely still, maintained eye contact.

She took an onion ring as though it was a trinket that had caught her attention.

‘I’m going to walk out of this pub and get on my bike, as if the whole evening had gone completely according to plan.’

‘How could you even begin to think I’d let that happen? Anyway, your bike’s still up at the library. Why don’t we…’

‘I’ve done something, Joe.’

‘I think we need to…’

‘Something else. Something terrible.’

She took her glass and drank the whole of it down in one draught. He watched her neck flex as she strained with the effort of it. Then she set the glass down and wiped the back of a hand across her mouth. She was shaking visibly, and her words came out unsteadily.

‘Kieron Burnett. I didn’t know what… what else…’

‘Who?’

‘Kieron. Yesterday in Tesco’s car park? The kid who damaged that car?’

He felt his body go rigid.

‘You don’t need to do this, Chris.’

Her hands shook even more. The onion ring dropped from her fingers, glanced off the edge of the table and fell to the floor. What little colour there had been in her cheeks was gone. She looked scared, but still quick-witted, like an animal. Her chest rose and fell as her breathing became faster.

‘Kieron Burnett?’ he said. ‘You don’t have to play games. Chris? Chris? Where is he?’

‘Who, Joe. That’s the issue.’

‘Where? Please, tell me what you’ve done.’