And now he had to make it all better. He had to make it go away; the trails and tendrils of deals done in pubs and on corners of parole buildings, with men of questionable character.

He’d first met Paul Edderbridge in the grounds of Laurie Fell, prowling one night, peeping through windows, and nosing through the sheds. The stupid fucking idiot had been stealing tyres. Of all things to bet the rest of your life on. Fucking tyres. Anyway, that was how thin the connection was between choosing a way out and a way down. Paul Edderbridge was the type of man to choose to make his life shittier than it was already. George knew that the first time they’d met.

Now, the time had come to end their business ties.

George wiped his large hand on his jeans and stood up, straightening his hat. Something told him that even if he tidied up for Vivienne and Fabian this afternoon, there would always be one more thing to do to secure the future of his daughter.

Chapter 51

Kelly replaced the phone and went to Kate’s desk.

‘Zoe just confirmed that the AAIB are accepting sabotage as the cause of the crash, having found no evidence to the contrary. However, it’ll take weeks to say exactly how it happened. We can inform the families,’ she said. They all knew that the final report could take months, but preliminary findings were legally binding at this stage.

‘They can kiss goodbye to insurance payouts, then,’ Kate said.

Kelly nodded. ‘I’m heading over to the mortuary to meet Fabian Kennedy-Craig.’

‘Is there much of his father left to say farewell to?’ Kate asked. It was a serious question. Bartholomew Kennedy-Craig had suffered terrible blunt force trauma, mostly to his trunk, and it was difficult to say what killed him first: the internal bleeding or the flames. He was burned to a crisp. So Ted had told her.

‘The coroner’s team has cleaned him up as best they can, and I’ve been told that he’s ready to be viewed by the family.’

‘Good luck in this weather; it looks like it’s getting worse again,’ Kate said.