Suddenly Becca was in the middle of the room, darting in front of him, almost dancing on the spot. ‘Fuck off! Fuck off!’ She made a jerking movement, like a featherweight boxer might do.

Rocky didn’t move a muscle from his position on the bench, eyeing her curiously. ‘All right lassie, no need to be like that, hen.’

She jumped forward again, shrieking. ‘Just go away!’

His hands remained clasped in front of him. ‘It’s just banter, just business talk.’

‘Becca,’ I said, trying to sound extremely calm.

There was a small whimper from Finn in the corner.

Either she hadn’t heard me, or my saying her name made it worse. Becca leapt towards Rocky, stretching past him to the other wine bottle and candle. In one quick movement, she had grabbed the neck of the bottle and was tipping it upside down, taking a step back, her elbow up, and aiming for his head.

Too late. Rocky’s movements were light and deft for such a bullish-looking man. He stood, reaching behind his back. There was something in his hand – he grabbed Becca by her other arm, elbowing the bottle out of her grip, and held it near her head.

A gun. A small one, but a gun. The wine bottle rolled along the floor and got caught at the end of the bench. The candle had gone out.

Rocky tipped the back of the hand that was holding Becca towards him. ‘You got wax on me there, hen. That stings.’ A splodge of white shone above one knuckle.

Becca had gone rigid and was breathing through her nose very heavily, like a horse. Wax had caught on her sleeve, a long dribble of it. Fraser had hardly moved the whole time.

‘Let’s just calm the fuck down,’ said Rocky. ‘All right?’ He thrust his head down at Becca. She gave a tiny, very tight nod. ‘All right?’ he said to me. I’d stood up when Becca had moved.

‘Yeah, yeah, definitely.’ I tried to think what hostage mediators did in films. I couldn’t think of any films. Ever.

‘OK, now I’m just going to sit down again and hold onto you, you little daftie.’ He sounded like a surgeon, going through the incisions he was going to make. They sat down side by side on the bench with aching slowness, Rocky’s fingers still gripping Becca’s elbow, his gun still pointing at her neck. ‘And turn that shite off, will you? I can’t concentrate with that fucking tin-can bollocks going on.’

I went to Finn’s phone. My hand didn’t look like my own. Someone else’s forefinger was swiping through, pressing stop. The music was sliced off in the middle of a word.

‘Please don’t kill my sister,’ said Finn in a very small voice.

‘I wouldn’t be thinking about killing anyone if this numptie hadn’t tried to do one over on the boss. Fucking eejit.’

‘It won’t happen again,’ said Fraser.

‘It won’t happen again, no. It won’t happen again because you’re going to go to Glasgow tomorrow and pay Badger like you were supposed to three days ago, and I’m never going to see your spotty-arsed face again, am I?’