The pounding on the door slowed, then stopped.

‘Why are you here? How did you find me?’

‘Forest told me you’d met him in the pump shed. I put two and two together.’ He adjusted his stance – Davey was still pushing on the door. ‘Son, if I open this door and you still have a knife in your hands, I’ll be very upset. Put the knife on the ground and back away. Call out when you’re touching the back wall.’

‘Why should I do anything you say?’

‘I’m losing my patience. I’ll give you to the count of three.’

‘Alright, alright . . .’ Davey’s voice had lost all its fight – Ahab knew the sound of a broken man when he heard it. A moment later he called out from further away. ‘I’m touching the back wall.’

Ahab wrenched the door open, his torch ready to strike, but Davey was against the back wall, the knife on the floor between them. Davey raised his hands. ‘I’m unarmed.’

He really was the picture of a defeated man. Now that Ahab’s adrenaline had eased off, the stench coming from the room was overpowering. Rotting food was piled in the corner – it looked like it’d been pulled from the café’s skip bin. Davey’s face was smeared in mud, his eyes dark from lack of sleep. A bucket that might have been his chamber-pot buzzed with flies in the other corner. That nearly made Ahab gag.

‘Hell, man. How long have you been living like this?’ Ahab stepped into the room, kicking the knife away. ‘I’ll admit, this is going a long way towards helping me forgive you.’ He’d imagined this moment so many times – he’d always been suspicious that Davey knew something. And now, after he’d thought Davey was gone forever, here was a chance to ask everything he wanted to. Would he ever get an opportunity like this again?

But with everything going on . . . he didn’t even know what to ask anymore.

‘You should’ve told me that Jesse chose to leave. You know how crazy I went trying to work out what happened.’

‘So you’ve finally found out?’ said Davey. ‘I’m sorry, mate. He made me promise to never tell you. He was afraid of what you’d do to the Business while he was gone.’

‘Even when I turned suspicion for his disappearance on you?’ said Ahab. ‘You could’ve told me then.’

‘Even then. I knew no one would believe you: Jesse had told the crew himself – that’s why they never doubted me. And Jesse said he was coming back. I didn’t want him thinking I hadn’t followed orders.’

He ran a desperate hand through his matted hair and slumped to the ground, pulling his knees to his chest.