‘Jesse said he was coming back one day,’ began Davey. ‘Before Jesse left he had been . . . dangerous. Unhinged. Violent. The things he did to his family, to little Forest . . . it kept me up at night.’

Davey was looking off into the bush. Forest tried to turn his head to follow his line of vision, to show some kind of common feeling, mirror him, try and get on his side . . . but no, whatever it was, it was beyond him. Davey kept on.

‘Once, he shot Forest full of ice right before a football game, just so he’d perform better. Jesse didn’t like to lose, and little Forest losing reflected badly on him. He was six! Shooting up a six-year-old with ice! Forest was awake for days after that. Jesse thought it was funny. After that, he used ice to make the boy do what he wanted. It cooked his head. Cracked him right down the middle. We were all happy to see Jesse leave, but of course we were worried about Alexandra and Forest going with him . . .’

Forest thought of Huck, thought of his pain and suffering. It burned his fear away with white-hot anger. ‘And you didn’t stop it? You’re as bad as him, then! You’re worse!’

Davey flinched at that. He hauled Forest back to his feet and kept dragging him through the bush, but he kept talking.

‘I figured he really would come back one day. I knew I’d have to give the Business back to him – Jesse never liked sharing things. But Mum knew . . . she knew Jesse was coming back one day, and worse, he’d lost his mind. He’d told her, you know? He told her the day he killed Alexandra and Forest, just to keep the Business going.

‘Well, she was worried that when he returned he might . . . arrange for me to get out of the way. So from that day she began spreading the myth of Blackbeard, as a contingency plan, without telling me. She could do it – she knew the Business, knew all my contacts. She has a certain way with people, as you’ve seen. She began bringing people over to Tassie, starting her crew. She knows what she’s doing, she’s been helping Dempsey men peddle drugs since before I was born. She had the resources, the knowledge, the . . . grit.’ Even now, a proud smile crossed his haggard face. ‘She’s an incredible woman, my mum.’

‘She didn’t trust you enough to tell you,’ sneered Forest, still scrabbling.