‘Got to see the bright side in everything, mate,’ Jeff said. Then he added, ‘Such as the fact that she’s just fine and nobody’s going to lay a finger on her any time soon.’

Ben’s mind reeled at what he was hearing. He shook himself and blinked his eyes to clear the confusion from his brain. ‘Jeff. Are you joking around?’

‘Serious and sober as a judge at a Quakers’ convention.’

‘Then why are you telling me this?’

‘Because she’s standing just a couple of feet away from me right now, looking very much alive and trying very hard to grab this phone off me so she can talk to you.’

Ben sat up bolt rigid in the car seat. The bottle fell out of his hand and spilled over.

Jeff said, more sternly now, ‘Two things, mate. Firstly, did you think you were fooling us? Second, did you think we wouldn’t do whatever it took to help?’

‘She’s with you?’ Ben blurted. ‘She’s okay?’

Wolf was looking at him intently, trying to glean as much as he could from the one-sided conversation. A huge golden grin was splitting his face. He punched Ben’s shoulder and gave him a double thumbs-up.

Jeff replied, ‘She’s a little shaken. Which is kind of understandable, after finding out she was under surveillance, then seeing the two arseholes who were pointing pistols at her get their brains blown out, courtesy of our very own Mr Fletcher, who came up with me to Scotland for the ride. Our boy doesn’t do things by halves. Nailed ’em like rabbits at three hundred metres, pop pop.’

Ben was almost speechless. He managed to say, ‘Tuesday’s there, too?’

‘You try keeping him away. And before you ask: no, whoever these pricks are you’ve been ducking and diving to protect her from, they never saw us coming. Officially, Tues and I never left Le Val. Covered our tracks every inch of the way.’

As Jeff’s words sank in, the whisky fog cleared from Ben’s mind like an ocean mist blown apart by a squall. The overpowering sense of relief and gratitude was almost enough to make him weep. But the time for emotions could wait, because this thing wasn’t over yet by a long shot.

Jeff went on: ‘Now she’s safe, though I presume she ain’t going to stay that way long if we leave her alone here. Took a little persuading but she’s agreed to come back to Le Val with us. Quick plane ride back over to France and we’re home and dry. Who’d have thought the old Cessna would come in so handy, eh?’

Ben said, ‘No, Jeff. Not home. Take her to Kaprisky’s place.’