Dudley had reached the summerhouse steps when Ben decided to make his move. He strode up fast behind him, clamped a hand over his mouth and jerked him backwards off his feet. Dudley let out a muffled cry. The crystal glass fell to the lawn and broke. Ben dragged him to the ground and thumped him twice, blows intended just to stun him momentarily without knocking him unconscious. He wanted Dudley awake and alert.

Wolf tore off more strips of tape and bound his ankles, knees and wrists as he’d done to the bodyguards. Dudley was blinking and spluttering. Ben activated the weapon light on his MPX and shone it in the politician’s face, dazzling him. He said softly, ‘Start shouting, try to call for help, and I will shoot you. Do you understand, Mr Dudley?’

‘W-who … W-what …?’

Ben slapped him across the cheekbone with the gun. ‘Be quiet, listen to me and speak only when I ask you a question. Lie to me and I will shoot you. All right?’

‘That was a question, moron,’ Wolf growled.

Dudley nodded. ‘I … I understand.’

‘Now understand this. We are not kidnappers, and we’re not here to steal. This isn’t happening to you because you’re Tristan Dudley, senior MP and future Prime Minister. We don’t care how rich or important you are. We care about only one thing. The Pandemonium Club.’

The effect of those three words was like a bomb going off inside Tristan Dudley’s brain. His bloodshot eyes boggled like a madman’s and his jaw sagged open. After the initial shock subsided he managed to mumble, ‘I . . I don’t …’

Ben slapped him again with the gun. ‘Careful, Mr Dudley. If I hear you say something like “I don’t know what you’re talking about” I’m going to interpret that as a lie. And we’ve already established what happens next.’

‘We know you’re one of them, you repugnant sack of shit,’ Wolf said. ‘We know about Karswell Hall. We know what really happened to Annie. I watched it happening with my own eyes.’

‘As you can see, there are no secrets between us,’ Ben told him. ‘So now, for the first time in your miserable life, you’re going to tell the truth.’

Chapter 54