She shook her head slowly. ‘They killed my father, they threatened me, they threatened my son. I’m not going to hand all this over to someone else and say, “Fix it.” And I don’t want to live with some kind of ongoing risk hanging over us. I’d rather face everything now myself and be done with it than be looking over my shoulder for the next ten years.’

Vincent said, ‘Probably easiest if you’d shot them.’

There: it was off his chest now.

She looked at him. ‘I think Andre would have taken you with him.’

Vincent said, ‘Bluesmoke has other Vincents. Probably send you a brand-new one for free.’

She smiled faintly, and then her phone started to buzz with a call. She raised it in half apology, the way people do, as if the caller ID was some kind of extenuating feature.

‘Sorry, it’s my ex …’

She put the phone to her ear and said, ‘Yeah, hi …’ and then sat there for a few seconds, eyes closed and breathing carefully, on the receiving end of what sounded like a diatribe: words indistinct to Vincent, but petulant in their volume and rhythm.

He got out of the car to give her privacy, stood on the sidewalk to wait. The police outside the Page Swanson building gave him something to look at. A minute later, Erin lowered her window for air. Vincent debated whether he should stay where he was, or move farther away. He’d been trained in split-second decision making, but he was unsure of the right move in this instance. He stayed where he was, and heard Erin say, ‘The police are involved. You realise I haven’t caused this situation. I’m what you might call “the messenger” … ’

That didn’t seem to go down well. After another minute she said, ‘Well, Tony, when he’s done with his homework, or when it’s convenient, please ask Alex to call me. I’d really appreciate it.’

Soft and almost plaintive. A whole different side to her in that one line. Like the hard and focused Erin had withdrawn for a second, making room for what she saw as most important.

She ended the call, and Vincent got back behind the wheel. He said, ‘Bluesmoke can send someone to watch them.’

She said, ‘I thought the official advice was they’re okay in a hotel.’

‘That’s still the advice. But extra safety won’t hurt, now they’ve made a threat.’

She thought about it, turning the phone over slowly in her hands. She said, ‘It’s not the CIA we’re dealing with. They’re not going to track them to a hotel in Chicago in two days.’

‘No, probably not. But you’ll need something in place if this drags on.’