Sighing heavily, Laughton said, ‘Sit the man down, son, before we have a mutiny on our hands.’

Masterson stood up, his amiable face still half-smiling. Georgio couldn’t believe it when he was forced back into his seat with such force his spine felt as if it had been crushed. Humiliated, stunned, and losing his temper, Georgio said menacingly, ‘You’ll pay for this, Laughton. The lot of you will pay for this one!’

The policeman smiled, displaying his tobacco-stained teeth. ‘I don’t like you, Brunos. I don’t like your good looks, your charming manners, and your two-faced fucking way of life. I don’t like your money, your business, or your pretty little wife. I don’t like your family, or your friends. In short, as I said earlier, I’m going to have you, Brunos. I’m going to put you away. I’m going to put you away for so long, it’ll make Nelson Mandela’s sentence look like a stint in Borstal.’

Georgio stared into the manic face above him and felt real fear forming in his bowels.

‘I ain’t done nothing, Laughton. Three people saw me in my car lot today. Three people! What more do you want - a fucking signed statement from the Queen?’

‘I want you, Brunos, because you’re a piece of shite, you and Davey Jackson and the rest of them. You’re the dog shit on my shoes. I’ve got you bang to rights, Brunos.’

Georgio shook his head in exasperation. ‘You’re talking bollocks and you know it. You must be hard up for a face to try and pin this one on me. I’ve got more witnesses than the ascension into heaven!’

Turning to the large DC, Laughton said in a friendly voice: ‘Hurt him.’

The younger man stood up, and in stunned disbelief Georgio felt himself being dragged from the chair and forced onto the ground. He could smell the dirty floor and the polished leather of the man’s boots as he was kicked viciously in the stomach five times.

Eventually, the DI pulled the larger man away, knelt down and said quietly: ‘In a minute, I’m going to put on the nice tape recorder and read you your rights, because Peter Wilson gave us enough to put you away. No bail for you, Greek boy. You’re off to Chelmsford nick tonight. But first I’m going to have a cuppa and a fag and watch you squirm on the floor for a while. I hate your guts, Brunos, but don’t take it too personally - I hate everyone.’