Candy shook her head. ‘She’s dying slowly. She’ll be gone by the morning, I’d say. She’s stronger than I thought, to be honest. I think he damaged her inside as well. She’s bringing up blood, and bleeding from the nose. I’ve locked her in one of the rooms in the roof.’

Stephen sat down heavily. ‘And Donna saw all this?’

Candy nodded. She watched as he ran his hands through his thick dark hair.

‘Where’s Jake?’ she asked.

‘He’s still in Colombo. I left him there to sort out the other business. The police tried to close down the bar again.’

Candy closed her eyes. ‘It never rains but it pours, eh? I heard they’ve been shutting down a lot of the gay bars there. Give it a couple of weeks and we can reopen. It’s always the same. It’s just a show, nothing serious.’

Stephen shook his head. ‘Fuck that anyway, I’m more interested in what’s happening with that stupid bitch.’

He poured himself a large brandy. Then he said, ‘She’ll just have to be an accident, won’t she? Let’s face it, she won’t be the first British tourist to die through drinking and swimming. It happens all the time. Arrack is lethal out here with the tourists. There’s a heavy undertow on a few of the beaches, it’ll look all right. I saw it done myself years ago, in Phuket. I felt more sorry for the tour rep to be honest, she had to sort out all the details.’

Stephen laughed and Candy smiled grimly at him. ‘But that’s murder.’

He opened his eyes wide and said in a childish voice, ‘No! I never would have known! What do you think Gainsborough did today then? Had a little accident? Don’t go soft on me, Candy, I ain’t in the mood.’

She shook her head in amazement. ‘You’re as hard as nails, aren’t you?’

As she took a gulp of her drink and lit a cigarette, Stephen said, ‘I’m harder than that, Candy, and at the moment it’s just as well one of us is, ain’t it?’

‘What about Georgio then? Have you thought about him, what he might have to say about you topping his old woman?’

Stephen laughed nastily. ‘Fuck Georgio. Me and Lewis are rowing him out only he doesn’t know that yet. So just take me to Donna, will you?’

Candy opened the office door, her face a picture of disbelief at what she had just heard.

‘You’re a snidey bastard, Stephen.’ Her voice held genuine admiration.

‘That’s me, Candy - always a step ahead of the competition. Now, where the hell is she?’