‘I wanted a job. I didn’t tell Dad or Charlie – I knew they’d put me off, tell me to go out and enjoy myself, whatever. But I was bored. I wanted something to do. So I found out where the company offices were and went to see if I could get a job. Only the office turned out to be more like a lab, with a bunch of Vietnamese chemists making crack. And then I realized what was happening. What was paying for the Stones’ lavish lifestyle. The superyacht and the helicopter and the sports cars – things that are out of reach even for most millionaires. That’s the life we’ve all been living, and sooner or later the whole thing had to come crashing down because into this mix came Harlan, Charlie’s adopted son. But he didn’t want to be just number one son. He wanted it all. He wanted to be in charge. And that meant that Charlie Stone and his missus had to go. And my dad too, and my mum and me, all of us – we were part of the old order, and all Harlan wants is the new, his order.’

‘But he wanted you.’

‘I wouldn’t play ball. I knocked him back. He’s weird and he’s scary. I didn’t want to be within ten miles of him.’ Belle pushed her empty plate aside and looked at him. ‘He did this to me. Scarred me. Harlan don’t take rejection. And I flung stuff in his face. Stupid, yeah? I told him I knew what he’d done.’

‘And what had he done?’

‘Harlan murdered Charlie’s legitimate son when he was a baby. Smothered him in the cradle. I’ll never prove it, but I know he did. He sent Nula – his adopted mother – crazy, and then I think he had someone rig their helicopter so it would crash. Nula and Charlie were killed in it.’ Belle gulped back a tear. ‘Then my mum. And my dad . . .’

‘Christ Almighty. But here you are.’ Jack pushed his chair back, his eyes not leaving her face. ‘You think they’re still looking for you?’

Belle shook her head. ‘I was in shock when I started walking away from the reptile house, seeing danger everywhere. I was half out of my mind. I thought I saw a car come past me a couple of times then slow down, as if someone was looking for me. But I dunno. Maybe I got all confused and imagined it. But then, Nipper did call in here, didn’t he?’

She looked at him. ‘So I guess I’ve got no reason to stay on any longer.’

‘Where would you go?’

Belle couldn’t answer that. She thought about Harlan. How much she hated him. Detested him.

‘You’d need an army to fight Harlan Stone,’ she said sadly. ‘If you were crazy enough to do that in the first place.’