They drove to Lazar’s Canyon, six miles from Bor. Lazar’s Canyon, Johain explained, was the deepest, most inhospitable chasm in the country, more than three miles long and carved by the Lazar River from limestone reefs dating from the Jurassic period. It descended to nearly a quarter of a mile at its deepest point, and was twelve feet across at its narrowest, the floor strewn with boulders and sown with rock towers, the steep slopes drenched by waterfalls, marred by rockslides, and pitted with caves and caverns.

‘She sleeps in there,’ said Johain, pointing into the shadows of the canyon, the sunlight seeming almost to shirk from exploring its reaches.

‘Did I say I hate this place?’ said Angel.

‘You did,’ said Johain.

‘Did I also mention that I’m recovering from cancer?’

‘You can stay with the car, if you prefer.’

Angel turned to Željko. ‘What are you going to do?’

‘I also would prefer to stay with the car,’ he said, ‘but he’ – Željko pointed at Louis – ‘told me I wasn’t being paid to sit on my fucking ass. Excuse me, but those were his exact words. Also, someone has to carry the hammer.’

‘The hammer?’ said Angel.

‘The hammer,’ said Johain.

‘Why do we need a hammer?’ said Angel. ‘Actually, don’t tell me.’

His gaze moved between the Audi and the canyon.

‘And I thought Jersey was wild,’ he said. ‘Okay, fine. I’m coming too.’

They headed into the canyon. The day was already cold, but the canyon’s depths were colder still. They tried their best to stay in what little sun there was, yet even that was sparse. Angel walked more slowly than the others, but not by much: the boulders on the canyon floor forced frequent detours, and sometimes they were obliged to clamber over rockslides that had blocked the way entirely. They would break a sweat only for it to cool upon them once the obstacle was cleared. It was misery for Angel, although he did not complain. He had not tested his body in this way since the surgery, and it was standing up to the ordeal. This was why he had endured the pain of the operation and the subsequent misery of chemotherapy: to feel pain and know that he could beat it.

At last they came to a small waterfall that fed into a stream. To the right of the waterfall were three holes in the rock, one larger than the rest. The cliff face looked unscalable at first, but from an angle it was possible to spot depressions that might serve as handholds and footholds.

‘There,’ said Johain.

‘You’re sure?’ said Louis.

‘Would I have brought you here otherwise?’

‘I sure hope not.’

Angel sat on a boulder. ‘There’s no way I can get up there.’

‘I can make it,’ said Željko.

‘Yeah, I reckon I can too,’ said Louis. He turned to Johain. ‘What about you?’