Lowering his head in shame, Conrad stared into his glass, swirling around the dregs. ‘Yes, well, I made a mistake. I thought perhaps Mike Regan would . . . anyway, what does it matter now? I’m resigning.’

‘You thought Mike Regan would find the man they call the Governor, didn’t you? Tell me, what did you have on him to make sure he carried out the job?’

‘Well, his mother, for one. We’re pretty sure she killed Tracey Harman. Proving it, of course, would have been a stretch, although he wasn’t to know that. But Regan saw the deal was a win-win for him and his firm: being let out of prison, going about his business as usual, and having our backing in doing so. The only leverage we had was his fiancée, Zara Ezra, who played into our hands. We had her on CCTV at a BP garage close by to where a druggie called Lennon was murdered. A witness saw this one-handed woman. There are not too many around who can kill with their bare hands, or, in this case, one hand. He never knew I had that over him, though. But none of that matters now. Anyway, what’s Regan’s message?’

Lance could have wound him up and taken great pleasure digging the knife in, but something in Conrad’s face said the man’s spirit was completely broken.

‘We’ve found the Governor and his two accomplices, Alastair being one of them.’

In total shock, Conrad jumped to his feet. ‘What? Who? Are you serious?’

Lance nodded. ‘Deadly. He raped and killed Kendall.’

The blood vessels almost popped out of Conrad’s neck as the anger surged around his body. ‘Where is he now? I will fucking . . . ’

‘Oh, he’s dead.’

Conrad suddenly realized who he was talking to and shrank his shoulders. ‘Did you make him beg for his life or hear his screams?’

Lance smiled. ‘Oh, more than that. I watched his skin peel from his body before he died.’

There was silence for a moment as Conrad took it all in. Then his expression changed. He appeared older, more sorrowful. ‘You will never forgive me, Lance, will you, for allowing Rebecca to take Kendall away from you?’

So much had happened in the last few hours that had changed Lance’s stance on life. ‘It wasn’t you, though, who was pulling her strings, was it?’

‘No, she was her own woman. So much like Father, it’s untrue. Me, I am nothing like them. As for Alastair, I think he and my sister were well suited. I often wondered if she was mentally unhinged, like my father. Sadly, now I know she is. I just hope Brooke and Poppy—’

Lance instantly interrupted. ‘They weren’t Alastair’s, they’re mine.’

Unexpectedly, a huge smile, filled with relief, spread across Conrad’s face. ‘Thank God. Are you sure?’

‘Definitely.’

‘Er, by the way, Lance, this Governor fellow. Who was he?’