He must have called Greg Mavers, told him Silva knew about Karen Hope and Haddad. She didn’t think he had any knowledge of what Mavers intended to do, but his loyalties were divided. When pressed, had he come down on the side of his country? Like Hope, Mavers would have appealed to his patriotism for sure. He’d have told Sean the very future of democracy was at stake, that there was only one option.

She pushed herself up from the ground, sat upright and looked round. At the roof eaves there was a small gap where the rafters met the wall. A patch of blue sky and a smudge of cloud.

How long had she been here? She rubbed her head. Just a few hours, or had she been unconscious for longer? It didn’t really matter. Nobody knew where she was and nobody was coming to rescue her. Sean had always been an unlikely knight in shining armour, and now his armour was tarnished.

Silva stood, feeling dizziness and a sharp pain in her forehead. She took a moment to recover and then walked round the room, examining every inch. The door was of heavy boards, bolted through. There was no handle on her side, nor did there seem to be any sign of a lock or hinges. She figured the door must open inwards, which if the room was for animals made sense. She gave the door a tentative push, but it was solid and immovable.

The only other thing of interest was the water pipe. The piping looked substantial, but the fixings holding it to the wall had corroded. Silva reckoned she could pull the pipe free and use a length of it as a weapon.

She was about to test the strength of the wall fixings when bolts clattered on the door. Silva stepped back into the corner of the room as the door swung open.

‘You’re awake.’ Greg Mavers stepped into the room. Close behind came the two men who’d been with Mavers at her father’s house. One held a pistol while the other carried an iron bar and a length of rope. Mavers waved a hand at the room. ‘I’m sorry the surroundings aren’t up to much, but there you go.’

‘This can’t work. There’s too much of a trail. Too many people know.’

‘Oh but they don’t, Rebecca. Not the damaging stuff. They know about a few arms deals and some money which may or may not have come from various unsavoury sources. They don’t know about the rest of it.’ Mavers moved a finger to his right eye. Scratched something. ‘The problem is, you do know everything.’

‘And I’ve told others. If I disappear it will all come out.’

‘Then I’ll need to know the names of the people you’ve told.’

‘I won’t talk.’