He used toilet paper to wipe his shoes. Then he brushed the dirt from his cuffs, cleaned up the sink, placed his trousers on a hanger and set his shoes down near his suitcase in an alcove next to the bathroom. He hid the recorder in his case, removed his jacket and other clothes, and showered. He had just dried off when they heard loud raps on doors to other rooms. The gang members were asking other tourists if they had been down by the boats, or they had seen anyone suspicious in the hotel.

‘What is going on?’ Pin demanded.

‘I said I’ll explain in the morning,’ Cavalier said, when there was a knock at the door. Cavalier slipped on a white dressing-gown and answered it. Two of the gang stood there, dripping wet and frowning. Hollos was wearing a vest that seemed to have been painted on, so tight and bulging was his torso. Amaz wore a smart rainproof red and blue jacket and tight jeans. She was barefoot. Her hair was awry and wet. A strong waft of perfume, which Cavalier recognised as Chanel No. 5, emanated from her but could not counteract Hollos’ body odour.

‘Have you been outside in the last hour?’ Hollos asked, his bicep muscles flexing as he spoke.

‘In the dining room, and then back here,’ Cavalier said. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing,’ the man said, peering in. He could see Cavalier’s shoes in the alcove. ‘We’d like to have a look around.’

‘Not on,’ Cavalier said with a firm shake of his head. ‘My wife is in bed and I’m about to go to sleep myself, after this interruption.’

Hollos and Amaz looked as if they might insist but Cavalier’s square-on stance saw them hesitate. Cavalier thought Hollos had the look of a bully-boy about him: insecure and bursting to show how tough he was. His face was gnarled—from too many cage fights, Cavalier guessed. The nose was off centre. The cleft chin looked more like a scar than a natural indentation. His dark, sunken eyes were steady but with a squint that hinted at nerves.

Whenever he faced someone dangerous, Cavalier looked for a physical weakness he could exploit. Hollos’ jaw was strong; he had a broad chest and six-pack abdomen. Cavalier decided that a square-handed knuckle thrust to the throat was the one sure way to disable him, apart from the time-honoured knee to the testicles.

‘We haven’t met,’ Cavalier said with a disarming grin as he introduced himself to both of them with his well-trained bruising handshake. ‘What’s this all about?’ He kept his eyes on Hollos but with a relaxed smile of easy trust.