Standing at the door as if he was afraid to touch anything, Tony looked like he was going to be sick. ‘Shall I take my shoes off?’

‘Course not,’ said Jez gently, closing the door. ‘Come and sit down.’

Tony sat gingerly, making the leather crack. Abs thought about making a fart joke, but Tony didn’t look in the mood.

‘So how are you, Tone?’ he asked. ‘It’s been a while, mate.’

They all knew exactly how long it had been. It had been three years since the four of them had gone on that fateful trip to Wales.

‘I’ve been good, Abs,’ said Tony. ‘The kids are in junior school now, would you believe?’

‘How’s Angie?’

‘We ain’t together no more.’

‘Sorry to hear that, mate,’ said Abs, and meant it. He liked Ange. Tony rubbed his hands anxiously between his knees.

‘So, look,’ said Abs. The tension was unbearable; they may as well get around to why they were there. ‘Deano, he was—’

‘Murdered,’ said Tony sharply. ‘Thrown in front of a train.’

‘Deano was a bad drunk,’ said Abs. ‘If he was killed, it was because he got mouthy with the wrong fella. The main thing is, it changes nothing. I mean no disrespect to you, Tone, because Deano, God rest his soul, was your mate, but this can only be a good thing for us. He was a bit of a loose cannon, and now he’s gone, he can’t… drop us all in it.’

‘The police were there, I saw it on the news. He was murdered, I know he was.’ Tony leaned forward. ‘The only question is, who killed him?’

‘Tone, listen to me, you have to dial back the paranoia.’

‘Someone’s watching me,’ Tony said. ‘And I’m scared.’

Abs thought about the man with the scowling face outside QuidStore that morning, and fear spiked in his veins. ‘You’re seeing things.’

‘I’m being followed,’ Tony insisted.

He tried to laugh it off. ‘Who’s following you, exactly?’

Tony shook his head. ‘It’s just a feeling I get when I’m walking down the street.’

Abs turned to Jez. ‘Anyone following you?’

Jez shook his head. ‘Not that I know of.’

‘You’ve got yourself into a state, that’s all,’ Abs said.

‘All these years later,’ Tony said miserably, ‘and I still can’t get out of my mind what… we did. It keeps me awake at night. And this is all because of you, Abs.’

‘Hang on a sec.’ Abs was affronted. ‘How do you figure that?’

‘Because you made us do it.’

‘I didn’t make you do anything.’ He felt his chest tighten in panic. He didn’t want to think about that night, about that place, about what happened – not now, not ever. Abs’s attitude was that if you keep your face to the sunshine, you can’t see the shadows. He had to press the reset button on this conversation before it got out of hand. ‘Lads, just remember what I always say, teamwork makes the dream work. We’re the three amigos now, we just have to hold our nerve.’