He went to the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out the printed list – the names of staff from Corrigan’s construction company who had spent time in prison. He folded the sheet of paper and put it in his pocket before Imogen came back.

One of these men most likely hurt him. He had spent enough time with Gary Tunney to know how to use the internet to his advantage. He already had plenty of information to start with: names, addresses and offences. What he really wanted was to see their faces and then eventually hear their voices. But that was also the part he was dreading the most, hearing that voice again.

He needed time to get over what had happened, but he would find the two men from that night and he would make them pay for what happened to him, one way or another. If they wanted to operate outside the law then that was fine, as long as they knew there wouldn’t be any phone calls to lawyers when Adrian eventually found out who they were.

He realised this was all a bit of a pipe dream. He was still too scared even to open the door. But he wasn’t going to give up. They had already taken so much from him; they weren’t getting everything.

He was greeted with that face of Imogen’s again. She knew something was wrong; he really wished he knew how to be the person who could confide in her and tell her everything. Keeping a secret like this was taking its toll on their relationship. He needed to fix this somehow. He knew he couldn’t tell her, though. Maybe one day he would be strong enough.

‘Let’s go see Angela Corrigan and tell her about Jimmy and the body; see if that changes her position,’ Imogen said as she walked past, barely looking at Adrian.

He followed behind her, the dismissive look on her face making him feel like a disobedient dog.

Chapter Seventy-Four

Angela Corrigan answered the door. The side of her face was red; the remnants of an open slap clung to her cheek. She took a deep breath when she saw them, no doubt preparing to find new ways of avoiding their questions. Walking into the house, Adrian could smell the gin on her before he even saw the half-empty bottle on the kitchen worktop.

‘You just missed him. He’s gone to the site.’

‘I thought Friday was poker night?’ Adrian said, looking at the clock.

It was gone seven. Not that he wasn’t grateful that Reece wasn’t here.

‘We need to speak to you about Oswestry.’

Angela poured herself another gin and emptied a small can of tonic water into the glass, grimacing slightly as she took another gulp. Adrian and Imogen watched her and waited for her to respond.

‘Don’t worry, this is only my second one.’