‘No,’ says Henrik. ‘This is impossible.’
‘Far from it, Henrik. It is an admirable way to get caught, at least. Once we had the name, everything else fell into our laps. Your sister is currently skiing, for example,’ says Stephen. ‘That’s from Facebook.’
‘Stephen,’ says Elizabeth. ‘Stephen.’
‘Just doing my bit,’ says Stephen. ‘Mainly Kuldesh. We owe them dinner.’
‘You’ve really been to see Kuldesh?’
‘I told you I had,’ says Stephen.
‘Yes, I –’ says Elizabeth.
‘We drove down,’ says Bogdan. ‘Was a secret.’
Elizabeth fixes Bogdan with a stare. ‘Full of little secrets at the moment, aren’t you, Bogdan?’
Everyone else has turned to look at Henrik Hansen.
Ron is glad he was invited to witness this whole scene. Previously it’s the sort of thing Elizabeth and Joyce would have taken care of themselves, only to fill him in the next morning. He is aware he hasn’t yet been helpful, but he is grateful to be in the room.
‘I am not Henrik Hansen,’ says Henrik Hansen.
‘I think you probably are,’ says Elizabeth. ‘My husband doesn’t get an awful lot wrong.’
‘Henrik, we can be friends,’ says Viktor. ‘Or, if not friends, then acquaintances who choose not to kill each other. If you leave me in peace, I will make sure my many clients leave you in peace too.’
‘No, I am not Henrik,’ says Henrik again, his anger rising. ‘You are all wrong, and you are all dead. Every single one of you.’
‘Henrik,’ says Joyce, kindly, ‘you couldn’t even kill me.’
‘Then I won’t kill all of you. I will kill one of you,’ says Henrik. ‘Yes. As a lesson for the others. The second you let me go, the hunt begins.’
Henrik’s eyes scan the room, looking for prey. They settle on Ron.
‘You,’ says Henrik. ‘I will kill you.’
Ron rolls his eyes. ‘It’s always me.’
‘You will never see me coming,’ says Henrik.
Pauline stands, slowly and calmly. She walks over to Henrik and places a hand on either side of his face. The room falls silent.
‘Henrik, listen to me carefully, my darling. I’ve met a thousand men like you, and I know you need things spelled out for you. So here goes. If you even dream of touching a hair on Ron’s head, I will kill you. That man is under my protection, and if any harm comes to him I will put bullets in your knees, and then in your elbows, and then, when I’ve tired of hearing you screaming, which will take a long, long time, I will put a bullet in your head to finish you off. In fact, if Ron wakes up with so much as a cough, I will find you, and I will cut out your heart and eat it. And I will send the video evidence to your mum, the pastry chef. Do we have the beginnings of an understanding?’
Henrik is losing heart quickly. He points at Ibrahim now. ‘Then I will kill him.’
Pauline squeezes his face even tighter. ‘That’s Ron’s best friend. Which makes him my best friend too.’
Ron has not seen Ibrahim blush before.
‘No one dies here today,’ continues Pauline. ‘Viktor has been very reasonable, so stop pretending to be a psychopath.’
‘I am a psychopath,’ protests Henrik.
‘Darling,’ says Pauline, letting go of Henrik’s face, ‘a psychopath would have shot Alan.’